There will be holiday lights on Manhattan Avenue this holiday season because about seventy-five local businesses dug deep into their pockets. Just after Thanksgiving the firm Illuminations by Arnold will begin hanging the holiday lights along the avenue thanks to a group of local merchants who took the task on themselves. There was an outpouring of support for lighting the avenue, which we saw a lot of in response to a previous Greenpointers story.
The businesses that contributed will hang a flyer in their windows so be sure to show them some love in your Greenpoint holiday shopping. Patronizing these establishments is a way of saying thank you to these local heroes.
There are too many names to thank all the contributors, but a few names deserve a special mention. Leah Archibald of Evergreen Exchange (2 Kingsland Avenue) helped cover the taxes. Tony Argento of Broadway Stages (203 Meserole Avenue) contributed a huge $2,500.00 to light the Avenue. Sonny Mukhopadhay of 207 Bedford Avenue deserves a special thank you for contributing $20,000.00 to the project. Donna Siafakas of Peter Pan Donut Shop (727 Manhattan Avenue) contributed $2,000 to the local lights and first inspired others to get involved in the project.
The success in getting the avenue lit though is about more than money. Local business people spent time and money organizing the effort and they deserve a shout out. Nick Giannos of Greenpoint Floral Company (703 Manhattan Avenue) is the kind of concerned, civic-minded merchant who is an asset to the community. His employee Irene Wisnieswska volunteered to go door to door from Norman Avenue to Huron off the clock to get businesses to sign up. Ed Veneziano of Cato’s Army and Navy (654 Manhattan Avenue) and Herman Hernandez of the Greenpoint Toy Store (738 Manhattan Avenue) did a lot of the heavy lifting to organize the efforts.
Thanks to everyone who helped make the neighborhood a brighter place during the holidays!
You failed to list a big benefactor Sonny Mukhopadhyay, I believe his generosity ($20,000.00) made this happen. I think he deserves a nod for this as well.
Hey Donna! We definitely did not forget Sonny. “Sonny Mukhopadhay of 207 Bedford Avenue deserves a special thank you for contributing $20,000.00 to the project. ” is written in the paragraph we highlighted just of the many businesses that contributed. We are grateful to every single one of them. =)
My 23 year old daughter moved to Greenpoint in 2012 from Boston and sent me a photo tonight of Manhattan Ave. She has such joy that it feels like the holidays are being celebrated by her neighborhood. Thank you!! I told her that this is what makes a community out of a large city. Thank you all you wonderful donors. For every member of this community, there is something you can contribute- even just a gesture of kindness. Your neighbors, my daughter, notice … and it makes a BIG difference.
As a native New Yorker that was displaced from her Washington Heights home & made Greenpoint her second home in the last three years, this story was very moving for me and gives me hope as I watch my city die and get taken away from me, my family, my loved ones and my neighborhoods due to gentrification. The lights on Manhattan avenue really warmed my heart and I appreciate you covering this story. I hope that the newer businesses and all the chains can lend some of their overflowing dollars to the neighborhood they colonized.