BAY RIDGE — The Easter season is upon us, and there is an egg-stravagant display to celebrate the holiday outside a popular Bay Ridge home.

Since 1989, Roy Jensen has been decorating his home, 635 79th St., on his own, sometimes working 20 hours on setting up for the next celebration.

The lifelong Bay Ridge resident said that he always had a passion for decorating for holidays and he started small.

“It was not much, but now it’s a really big thing,” he said. “It’s bigger for the people that come to see it and take pictures. We had kids that were born here and their moms walked them here. Now they are grown up and 20 to 30 years old. It’s not just done for the kids — the adults love it, too. A lot of older people come here.” 

After his massive St. Patrick’s display, Jensen took just five days to transform it to Easter magic that features plenty of decorations, including signs, eggs, bunnies and bright colors surrounding the house’s lights.

Although the decorations have just gone up, Jensen said the response has been incredible so far.

“Easter came out really great,” Jensen said. “I was a little worried because I’ve been hunting for decorations for months, but I’m happy with how it turned out. I try to put new stuff up each year. I’m always looking for decorations. The bunnies and the lighting in the building is great. The windows and the new lambs look beautiful. I bought this stuff months in advance.”

The holiday house’s reputation grew during the COVID-19 pandemic as locals wanted to see the tradition continue.

“People were really depressed,” Jensen said. “They asked, ‘Could you keep the lights on?’ People were really down and stuff. It really surprised me.”

Jensen kept the lights on and people showed up. 

Another turning point was when someone took a video of the decorations and posted it on Instagram. It went viral, causing even more visitors.

“We’ve had buses come here during the holidays and it’s crazy,” Jensen said. “We have Fox News here three or four times already. Social media sort of spread the word and made it bigger than it was. It went viral. My daughter now takes care of all the social media, and we get millions of views. It’s incredible.”

Jensen expects a lot of people to show up as Easter comes closer as fans on Instagram have expressed excitement. 

“You outdid yourself with the Easter decorations! Absolutely beautiful!” wrote one fan. “Thanks for doing this for all to enjoy!”

“Amazing!” wrote another. “Wish we had a holiday house like this in Chicago.”

The Easter lights will be up until April 20. For more information, visit instagram.com/79stholidayhouse.