The annual Christmas lights in Dyker Heights are a major attraction and holiday activity in Brooklyn. Over the last twenty years the lights have become so famous that tour companies in Manhattan are now offering tours of the Dyker Heights area.
The average cost of a tour ranges between $25 to $79 and lasts for two to four hours. The lights go on the day after Thanksgiving and go out the day after New year for the last 20 years. The area is so large, and the lights are so extravagant that even a four-hour tour might be too short to take it all in.
However, tour companies are not the only ones capitalizing on the fame of the Dyker Heights Christmas lights. Several charity organizations have used Dyker Heights as a means of creating awareness and ramping up support for their cause. One such charity is Michael’s Cause, a charity that offers financial assistance to research centers helping to find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder that causes weakness resulting in muscular degeneration. The disease is a terminal illness that leads to difficulty walking, breathing and eventually death. There is currently no cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. One hundred percent of the funds raised by Michael’s Cause go towards research in finding a cure for the disease. To date the charity has donated 1.4 million dollars to research. Michael’s Cause derived its name from Michael Capolongo a twelve years old boy from Staten Island that was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy in 2010. Every year a Family friend and supporter of the cause, Frank Fugillano, lights his beautiful house in Dykers Heights to draw attention to the charity. Exquisitely decorated with over 80,000 lights, including drummers with moving parts and cinematic quality music, the house attracts a lot of attention from visitors.
However, Michaels Cause is not the only charity that uses this platform. The Community Mayors for Special Children is a charity created to provide support for children with special needs. The Charity was founded in 1875 and has been providing financial support for children with special needs since 1950. In 1956 the organization was re-incorporated under the name The Community Mayors. The charity provides the opportunity for children who are mentally and physically challenge to gain extra ordinary experiences. The most notable event is, “operation Santa,” which brings 4000 children to the John F. Kennedy International Airport every year to meet Santa Clause. Santa is brought in by Delta Airlines and is supported by a number of volunteers who help Santa to hand out thousands of gifts to the children. Every year Dr. Patricia Fashaedi decorates her house in Dyker Heights to draw attention to the charity. The house is professionally decorated. It takes professional decorators approximately four days to put up all the lights and costs thousands of dollars. 95% of all the donations received by the charity goes directly to paying for events. The organization’s primary focus is to create enhanced experience for children with special needs.
The world-famous Dyker heights Christmas lights attract both local and international visitors and helps to significantly increase the patronage for many charities by giving them an opportunity to reach a greater number of people from all over the world.