When a Grinch tried to steal Christmas from this Upper East Side block, it brought the community together in holiday spirit.
For two decades, the 73rd Street stretch between Second and Third avenues had been known for its elegant holiday flair: 22 trees dressed in champagne-colored lights. But a block resident, who anonymously filed complaints with the city Parks Department in 2015, claimed they were too bright.
Instead of shutting them off for good, homeowners decided to keep the tradition alive, with a softer glow, and in a more united way.
“We decided to act together, and we stayed together,” said Gregory O’Neill, 74, a 29-year resident of the 225 E. 73rd St. co-op, for which he currently serves as board president.
Previously, denizens of the block’s six Emery Roth-designed buildings, who didn’t know each other, illuminated the trees outside their doors separately for 21 years. On Tuesday, for the fourth year in a row, they lit them simultaneously. They’ve even turned the occasion into a full-on fête in which homeowners mingle on the street, and grab food and drinks from each building’s lobby, the doors of which are left open.
“The lights have made us a community,” said O’Neill, who now — along with his property manager, Halstead Management’s Nancy Califano, 66, and the five other co-op board presidents — co-organizes the yearly spectacle.
The lights, which this year cost roughly $70,000 to mount, are nondenominational and generally stay up until February.
“It’s just festive for the general time of year,” said Hayden Schofield, the 57-year-old board president of 230 E. 73rd St., who has lived there since 1993. “It’s light in a dark [season].”
Street residents told The Post they don’t know of any similar event on the Upper East Side.
We decided to act together, and we stayed together.
- Gregory O’Neill
“It makes our block very special,” said Carol O’Neill, Gregory’s wife.
The golden lights have become an annual attraction for passersby, even sparking romance. Last year, a bus carrying a wedding party stopped on the block for the bride and groom to pose for a photo beneath the bulbs.
Two years ago, with lights above, a man got down on bended knee and asked his girlfriend to marry him.
“It creates such a magical environment, so that’s memorable,” said 59-year-old block homeowner Mary, who declined to reveal her full name.
For the second year, the police blocked car and bike traffic on the night the display was lit, allowing locals to mingle and make merry. But the lights have become so famous, they’re bringing joy to international visitors, too.
Rose, a block resident in her 70s who also declined to provide her last name, said two years ago she met a group from Australia who had just arrived in town.
“The first thing they came to do was go to 73rd Street to see the lights because [they heard] they’re magnificent,” she said.