250K-Light Holiday Display Delights Brooklyn Residents
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- A house in Brooklyn, illuminated by a whopping 250,000 lights, is a holiday display that you have to see to believe.
The man behind the display, though, is a mystery to many.
The holiday lights extravaganza is a tradition on the bright corner of Canarsie, Brooklyn.
"We love this," resident Aries Matela said. "The spirit of Christmas, you can feel it in your heart."
Spectators along Flatlands Avenue at East 93rd Street snapped pictures of the lifelike window displays.
"This is wonderful, it's an amazing job," Kingston resident Giovanny Farfan said.
Children stood in awe of the colorful carousel, reminded that their favorite holiday is just two weeks away.
Even in Sunday night's rain, crowds lined the sidewalk to see all the lights – 250,000 of them – in a tradition that's lasted since 1963.
Something, though – or someone – was missing.
The lights were on, there was a menorah, and even a toy soldier, but the owner wasn't home.
"I've been here many years with him," neighbor Mickey Duval said. "He's a great guy."
Duval said the brains and the bills for the display belong to homeowner Frank Seddio, a Brooklyn attorney and former assemblyman. He ducks in and out of his home, neighbors say, just like the Christmas cat in the display.
The lavish display is a gift from a Good Samaritan.
"You can see the neighborhood – it's nice to see people happy," Duval said.
Frank, the owner, did eventually contact CBS 2. He admitted this property isn't his full-time home, just his office space. The lights, he said, are a labor of love that he inherited from the previous owner 24 years ago.
"It's beautiful, it's lovely," East Flatbush resident Julia Brady said.
The owner told CBS 2 that his electric bill for the month of December alone tops $10,000.
