The Bronx’s Little Italy held their annual tree lighting ceremony at Ciccarone Park this past weekend, where families and neighbors came together to celebrate the holiday season.
The Belmont Business Involvement District partnered with Fordham University, the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo to host a toy giveaway for local families and a meet and greet with Santa, who sang holiday carols with families and loved ones.
Local businesses in Little Italy also provided Italian cookies and hot chocolate to warm up the crowd while they waited for the tree countdown.
Frank Franz, executive board member of the Belmont Business Improvement District, said the celebration started as an idea of how he could get the neighborhood together for the holiday season. It started out with just a few people and a small tree, then came the hot chocolate, cookies and the carolers.
“Now we’ve got a 25 foot tree,” Franz told the Bronx Times. “We’ve got a nice crowd and give away hundreds of presents for kids in the neighborhood.”
Claire Bodger, a student at Fordham interning at the Belmont Business Improvement District said that this year, they received so many donations that they weren’t close to running out of presents to give out to the kids. She even witnessed one little girl happily unwrap a toy she specifically asked Santa to bring her for Christmas.
“We’re hoping everyone is having a happy, healthy holiday season and that we can make as many kids happy as possible with the toys we have,” Bodger said.
After the speeches slowed down, Franz gave Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham University, the responsibility of switching on the tree’s lights as the crowd counted down.
Tetlow said the university is lucky to be a part of Little Italy from it’s very inception.
“Our students live in this community, they eat in this community, they celebrate, they volunteer,” Tetlow said. “They learn as much from this neighborhood as they do from us.”
The audience counted down from six, to light up the tree.
Shanice Morgan, a Bronx resident, came out to the celebration with her husband and children.
“It’s very festive and my son loves the music,” Morgan said. “I got the message from his school and we decided to come check it out.”
Vanessa L. Gibson, the Bronx Borough President, stopped by the tree lighting to celebrate with local residents and sing along to “Feliz Navidad” with Santa and his helpers.
“This really brings the community together. It’s a festive time, a joyous time. We want to bring smiles to our children’s faces because we know families are going through a lot,” Gibson said.
“If we can bring them together to light the tree and begin the holiday season, and give out toys and hot chocolate, it’s a big deal. For us, as leaders, it’s important to remind our borough that we’re always here for the good and the challenging times.”
Sadie Brown contributed to this story.
Reach Lesley Cosme Torres at lcosmetorres@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
