Why It’s Raining Christmas Trees On The L.E.S.

Christmas came a bit early to hundreds of Lower East Side residents courtesy of the Hallmark Channel which donated 559 fir trees to the Educational Alliance’s Boys and Girls Club.

Hundreds of residents braved a chilly, November rain shower Thursday night, hauling the four-foot and eight-foot trees in shopping carts, creating a parade of pine along Grand Street and Clinton Street. On Wednesday, Hallmark Channel used the trees to break the Guinness World Records title for the Largest display of Illuminated Christmas Trees, with a 4,000 square-foot long tree maze in Herald Square.

This close to the holidays, there was only one thing left to do with the fresh-cut trees, donate them, says Michelle Chapetta, part of the consumer marketing team at Hallmark Channel who helped to coordinate the giveaway. Trees were lined up along the sidewalk outside the Educational Alliance [now the Manny Cantor Center] on East Broadway starting at 5 pm, with the last one carted away just past 9 pm.

“People were excited and gracious,” she says. “It’s raining, they were soaked, and it’s awesome.”

Boys and Girls Club’s 1,600 families will be invited back to pick up free strands of multi-colored lights on Friday afternoon — a great way to spread some early holiday cheer.

This story came to us courtesy of writer and local resident Lauren Barack. If you have a story to share, send it to us at: tips@thelodownny.com.