Residents Turn Dyker Heights Into Winter Wonderland
NEW YORK (1010 WINS/CBS 2) -- It's become a New York tradition to see the over-the-top Christmas lights extravaganza in Dyker Heights.
For more than 20 years the Brooklyn display on six square blocks between 83rd and 86th streets and 11th to 13th avenues has become the go-to holiday attraction.
"You have a 16-foot tall Santa, who is being flanked by...30-foot toy soldiers. There are carousels that are moving. There are deer on the porch that move back and forth," one resident told 1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan.
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Another man said he decorated his house just to see the look on young kids' faces.
"We try to maximize the amount of lights without needing electricians and I do this all myself -- takes about five days," he said, telling Sheridan his electric bill shoots up to about $500.
However, homeowner Frankie Pampilone said the price was well worth it.
"You see so many kids and the smile on their face, and that's the spirit of Christmas," Pampilone told CBS 2's Derricke Dennis.
Marie Edessess of Park Slope led a tour of her toddlers through the neighborhood, where their smiles were outshined only by the lights.
"We come every year," Edessess said. "It's just the kind of insane, over the top -- it's exciting to see."
Matt Wozniak of Glendale, Queens and his young son also took in the view.
"What's happening here is like a fairy tale so I wanted to share," Wozniak said.
One overjoyed resident proclaimed that she thought the bright lights of Dyker Heights was what "the North Pole probably looks like."
"This is the epitome of Christmas....this is Santa's workshop," she told Sheridan. "Santa's workshop could not possibly look better than this place."
