Good morning on this seasonable Friday.
As you figure out what to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers, it’s time for many New Yorkers to begin preparing for the next holiday season.
Buying the perfect Christmas tree for a tiny studio apartment or a spacious living room can feel overwhelming. So we sat down with veterans in the business to collect the best tree-hunting tips.
What tree should you buy?
The most popular tree you’ll see being sold on New York sidewalks is the Frasier Fir. This bushy evergreen has a mild, aromatic scent. “It has the least amount of needle fall, which people appreciate,” Scott Lechner, the manager of SoHo Trees, said.
The Balsam Fir is well known for its strong and spacious branches, which makes it a perfect tree for ornamentations. It’s also one of the most aromatic species. “They’re more Rockwellian, more traditional, more Americana,” Mr. Lechner said.
The Noble Fir is the “Cadillac of Christmas trees,” according to Greg Walsh, owner of Greg’s Trees. These regal evergreens are mostly shipped from the Northwest, which makes them pricier than other trees.
Continue reading the main storyThe Nordmann Fir, vendors said, is the rarest and most expensive of all Christmas trees. Originally from the Caucus Mountains, the Nordmann Fir is known for its attractive foliage and silver hue. “It’s the most elegant of Christmas trees,” Mr. Lechner said.
What’s a good price for a Christmas tree?
Average prices range from about $35 to $200.
Prices primarily vary according to the size of the tree. (The most common size for New York apartments is 5 to 6 feet tall.)
Trees shipped from the Northwest Pacific states and Canada tend to be more expensive because of high shipping costs.
And like city real estate, location matters. Sellers adjust their prices for the neighborhood they’re selling in — places like SoHo and Williamsburg tend to have pricier trees.
But you can negotiate. Vendors said it’s part of the tradition, and they’ll help you find a tree that fits your budget.
Where can you buy a Christmas tree?
Garden stores, sidewalk vendors, and supermarkets and big-box stores, like Whole Foods and Home Depot.
There are also 18 designated parks and playgrounds with vendors — like Washington Market Park in Manhattan and McCarren Park in Brooklyn.
And you can buy trees online.
Where do Christmas trees come from?
Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan and Pennsylvania harvest the most Christmas trees in the nation. Frasier Firs sold in New York are mostly shipped from North Carolina, while Douglas Firs are largely from Pennsylvania, sellers said. High-quality sellers in New York said they also ship their trees from Canada, especially from the Beauce region near Quebec.
Here’s what else is happening:
Weather
° ° °With a high near 50, it’s like the weather knows it’s time for sidewalk shopping. Now all you need is some hot cider.
Be sure to look up from your phone or shopping bags this Black Friday and appreciate the clear skies and crisp fall temperature. Saturday is looking to be even nicer, with a high in the mid-50s. Then things will cool a bit on Sunday.
In the News
• Security was prominent at this years Thanksgiving Day parade, but paradegoers seemed to mostly focus on the balloons and floats passing by. [New York Times]
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• Despite losing their homes to a fire that ripped through an apartment building in Upper Manhattan, dozens of families joined together for a Thanksgiving dinner. [New York Times]
• The Trump SoHo hotel, struggling financially, is dropping the president’s name. On a recent night, some guests embraced the brand, while others were simply there for a cheap room. [New York Times]
• A man from Sudan’s dream to move to the United States came true when he obtained a visa and settled into Brooklyn. Now he dreams of one day reuniting with the wife he left behind. [New York Times]
• After spending 28 years in prison, a Connecticut man was freed the day before Thanksgiving when he entered an Alford plea: pleading guilty to lesser charges without admitting guilt. [New York Times]
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• The former congressman Maurice D. Hinchey, who built a reputation as a champion of environmental advocacy and blue-collar workers, died at 79. [New York Times]
• Meet the two men who are competing for what may be the most coveted job on Wall Street: running Goldman Sachs. [New York Times]
• Nickelodeon’s relentlessly cheerful animated character, SpongeBob SquarePants, has made his Broadway debut with a $20 million musical that “explodes off the stage.” [New York Times]
• The New York Police Department named Terence Monahan the new chief of department. [New York Post]
• In a class-action suit filed against the city, a family living in New York City Housing Authority units claim their child’s health was damaged as a result of lead-poisoned water. [NBC New York]
• Today’s Metropolitan Diary: “The Cranky Fishmonger”
• For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Morning Briefing.
