The holidays have come to New York City amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some traditions, including the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes, have been canceled, others like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, Bryant Park Winter Village, and Saks Fifth Avenue's window displays are still happening, just very differently this year, the Rockland/Westchester Journal News, a USA TODAY Network publication, reports.
"Many of the things that make the holidays so special also carry the most risk," said New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi. "I understand that after all we've been through, there is a need to find comfort through celebrating with family and community. But I want to be clear, the holidays this year cannot look like years past."
Though the city's department of health has advised people not to travel, organizers of holiday destinations say they have taken extensive steps to ensure the health and safety of those visitors who do decide to come.
The New York Botanical Garden closed its popular holiday train show to all but its members this year, in an effort to reduce crowding. Instead, it's offering a new outdoor light experience called Glow.
"The capacity for the train show is severely limited, but we still wanted to offer something to the public that has supported us so much, especially during this time," said Vice President for Garden Experience Lauren Turchio.
Glow, which features thousands of LED lights, takes place outdoors in a portion of the Botanical Garden's 250 acres. Turchio said valuable lessons in crowd control and COVID safety were learned when the Botanical Garden reopened in July, lessons it's applying to the holidays.
"We had a steady, but limited opening, for members, our community partners and health care heroes in the first week, and that helped us try out all the safety protocols," said Turchio. "Everyone adapted very well. Since our July opening, we have had 230,000 ticketed guests."
The same protocols are in place for Glow: advance ticketed reservations, reduced capacity and large outdoor areas for visitors to stroll.
Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park, which has been open since late October, reduced the number of vendors at its holiday market from 170 to about 60 to create more room in the park. Timed reservations are also required for skating. With many people opting to stay home, especially out-of-town tourists, the venue is expecting fewer and more local visitors.
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