If you weren’t watching closely, the first signs of the 2021 holiday season might’ve tiptoed by you. But two events, this week, proved the door is open, if only a little, for holidays far more normal than any since the pandemic began.
By David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Is It Finally the 2021 Holiday Season in New York?
At Rockefeller Center, a controversial Christmas tree…
Yesterday, a 79 foot tall, 85 year old Norway spruce was chopped down in Elkton, Maryland. Until then, it lived a healthy life in a family’s yard, according to 6sqft. “Rockefeller Center officials look for a Norway spruce in the later years of its life that measures at least 75 feet tall and is 46 inches in diameter,” it says.
If so, they missed their mark by over a century. Norway spruce normally remain healthy for around 200 years. Their average lifespan is between 300 and 400 years.
Cutting down healthy trees, whether for living rooms or Rockefeller Center, is controversial, and nothing about this year’s tree changes that. As a sort of apology, the group pledges each year to plant many more trees as compensation.
A lighting ceremony, broadcast nationally, is on tap for December 1st. Last year, because of the pandemic, no one was allowed to observe it in person, but this year is different. Although details for NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center have not been released, many, if not all, restrictions will be lifted.
A less controversial next step…
On Saturday, the 2021 holiday season gets a popular, but not as celebrated boost with the opening of the Rockefeller Center skating rink. For $20 a pop, skaters can glide by Prometheus and, once it’s up, this years Christmas tree.
More from the Roosevelt Island Daily News
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- Three New Schools Open in Western Queens Amid Ongoing Classroom OvercrowdingThree new schools have opened in Western Queens, giving some relief in classroom overcrowding, but families still face capacity challenges and tough implementation issues this fall.
- Certified 9/11-Related Cancer Cases Double at Northwell HealthNorthwell Health has seen a sharp increase as certified 9/11-related cancer cases double, transforming care for survivors and responders in the New York region.
- Long-Term Health Effects Linked to 9/11: 25 Years LaterThe 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks brings renewed focus to long-term health effects linked to 9/11, with ongoing needs for survivors, first responders, and affected communities.
- NYC Yellow School Bus Shortage Disrupts Back-to-School PlansA potential NYC yellow school bus shortage could affect back-to-school transportation and schedules as classes begin. Learn how families, schools, and city officials are responding.
- Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Suspected in Hunters Point High-Rise: FDNY RespondsA lithium-ion battery fire is suspected in the Hunters Point high-rise incident that prompted a major FDNY response, with a second Queens fire following at Ravenswood. Officials are investigating both events.
Still Searching: Transparency Delayed at RIOC
New York’s Freedom of Information Law rests on a basic principle: government records belong to the public unless an agency can identify a lawful reason to withhold them. For Roosevelt Island residents, that right matters because RIOC controls public land, infrastructure, transportation, contracts and development without functioning as a locally elected government.