Coming Up Today
• Burn off that turkey with guided hikes through Alley Pond Park in Queens, Central Park in Manhattan, Willowbrook Park on Staten Island, Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Times vary. [Free]
• Join the National Park Service and Lower Manhattan Historical Association to celebrate the end of the American Revolution, with a parade, performances and more at Federal Hall and Evacuation Plaza. 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. [Free]
• George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” returns for the season with performances by the New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, through Dec. 31. 8 p.m. [Ticket prices vary]
• Laugh off your Thanksgiving leftovers at “Decorative Soap: The Truth is in the Turkey,” a soap opera-themed comedy show at the Peoples Improv Theater Loft in Chelsea. 9 p.m. [$7]
• Nets host Trail Blazers, noon. (YES). Islanders at Flyers, 4 p.m. (MSG+). Devils host Canucks, 7 p.m. (MSG+). Rangers host Red Wings, 7 p.m. (MSG 2). Knicks at Hawks, 7:30 p.m. (MSG).
• Alternate-side parking remains in effect until Dec. 8.
• Weekend travel hassles: Check subway disruptions and a list of street closings.
The Weekend
Saturday
• Check out the Holiday Train Show, a display of model locomotives zipping through famous city landmarks, at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. [Prices vary]
• The Brooklyn Holiday Bazaar brings local vendors, food and drink, live music and activities to 501 Union and the Green Building in Gowanus, Brooklyn. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Sunday. [Free admission]
• Take a Thanksgiving kitchen tour, where you can learn about colonial cuisine while tasting some old-world recipes, at Historic Richmond Town on Staten Island. 1 to 5 p.m., through Sunday. [$8]
• See the musician and singer Oscar D’León, “El Gigante De La Salsa,” in a concert at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in the Bronx. 8 p.m. [Tickets start at $50]
• Islanders at Senators, 7 p.m. (MSG+). Devils at Red Wings, 7 p.m. (MSG+2). Knicks at Rockets, 8 p.m. (MSG).
Sunday
• Children can jam out to the music of Bob Marley during a family-friendly concert at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg. 11:30 a.m. [$12]
• A choir and symphony orchestra perform “Messiah...Refreshed,” a modern take on Handel’s “Messiah,” at Carnegie Hall in Midtown Manhattan. 2 p.m. [Ticket prices vary]
• ... And the New York Eastern Symphonic Orchestra plays a concert celebrating Albanian Independence Day at St. George Theatre on Staten Island. 7 p.m. [Tickets start at $50]
• Looking ahead: On Wednesday, TimesTalks hosts an advance screening of “I, Tonya,” a film about the scandalous American figure skater Tonya Harding, followed by a conversation with the actor Margot Robbie and director Craig Gillespie.
• Jets host Panthers, 1 p.m. (FOX). Rangers host Canucks, 2 p.m. (MSG). Nets at Grizzlies, 6 p.m. (YES).
• For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts & Entertainment guide.
And Finally...
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How did Christmas trees first pop-up on New York City sidewalks?
It is long believed that a woodsman from the Catskills by the name of Mark Carr was the first to sell Christmas trees in New York — in 1851. A couple of weeks before Christmas Day that year, Mr. Carr loaded two ox sleds with “thrifty young firs and spruces” and headed for the city, according to an 1878 New York Daily Tribune article.
He paid a silver dollar for the right to sell his lot of trees on a strip of sidewalk at Vesey and Greenwich Streets in TriBeCa. His evergreens quickly sold out. He returned the next year and other peddlers followed his lead, establishing the prosperous holiday sidewalk tree industry.
By 1880, more than 200,000 trees were being shipped to New York each year.
In the 1930s, the former Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, seeking to reduce street peddling, established regulations that would require vendors to apply for selling permits. After much public outcry, the City Council in 1938 adopted what has been called the “coniferous tree exception,” which allows vendors to sell and display Christmas trees on a sidewalk without a permit in December as long as they have the permission of owners fronting the sidewalk and keep a corridor open for pedestrians.
The rule has brought flocks of vendors from across the country and the pleasant smell of pine trees to New York City ever since.
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