While not scientifically proven, encircling oneself in an excess of twinkling lights is a mood lifter. Sprinkle in a generous dose of oversized Santas, reindeer blinking at you, and general holiday chaos in the form of plastic lawn ornaments and it's difficult to not be briefly lifted out of the hellscape that is real life. And there is nowhere else in New York City that will slap you in the face with holiday cheer like Dyker Heights.
"It is a twinklin' freakin' wonderland over here... drippin' with class," one local visitor once very accurately declared.
And if ever there were a year that we needed to mainline this kind of Clark Griswold spirit, it is 2020. Thankfully, some Dyker Heights residents still lit up the neighborhood this year, though when photographer Sai Mokhtari was there over the weekend some of the showstopping homes were dark. "The only hugely memorable house that was decorated is the one with the many many many figurines on the front steps," Sai reported back, "you know, the 'Christmas on Mescaline' one."
However, the neighborhood is still "decorated up like crazy and plenty of people are still jamming as many lights on their front yards as possible," she assured. Click through for a look.
Like what you see and want more? Dyker Heights is located between Bensonhurst and Bay Ridge. If taking mass transit, you'll need to take the D train and get off at 79th Street in Brooklyn, but note you'll have a 20 minute walk up and down some hills to and from (MAP). Or hop on a bike:
