Ringing in the Holidays at NYCHA
Across the city, NYCHA residents celebrated the winter holiday season with festivities ranging from tree lightings and visits with Santa, to turkey giveaways and group outings, to cultural institution events – all of them infused with a spirit of community giving and togetherness.
Here are just a few of the events NYCHA residents organized and/or attended.
In Staten Island, the Todt Hill Resident Association held a tree-lighting ceremony that was visited by both Santa Clause and Elmo.
In the Bronx, the Morrisania Air Rights Resident Association hosted a Winter Wonderland featuring a Macy’s Santa, bouncy houses, and more. Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson attended the event.
In Manhattan, a Christmas turkey giveaway was held at Polo Grounds Towers by Navillus Contracting and the design-build team working on the pneumatic garbage collection system at the development. At Drew Hamilton Houses, Women of Expectation hosted a winter wonderland holiday party.
In Brooklyn, the Nostrand Houses Resident Association gave out 1,500 toys to the Sheepshead Bay-Nostrand community, and the Whitman Houses Resident Association held a tree-lighting ceremony and toy giveaway featuring Santa and the Grinch.
Additionally, local organizations partnered with NYCHA’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships to provide residents with free tickets to events. The Bronx Zoo offered 200 tickets for NYCHA residents to attend its annual Holiday Lights. The Harlem Cultural Foundation hosted families from Johnson Houses and other Harlem developments at its Santa and Mrs. Claus Come to Harlem holiday party. New Victory Theater provided NYCHA residents with free tickets to attend its November and December shows. Additionally, resident association presidents from Davidson Houses and Van Dyke Houses took groups of residents to the theater’s shows.
