A Tree Sold in Brooklyn

Brooklyn is many miles from land large enough to cultivate Christmas trees, but nice Fraser firs and other varieties of trees are readily available. From Atlantic Avenue to 9th Street, friendly tree vendors are braving the cold to offer you a beautiful bounty of holiday greens, wreaths and trees. Whether you're on the North or the South side of the neighborhood, there is a Christmas tree stand for you.

Smith and President Tree Stop:

In sun, snow or sleet, you'll find Carroll Gardens native Joshua Santiago manning this tree stand from 9 am to 10 pm, seven days week. He sells Fraser and Balsam firs in a range of sizes with free delivery anywhere in New York City.

An electrician by trade, Joshua started working holidays as a delivery man for the Smith and President Tree Stop when he was fifteen years old. He stuck with the stand each season and is now the main-man on the sales floor.

"The difference between a Balsam and Fraser fir is in the needles," Santiago says. "The Fraser firs are a lot sturdier and good for heavier ornaments. The Balsams are great too, depending on your taste, plus they run about ten dollars cheaper."

Smith and President's Balsam firs are from Canada, but the Frasers are shipped in from Oregon, which is also why they are a bit more expensive.

Clasping his hands, Santiago warms his fingers with his breath. The hours are long for a Christmas tree salesman in this near-freezing weather, he says, but at least he goes home with a quirky story to tell his friends.

"One time our supplier sent us a tree that was split strait down the middle. We had two trees that were flat on one side and full on the other. Believe it or not, we got rid of both halves. Somebody put it up against their wall and they loved it; the tree took up half the space."

Windswept Farms: On the corner of Clinton and Kane Streets.

Windswept Farms brings a taste of the North country to Brooklyn, selling trees at  on Clinton Street. With the beautiful collection of greens leaning against the brown bricks of the Episcopal church, the stand looks like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Anners Johnson and Luke LePlant are visiting Brooklyn from Vermont, and in their matching plaid jackets, they look equally picturesque.

"I just can't seem to get warm today," Johnson says, tucking her blond hair under a knit cap as she comes out of the heated church. Instead of Christmas jingles, they play the Beatles on a radio inside the stand. From 9 am to 9 pm, Johnson and LePlant sell Christmas wreaths, Vermont syrup and organically grown Balsam/ Fraser crossbreeds for ten dollars a foot.

Johnson has been selling trees in Brooklyn every year for ten years. During the off season she runs her landscaping company in Vermont and gardens at home.

"My sister and I grow all of the decorations for the wreaths," she says. "We use a lot of dried flowers which makes our wreathes unusual."

The stand on Clinton Street is one of many Windswept Farm stands throughout Brooklyn. Farm owner Adam Park has built a relationship with churches in the borough who let him use their lot for a piece of the profit. He also manufactures the maple syrup on his farm, so even if you already have a tree, check out this stand -- small-batch maple syrup is not to be missed.

Jose's Christmas Trees: On the corner of Smith and Pacific Streets.

On the North side of Smith street, Jose Rosario, local native and long-time tree salesman, stands in a small patch of sun to stay warm. For ten dollars a foot, Rosario sells Fraser, Balsam and Noble firs from Canada and offers free delivery anywhere within walking distance.

"I have the best prices in the neighborhood," he says. "I am not trying to make a killing. After Christmas I go on vacation for a couple weeks. I take my eighty-four-year-old mother with me to Puerto Rico for two weeks in January."

During the off season Rosario is a plumber, but his Christmas tree stand has been a neighborhood tradition for the last twenty-nine years and it seems like every other person who walks by waves and shouts hello.

"I'm fifty years old, born and raised around the corner, so I have my regular customers," Rosario says. "There is one girl that comes here, her mother has pictures with me from when her daughter was a baby. Now she's in college and still comes to me for her tree. I keep my customers because I am always fair with everybody."

Christmas on Clinton: On the corner of Clinton Street and Atlantic Avenue.

On a busy corner of Atlantic Avenue, two New York natives hold down the second largest tree stand in the neighborhood. The selection at "Christmas on Clinton" is so wide it takes up both sides of the street. Co-owner Vincent Van Rhyn steps out of his van in a brown Carhart work suit zipped up to his chin.

"Can I help you find a tree?" he asks with a big grin.

With Miguel Cruzado, this duo have been selling trees on the corner for thirty-five years. Born and raised on Pacific Street, Van Rhyn works for labor union 1199 during the off season and Cruzado is an Iraq veteran and contractor for the military.

The men work in shifts at this twenty-four-hour operation and offer trees from North Carolina and Canada. An average size, seven-foot-tree runs about $50 and four-footers start at $20. While you might think that Van Rhyn has seen some crazy things on the late shift, his wildest memory after thirty-five years happened in the middle of the day.

"The craziest thing I've experienced as a tree salesman was when a woman returned a tree because she said it was possessed. She said it kept falling over and smashing all her parents ornaments and was convinced there was a spirit inside of it, so we had to remove the tree from her home."

Got Trees?: On 9th Street between 3rd Avenue and Smith Street.

If you take the F or G train to Smith and 9th Street, you can't miss Charlie Devito's "Got Trees?" Christmas tree stand, famous for their fire barrel and inflatable Christmas grinch.

Devito is a Brooklyn business owner. He owns the tree lot as well as the storage unit right next door. In his heated trailer, Devito and his friends are all smiles and full of Christmas tree philosophy.

"Measure your tree space before you pick it out," Devito urges. "It's the biggest complaint we get: 'the tree is too big.'"

"You know people are at home trying to trim their tree with a butter knife," he says, cracking a smile. "Who wants to dig out their chainsaw in the middle of December?" 

Now in their 9th year, Devito and his crew are open from 10 am to 11 pm, selling the widest variety of trees in the neighborhood. Devito says the good ones come from North Carolina and the cheaper ones are from Canada. He offers the usual fare: Fraser fir, Balsum fir, starting at$25  and $10 more for each additional foot. For frugal customers, Devito also offers something a little different.

"The deal with the discount trees is that farm owners send their guys out on the property to cut down wild trees that look like Christmas trees. They bundle them all together and sell them for a discounted price. They aren't always as nice as the others, but during times of recession, a seven-foot tree for twenty dollars will do just fine."

In the big lot, Devito sets up his trees to look like a forest; a maze of green that feels like you're right on the farm. As the sun sets over his stand, he and his crew get their fire rolling.

"Tell your readers," he says, poking at the flames. "If they bring in a copy of your article, I will give them five dollars off their purchase."