Dromm, Stavisky, Grodenchik host Children’s Holiday Reading and Tree Lighting in Elmhurst

USANewsOnline.Com Desk, Elmhurst, NY – On Friday evening, NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Elmhurst, Jackson Heights), NY State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens), NYC Council Parks Committee Chairperson Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens), NY State Assembly Member-elect Catalina Cruz (D-Corona), students from PS 13, PS 102, IS 5, Newtown High School and leaders from a host of civic organizations gathered at CC Moore Homestead Playground on Broadway between 82nd Street and 45th Avenue in Elmhurst, Queens for the neighborhood’s Fourth Annual Holiday Reading and Tree Lighting.

At the event, local students and other attendees sang “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “O Christmas Tree,” and other popular holiday carols.  After the caroling, Dromm read the poem A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore, renowned author and Elmhurst resident whose family’s estate encompassed much of the neighborhood at the beginning of the 19th Century.  The poem was also read in Mandarin by Newtown High School students.  Following the reading, attendees were treated to a performance and magic tricks by Ivy the Christmas Clown.  Dromm, Stavisky and Grodenchik then lit a Christmas tree which was decorated by students from PS 13, PS 89, PS 102, IS 5 and Newtown High School. The end of the event saw a special appearance by Santa Claus himself.

The organizations that co-sponsored are: the Elmhurst History and Cemeteries Preservation Society, Elmhurst Supporters of Parks, Community Board 4 Queens, Corona Community Ambulance Corps, the Corona Plaza Business Alliance, the Newtown Civic Association, the Perna Foundation for Kids, and the Queens Economic Development Corporation.

 
“I am pleased to host this Holiday Reading and Tree Lighting at Elmhurst’s historic CC Moore Homestead Playground once again,” said Dromm. “This special event provides Elmhurst families with an opportunity to celebrate the holidays with their neighbors.  I thank Senator Stavisky, Council Member Grodenchik, PS 13, PS 89, PS 102, IS 5, Newtown High School, our local civic organizations and all the other participants for helping me establish this important local holiday tradition.”

Photo caption  – NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm (center) reads the famous poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by author and former Elmhurst resident Clement Clark Moore at the Fourth Annual Holiday Reading and Tree Lighting in CC Moore Homestead Playground, Elmhurst. Press Release.