Clinton Street Christmas Tree Sellers Get NPR Profile

WNYC’s Amy Eddings profiles Adam Parke and his son Gaylan who sell Christmas trees in Brooklyn, including the Heights:

NPR: Despite all their talk about experiencing another way of living, no one strays very far from their tree stalls. No Broadway shows…no sightseeing…just 12 hours a day of work. Parke helps deliver and set up an 11-foot tall Balsam for a young family in Brooklyn Heights.

Brooklyn Mom: Hey guys, do you wanna see the tree?

Parke, to a little girl: Did you help pick the tree out? Good job!

Parke’s 29-year-old son, Gaylan, says New York City’s action has a way of coming to them. Like the night when a tipsy executive, walking home from an office party, offered to help them unload.

Gaylan: And he realizes he’s getting his pants dirty. So he stripped, he took his pants off. So he’s in his dress shoes, knee high socks, boxers, and an undershirt, on top of the truck, unloading trees with us.

The reward at the end of a long day is a sleeping bag, on the apartment floors of Parke’s friends. Jane Hamburger is one of them. She gestures to a small living room, littered with sleeping bags.

Listen to full MP3
Photo: WNYC Amy Eddings

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