The Street Vendors Who Make Christmas for New York City

With COVID Bearing Down, Gotham’s Neighborhood Tree Sellers May Be More Important Than Ever

It’s hard to imagine New York without Christmas, but what will Christmas look like in a city gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic? Gotham’s Christmas streetscapes are legendary: the towering 75-foot Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, ice skating in Central Park, dazzling window displays along Fifth Avenue, the Winter Village in Bryant Park. But this year, COVID is keeping people trapped in their apartments, travel restrictions are shrinking tourism, and much of the large-scale magic of New York between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is missing. Santa won’t be holding court at …