Southern Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights turns into a spectacle ahead of Christmas. Victorian-era homes dazzle with illuminated figures, string lights, Christmas trees, and inflatables for an extravagant showcase. Most residents include affluent Italian-American families, who pay thousands of dollars to decoration companies for the installation and safekeeping of the equipment all year round.
One of the companies belongs to 50-year-old James Bonavita, in charge of decorating 200 houses in New York City, many of them in Dyker Heights. When I met him at his office, Bonavita, about 5’5”, with a lean build and tattooed hands, was wearing a gray beanie, white t-shirt, and blue jeans. His father was an electrician, which helped him familiarize himself with the technicalities of lighting.
But behind the glittering scenes lie some untold stories. Blue-collar workers spend hours in the biting cold decorating the homes. Some even eat meals out in the open during quick in-between breaks as they rush to decorate the wealthy homes. Others work sans safety gear. When I pulled the camera out, they hid their faces. Were they undocumented? I couldn't verify. Maybe they just didn't want pictures.
Tourists from all over the globe flock to Dyker Heights during Christmas to take in the views and celebrate the festival. Some residents complained on Facebook groups about how tourists littered the neighborhood during holidays. But they don't seem to be aware of the anonymous men laboring behind the scenes to bring this spectacle to life — something I attempted to shed on light on through this assignment.
