Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Feast Your Retinas On The 2019 Dyker Heights Christmas Lights
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 5, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
View all 48
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 5, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Dyker Heights lights are an annual tradition—both loved and loathed (but mostly loved)—that harness the chaos that is the holiday season through a neighborhood-wide display of dazzling mayhem. The decked-out homes make it look like what would happen if Clark Griswold were cloned 100 times over and each version of him decided to live here in Brooklyn (with a Todd and Margo thrown in for tension), and every December these Clarks decided to have a friendly, high-wattage competition.
"It is a twinklin' freakin' wonderland," one woman correctly (if jokingly) declared in 2012, going so far as to say that the displays are "drippin' with class," and asking, "Who lives here, the Pope?" While it would be truly amazing if this were how the Pope had the Apostolic Palace decorated, this is really closer to a Winter Wonderland acid trip.
While there were no vendors out during our trip this week (to be honest, we've never noticed them in previous years, either), the cops were out, likely, in part, to enforce the vendor ban.
So do you, not a vendor, want to check this madness out? Dyker Heights is located between Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge. If taking mass transit, you'll need to take the D train and get off at 79th Street in Brooklyn, but note you'll have a 20 minute walk up and down some hills to and from (MAP). You can also take a tour bus (which will cost around $55), or get yourself as close as you can then take a rideshare service.
Tagged
dyker heights lights
holidays
dyker heights
christmas
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 12:55 p.m. ET
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .