{"id":61404,"date":"2025-12-05T02:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T02:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/61404\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T02:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T02:01:10","slug":"forest-avenue-stroll-marks-20-years-of-holiday-cheer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/61404\/","title":{"rendered":"Forest Avenue stroll marks 20 years of holiday cheer"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 West Brighton celebrated the 20th anniversary of its beloved Forest Avenue Holiday Stroll Thursday night under the glow of a Cold Supermoon, adding an extra touch of magic to the festive tradition. <\/p>\n

From 5 to 7 p.m., Santa Claus posed for photos with nearly 100 revelers before joining the celebration along Forest Avenue, where several restaurant owners lined the corridor with steaming chili, hot soup, and rich hot chocolate to welcome families and friends.<\/p>\n

Santa made his grand entrance in a horse-drawn carriage, riding twice from Broadway to Hart Boulevard. Behind him, Tom Maroney and his granddaughter served as escorts in Maroney\u2019s gleaming 1953 Buick, a classic with only about 27,000 miles on the odometer. Decked out in blinking lights, the vintage car drew plenty of attention from those who appreciate such a beauty.<\/p>\n

\"ForestTom Maroney and his grandaughter get ready to drive down Forest Avenue while the superman rose over West Brighton. <\/p>\n

Local businesses opened their doors to offer free samples and holiday specials, while others set up outside to greet visitors with warm food and festive spirit. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis event truly captures the spirit of the season and showcases the heart of our local businesses,\u201d said Nina Flores, executive director of the Forest Avenue BID.<\/p>\n

\"WestRevelers greeted Santa on Hart Boulevard around 4:30 p.m.(Advance\/SILive.com |Pamela Silvestri)A Tradition Rooted in Community<\/p>\n

The Holiday Stroll began two decades ago as a way to promote local businesses in West Brighton. <\/p>\n

Among the standout bites from the stroll this year, Randall Manor Tavern, newly relocated from Castleton to Forest Avenue, served a delightful corn chowder. Crumbl Cookie handed out bagged sugar cookies topped with red and green sprinkles. Burrito Bar offered cups of cheddar-topped chili, while Moretti\u2019s Bakery shared cupcakes and holiday cookies. Duffy\u2019s proudly served hot chocolate with whipped cream beneath a tree glowing with green lights. <\/p>\n

\"HolidayPanini Grill is ablaze with lights and holiday decorations, always a big draw on Forest Avenue each Christmas season. (Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\n

The Staaten shimmered under white lights, and Filoncino treated guests to fresh bread bites and sumptuous mini cannoli.The strip has lost a few businesses over the past couple of strolls. ViVi Bubble has closed, along with Molly\u2019s, a long-time, cherished women\u2019s clothing store that helped define the charm of West Brighton. Gregorio\u2019s Florist, another beloved mom-and-pop, served its final bouquets just before Valentine\u2019s Day in 2023.<\/p>\n

\"HolidayMembers of Staten Island Pipes and Drums warm up at Rainbow Cleaners. They planned to parade through Jody’s Club Forest on this festive evening. (Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\n

The BID, funded largely by an annual assessment of $165,000 paid by commercial property owners or tenants, covers Forest Avenue from Hart Boulevard to Broadway. Managed by a nonprofit board of local stakeholders and elected officials, the BID supports 149 ground-floor retail businesses and community beautification efforts.<\/p>\n

\"HolidayBurrito Bar was a bright spot on Forest Avenue as it dished out chili and added to the cheer. (Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)Under the Cold Supermoon<\/p>\n

The evening\u2019s backdrop was the Cold Moon, December\u2019s full moon, which rose over Forest Avenue during the festivities. So named by Native Americans, the Cold Moon marks the frigid nights near the winter solstice and is also called the Long Night Moon for its appearance during the year\u2019s longest nights. Attendees couldn\u2019t help but point it out as it added to the glow of the holiday lights. But Santa remained the star of the show, ho-ho-ho\u2019ing and grooving to Christmas music.<\/p>\n

Ray Ferragano of West Brighton shared what makes this neighborhood special, \u201cI love this neighborhood because you can walk down the block and always run into someone you know. I\u2019ll pop into Key Food for one thing and end up staying an hour, just catching up with people I grew up with or went to high school with. That sense of community means everything to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HolidayRay Ferragano with his daughter, Christine, and grandson Matt.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\n

Cinzia Leon of Moretti\u2019s Bakery added, \u201cWhat an incredible night! We saw so many new faces and familiar ones, and the energy was just beautiful. Santa Claus was amazing, and the Forest Avenue BID did an outstanding job. I\u2019m so proud to be part of West Brighton. Thank you to everyone who came out and made this evening so special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HolidayForest Avenue’s 20th annual Holiday Stroll featured Santa, a Cold Supermoon, and heartfelt testimonials about the tight-knit West Brighton community.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\n

Over the years, the Holiday Stroll has grown to include live entertainment, family-friendly activities, and community improvements. Whether visitors came from Randall Manor, West Brighton, Westerleigh, or New Brighton, the message was clear: you don\u2019t need to leave Staten Island to enjoy a magical holiday experience.<\/p>\n

\"SantaLocal businesses offered festive treats along Forest Avenue as Santa arrived in a horse-drawn carriage for the community celebration.(Advance\/SILive.com | Pamela Silvestri)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 West Brighton celebrated the 20th anniversary of its beloved Forest Avenue Holiday Stroll Thursday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-61404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}