{"id":69824,"date":"2025-12-13T15:43:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T15:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/69824\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T15:43:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T15:43:11","slug":"christmas-tree-street-vendors-in-nyc-keep-new-yorkers-pine-ing-for-some-holiday-spirit-amnewyork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/69824\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas tree street vendors in NYC keep New Yorkers \u2018pine\u2019-ing for some holiday spirit \u2013 amNewYork"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter Pendule, like so many others, came to New York City for the holidays<\/a>. Unlike most, he arrived here early from near the Canadian border with a single mission in mind this holiday season: sell as many Christmas trees as he can.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although Pendule stayed briefly with an acquaintance in a Chelsea apartment, these days, he spends most of his time at work at \u201cLe Chic Shack<\/a>,\u201d his small, makeshift cabin on the sidewalk at the corner of Broadway and 73rd Street. He\u2019s surrounded by a small forest for sale, and gets some shut-eye in a vehicle when he isn\u2019t busy working.<\/p>\n

Pendule is part of a small seasonal shift of Christmas tree vendors, sometimes referred to as \u201ctree men,\u201d who set up on city sidewalks often in small shacks. For many New Yorkers, the sight of freshly cut firs, balsams and spruces lining the streets of the big city, filling the air with that unmistakable evergreen fragrance, is as important a sign of the holiday season\u2019s arrival as the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting.<\/p>\n

Vendors have been hawking Christmas trees on the sidewalks of New York since 1938, when the City Council<\/a> \u2014 in defiance of the popular Mayor Fiorello La Guardia \u2014 passed a law stopping his Christmas tree vending crackdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ChristmasAlthough Pendule stayed briefly with an acquaintance in a Chelsea apartment, these days, he spends most of his time at work at \u201cLe Chic Shack,\u201d his small, makeshift cabin on the sidewalk at the corner of Broadway and 73rd Street. He\u2019s surrounded by a small forest for sale, and gets some shut-eye in a vehicle when he isn\u2019t busy working.Photo by Claude Solnik<\/p>\n

La Guardia had ordered that all sidewalk tree vendors get licenses, a costly endeavor that nearly put the temporary trade out of business.\u00a0The Council was moved to pass legislation, known as the Coniferous Tree Exception, permitting the sale of Christmas trees on sidewalks as long as store owners approved.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The law refers to the right of \u201cstorekeepers and peddlers\u201d to \u201csell and display coniferous trees\u201d pre-Christmas, although it originally referred to \u201cChristmas trees\u201d until religious language was changed in 1984.<\/p>\n

This is Pendule\u2019s fifth year of bringing a small forest for sale to Manhattan. A family-run company (not his family) brings in the trees, grown in Quebec, and helps him set up shop, although Pendule helps outfit his small shack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt depends,\u201d Pendule said of the speed of sales, surveying his small forest of trees three to 12 feet tall. \u201cSome days we don\u2019t sell any, and some other day we can sell 20.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pendule and his partner build a small shack that keeps him warm and sheltered as he works, typically from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. A small heater near a workbench battles the winter chill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use wood that we find in the street. We use mostly palettes and scrap from trash,\u201d Pendule said in his sidewalk shack with plastic stretched overhead for shelter. \u201cThere\u2019s so much stuff lying on the side of the street that\u2019s great to find.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Le Chic Shack sells ornaments and other decorations, too.Photo by Claude Solnik<\/p>\n

Trees typically go for $30 a foot, and he will deliver and \u201cinstall,\u201d if you prefer. He has a wooden Jewish Star of David for sale as well, as some people buy Hanukkah bushes.<\/p>\n

And he makes and sells small wooden snowmen and reindeer (no red nose if you want just a deer without religious implications.)\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sell them, and people love them,\u201d he said of the various miniature figures displayed on a wooden counter. \u201cEverything is $20.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Artificial trees have taken over some of the business and small trees are in style, as many New Yorkers have small apartments. Bigger trees, however, also find homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of people have small apartments, so they go with a smaller tree,\u201d said Pendule. \u201cSome have room, so they know what they want.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Although the holiday gig is his winter business, Pendule said the rest of the year he helps supply first aid products to companies. He said he also co-founded a nonprofit to bring people with disabilities to the outdoors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He still looks forward to his annual trip to New York City, where others may see the Rockettes, even if retail is his destination. He views what he does as a service, a tradition, and an integral part of the holiday season.<\/p>\n

Not quite a tourist, he spends very little time away from his trees, watching over and selling to passersby and talking with more than his share of window shoppers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do fun things in New York, but it\u2019s pretty hard because of the long days, long hours,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s physical work with the cold and everything. It\u2019s hard to go out and meet people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cFree samples\u201d of Christmas tree scrapsPhoto by Claude Solnik<\/p>\n

He has gone rock climbing in Central Park, visited Christie\u2019s, where he saw a Picasso, and he has been to some wine bars.<\/p>\n

Over five years, he has found his own new holiday traditions. A local resident built a beautiful, small, colorful, artificial palm tree that Pendule displays, with colorful lights blinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to offer him exposure,\u201d Pendule said. \u201cIt\u2019s been four years since he has been building stuff for us just to show.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Pendule also hands out sheets of paper with the outlines of a scene, including a tree for children (and some adults) to color in, and\u00a0 frames and posts one at a time at his shack, currently displaying one drawn by \u201cHazel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a kid from the neighborhood,\u201d Pendule said. \u201cWe give Christmas drawings to kids, and if they bring them back, we exhibit them.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Pendule says he has gotten to know some people, hearing about their problems, plans, dreams, and daily lives. Not a sidewalk Santa, he is part of the season for many.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe organize a neighborhood block party here with music, Santa Claus and some other surprises,\u201d Pendule added.\n<\/p>\n

\"ChristmasPhoto by Claude Solnik \"\"Photo by Claude Solnik<\/p>\n

As we talked, some passersby stopped to stare, ponder, and maybe take a first pass before a purchase. One window shopper said simply, \u201cMuy lindo, nice\u201d before walking by. Another would-be shopper came by from a local store, mentioning his own love for the holiday and this time of year.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gotta cook, bring your family and watch movies,\u201d a man who said his name was Wilson said as he stopped in front of this small forest. \u201cHome Alone is the best one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was shopping for mistletoe, though, not trees, so he left this seasonal sidewalk shop empty-handed. \u201cI just gotta decorate. I waited the whole year for these three weeks,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cYou know that this is the happiest time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pendule said he started in 2020 when there were more homeless people, but said that, late at night, sidewalks these days empty out more than in recent years. \u201cAt 11, nobody\u2019s outside,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know what happened. People are going out less.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He sees himself as part of the neighborhood this time of year, part salesperson, part therapist, part friend.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI know everybody around,\u201d Pendule added. \u201cI have a lot of returning customers because my trees last. One person told me they kept their tree till April, which is crazy, but they still look good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pendule will head home right before Christmas and celebrate, although he said he tends to be tired by the time the holiday arrives. \u201cI go to my family, but I\u2019m burnt out,\u201d he said. \u201cI celebrate on December 25.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until then, \u2018tis the season to sell trees and small crafted reindeer and snowmen to those in the spirit for shopping.<\/p>\n