13th Avenue aglow for the holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for merchants and shoppers alike.

The 13^th Avenue Merchants Association celebrated the start of another holiday season on Friday, December 12 at the strip’s annual tree lighting. This year, the spectacle took place at the corner of 13^th Avenue and Bay Ridge Parkway where a towering pine – donated to the group by local merchant Brooklyn Tans – stood tall, decked and waiting to be lit.

“We want to give an extra special thank you to Brooklyn Tans for the tree,” lauded Merchants Association President Dominick Sarta, also applauding the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce – and, of course, its president and CEO Carlo Scissura – for sponsoring the strip’s event this year (and for aiding the group in its quest to become a Business Improvement District). “It was a great time.”

“I was very happy as the president of the Dyker Heights Civic Association to have been there for the tree lighting,” lauded Fran Vella-Marrone. “I want to thank the merchants and the Chamber of Commerce for making this possible.

“It’s something we’ve been doing for a number of years and it’s something that we’ll continue to do in the future,” she said.