A New York City Christmas tree seller is giving away free trees to those who can’t afford one in Manhattan and Brooklyn this year — just say the code word: Solidarity.
Ellis Roberts is the founder of the New York State of Pine, a worker-owned Christmas tree cooperative. He said, each year, they save some of their best trees for people who are in need.
“If they come to our stand and use the word ‘solidarity’ as a code, then they get the best tree on the lot. And it’s to help people that have had a tough year because the rents in New York are insane and the wages don’t match,” he said.
The tree stands are on the Upper West Side at 86th St. and Amsterdam Ave. and in Park Slope at Underhill Ave. and St. John’s Pl.
The giveaway is not charity, Roberts said, rather mutual aid for working class people who deserve the joy of having a Christmas tree.
“People come up real emotional sometimes because it’s not a big gesture. A Christmas tree is a small thing, but it can mean a lot,” he said. “We hope that it’s an example of mutual aid and solidarity that can be replicated by other people.”
Roberts said he sees a lot of parents and kids taking up the offer, plus a number of people who hadn’t been working due to the writer’s strike. The “solidarity” offer stands year-round for anyone who remembers it, he said, but he put out the reminder Friday on local Facebook groups.
Member Z R. Cunningham said on Saturday morning he had given out about four trees for free.
On Friday, a mom came by with her two young children, who helped to translate. “She literally walked up phone in hand, you know, showing the Facebook post to me ‘cause she wasn’t confident in her English,” they said.
It was “one of the best parts” of the tree selling season, Cunningham said. “It’s spreading cheer.”
When Gothamist arrived at the Brooklyn stand Saturday morning, local couple Christina Hart and Kevin Karl were working out how to carry their free, “solidarity” tree home.
“I…
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