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Christmas isn’t canceled. Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there will still be a Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center for the 2020 holiday season — but maybe not the traditional crowds. Tishman Speyer, the real estate firm that owns the Manhattan landmark, has confirmed that the beloved annual happening will go on this year, even if …
Christmas isn’t canceled.
Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there will still be a Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center for the 2020 holiday season — but maybe not the traditional crowds.
Tishman Speyer, the real estate firm that owns the Manhattan landmark, has confirmed that the beloved annual happening will go on this year, even if changes need to be made in the name of public safety.
“Of course the Christmas tree will go up this year, and we will do a terrific and phenomenal tree,” the property’s managing director, EB Kelly, tells Crain’s. “We may need to reimagine what the tree lighting itself looks like.”
While Rockefeller Plaza isn’t big enough to allow for social distancing at a huge gathering like the lighting ceremony, it does have a big capacity, which may be utilized in the summer months. The center is currently considering opening the concourse doors, putting out tables and chairs on the skating rink and allowing for food trucks, a farmers market and other vendors to spread out in the area soon. There is no question that residents are hungry for such normal summer activities.
“New York City is a city of extroverts; we feed off our personal interactions,” Tishman Speyer Chief Executive Officer Rob Speyer tells Crain’s. “You can’t do that by Zoom.”
The popular tourist sightseeing destination Top of the Rock, meanwhile, will not be allowed to reopen until Phase Four.
The office portion of Rockefeller Center reopened on Monday, as part of Phase Two, although out of the prepandemic population of 20,000 across the multiblock complex, only 10% to 20% of tenants are estimated to have returned so far.
In addition to returning tenants, the iconic statues around Rockefeller Center are also now masked.
Another New York City holiday tradition the coronavirus has failed to fully cancel is the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, which plans to take place on the Fourth of July, only without a live audience.
