‘The joy and the magic’ of the Dyker Heights Christmas lights

DYKER HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (PIX11) — It’s considered one of the best New York City attractions during the holiday season. Every year, dozens of Dyker Heights homes are decorated with larger-than-life Santas, snowmen, reindeer, nutcrackers and nativity scenes.

“The lights are really cool, and there are so many, and there are bubbles everywhere,” Emily Casamento, 10, told PIX11 News.

The six children of the combined Casamento – Sullivan families, of Staten Island and New Jersey, couldn’t stop “ooh and aahing” at the Christmas decorations in Dyker Heights, complete with snowmen spewing fake snow.

“All the decorations and moving blowups,” Juliet Casamento, 11, answered when asked what her favorite part was.

“We were just visiting my aunt in Bay Ridge when we decided to take a ride to see the decorations,” the father in the Sullivan clan told PIX11 news.

More than 100,000 people visit the Dyker Heights Christmas lights each December, making it one of New York City’s most popular holiday destinations.

It all started at a house owned by Angelo and Lucy Spata back in 1986.

“It began as a tradition with my mother, so I honor her memory with the decorations,” Lucy Spata told PIX11 News. “And then my husband passed three years ago, and he always keeps doing this.”

Once darkness descends in December, there are tour buses packed with out-of-towners, food trucks on many corners, and traffic-clogged streets filled with pedestrians and litter.

So not all Dyker Heights residents love this 36-year-old tradition.

“When it was featured on Conan O’Brien, it blew up into something no one expected,” Larry, a Dyker Heights homeowner who didn’t want to give his last name, told PIX11 News.

But the Temperino family loves decorating their home. Dad spends at least two days setting everything up, and the rest of the family is thrilled by this tradition.

“People are getting out and connecting,” Adrienne Temperino, a Dyker Heights homeowner, told PIX11 News. “It’s all about the joy and magic of Christmas.”