Even during a pandemic, Dyker Heights is, ahem, lit

Come and join us on a virtual field trip to the over-the-top Christmas lights of Dyker Heights.

With the weekend upon us, an increasingly less-fresh of coat of snow on the ground and Christmas bearing down, a borough turns its lonely eyes to Dyker Heights. Pandemic or no, it appears to be time again to make the annual pilgrimage to see the lights. (Just, you know, don’t be a dick about it.)

In a year that has been marked by isolation, hardship, grief and stress, some homeowners seem to be taking a cathartic approach to their holiday displays. Others are feeling more somber this time around. Then there’s the question of crowds: Is it such a wise idea to draw rubberneckers into a neighborhood and potentially get people sick?

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The New York Times has this today:

In Dyker Heights, the Brooklyn neighborhood famous for its over-the-top holiday displays, the mood is mixed this year, with some homeowners decorating bigger and brighter and others scaling back in an attempt to keep the crowds of tourists away. Holiday light installers say that business has been down in Dyker Heights, but up in neighborhoods that don’t usually attract the light-peeper, like Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill. …

But not everyone in Dyker Heights is toning it down. Lucy Spata, 64, who has lived on 84th Street in Dyker Heights since 1986 and is credited with starting the tradition, began decorating her house with an array of toy soldiers in October, turning them on before Thanksgiving.

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Time Out New York, meanwhile, offers this handy guide and a bit of sage/no-duh advice: “If you are heading to Dyker Heights this year, be sure to respect the neighborhood like it’s your own, starting with keeping properties clean of trash in the name of respect and sanitation.”