Holiday Lights For Roosevelt Island But Not For The Bronx Zoo If Wildlife Conservation Society Has Its Way

Roosevelt Island Holiday Light decorations were being put up on Main Street yesterday. With the chill in the air, Thanksgiving arriving next week, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree standing but not yet lit, it's starting to feel like the Holiday Season is almost here.

The Roosevelt Island Holiday/Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held at Blackwell Plaza Thursday December 11. This is what it was like last year.

Roosevelt Island Santa Claus Image by Alexis Villafane

Roosevelt Island Blackwell House Christmas Tree Image from Roosevelt Island 360

There was a brief discussion during the November RIRA meeting concerning RIRA's contributing funds for the Main Street's Holiday Lights. Although the funding was approved due to the overwhelming support of RIRA's newly elected delegates, one of the new RIRA delegates objected to the idea of any Main Street Holiday Lights because of the additional use of electricity it would cause and increased carbon footprint.

Well, RIRA did not heed this delegate's call to put out the Holiday Lights but unfortunately the Bronx Zoo has done so. According to the Daily News:

The Bronx Zoo is pulling the plug on its annual Holiday Lights Show to save electricity - not just money.

Zoo officials said it's part of an ongoing effort to reduce its "carbon footprint" and make the festival cleaner and greener.

The light show - a nighttime wonderland of animal sculptures in lights - draws up to 100,000 visitors each holiday season.

I think this decision by the Bronx Zoo to cancel their annual Holiday Lights festival in order to reduce the carbon footprint is ridiculous and completely out of proportion to the very real environmental problem that does exist. New York City and State as well as the nation are going through some very difficult economic problems now and traditions light the Lights help people get through them. Should Rockefeller Center also cancel their Christmas Tree lighting?

What a bunch of Scrooges and Mr. Potters.