It seems like the holiday season is starting earlier and earlier each year, but a little extra Christmas cheer never hurts.
The Whitestone holiday lights have already been installed in the downtown area in the vicinity of 150th Street, and community groups are organizing efforts to fund the display and other holiday initiatives.
A lighting ceremony is reportedly planned to illuminate the display sometime in the beginning of December, although the official date has yet to be announced by organizers.
According to We Love Whitestone President Alfredo Centola, this is the second straight year that the Whitestone area will have holiday lights. The lights returned to the area in 2014 after a hiatus of several years.
Centola said half of the funding for the lights was provided by the Whitestone Merchants Association through the Queens Chamber of Commerce and the office of Councilman Paul Vallone.
The We Love Whitestone civic group and the Whitestone Volunteer Ambulance provided additional support along with Palazzo Home Center building supplies, with Joe Palazzo in particular being a major force in organizing the efforts.
The groups are working together to collect the remainder of the funding for the lights, which are not yet fully paid off. Several local merchants have pitched in so far.
“It’s a wonderful thing to see the merchants in the community come together yet again and bring back for the second year in a row a true Whitestone tradition,” Centola said.
Anyone interested in donating funding for the Whitestone holiday lights can send an inquiry to welovewhitestone@gmail.com. The group will also be collecting non-perishable food items in its Nov. 18 meeting for use in a local food pantry.
