Rockefeller Center Tree To Stand With No Crowds This Year: Report

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — This year's annual Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree won't be its usual tourist draw due to likely restrictions on crowd size as the city continues to recover from its devastating coronavirus outbreak, according to reports.

Plans are still on to display a giant tree in the center of Rockefeller Plaza, but the center is still working out a plan for the annual lighting display, Bloomberg first reported. Millions flock to the Midtown plaza each year from all over the world to get a glimpse of the tree, which presents a serious danger to spread the coronavirus.

"Of course the Christmas tree will go up this year, and we will do a terrific and phenomenal tree," EB Kelly, a managing director for Rockefeller Center landlord Tishman Speyer, told Bloomberg. "We may need to reimagine what the tree lighting itself looks like."

Rockefeller Center is one of many New York City office centers that reopened this week as the city enters phase two of its coronavirus economic recovery. Offices, restaurants, retail stores, places of worship and salons were given the green light to reopen with reduced capacity on Monday.

New York City was the last region in the state to reopen this month due to the severity of the city's coronavirus outbreak, which was one of the worst recorded outbreaks in the world. More than 209,000 people have tested positive for the virus, with 17,657 confirmed deaths and 4,686 probable deaths according to the latest city data.

Read the full Bloomberg article here.