Brooklyn Heights Christmas Tree lighting is steeped in tradition

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Two sisters from Brooklyn Heights, 9-year-old Nell and 5-year-old Edie Hamontree, led the countdown and shook the sleigh bells Wednesday night to officially light the 25-foot Christmas tree and menorah at the Montague Street entrance to the Promenade.

The crowd cheered as the tree burst into brilliance, and dozens of children welcomed an ebullient Santa, crowding around as he ho-ho-hoed and handed out candy canes.

Noted opera singer and Heights resident Peter Kendall Clark — lauded for keeping the neighborhood’s spirits up with free outdoor performances during the COVID-19 epidemic — performed a cheerful, and at times poignant, medley of traditional Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs.

Santa and Clark riffed off each other like pros.

It was the 73rd year for the beloved neighborhood tradition, sponsored by the Brooklyn Heights Garden Club and supported by the Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA), the Heights Casino, which supplied Santa, and numerous local residents.

Budget cuts to the New York City Parks Department meant that the Garden Club took on all of the expenses this year. BHA helped by jumping in as a fiscal agent to collect donations from neighbors.

The Garden Club was founded in 1940 to bring added beauty to the Heights through gardens, plantings and window boxes, among other activities.

Current President Amerika Williamson, who plans the Promenade tree lighting each year, introduced the Hamontree children and thanked all who contributed.

“I’m so grateful to the Brooklyn Heights Association, who partnered with us this year as a fiscal agent,” Williamson told the Brooklyn Eagle following the event. “We are thankful for their support and our Brooklyn Heights neighbors who donated to this project.”

She added, “Peter Clark and Santa were great together, weren’t they?” 

BHA’s Deputy Director Kim Glickman thanked all for participating and reminded the crowd of the many indispensable activities the organization — founded in 1910, making it the oldest ongoing neighborhood association in the city — undertakes to preserve, improve and advocate for the neighborhood.

The nonprofit Women’s Exchange at 137 Montague Street, decked out for the holiday, stayed open late for shoppers after the tree lighting.

Women’s Exchange volunteer Sadie Horton introduced the shop’s new manager, Jie Mei, as customers browsed the goods. 

The oldest operating Women’s Exchange in the country has sold items made by local crafters, including baby blankets and quilts, hand-decorated children’s clothing, jewelry, holiday items, books, toys and more for 170 years.