Good guests on the Dyker Heights blocks
Every light in Dyker Heights hangs on somebody's house, and the families inside pay the electricity bill. Visitors are welcome to look, and most residents seem happy to share. A few simple habits keep it that way for you and for everyone who comes after.
These are homes, not an attraction
Nobody sells tickets to the Dyker Heights lights. The displays belong to private homeowners who pay for the decorations and the power, and the families live behind them all evening.
Most residents seem glad to share the show, and some have done so for decades. A crowd that treats front yards like a theme park is what wears that goodwill thin, as our history of the lights describes.
Stay on the sidewalk
One rule covers most of the others, which is to stay on the public sidewalk. Lawns and front steps are private property, even when a giant nutcracker stands right at their edge.
Don't climb steps for a better angle or lean on railings for a photo. The figures are not props, so leave them untouched. Keep children from reaching through fences too.
Many displays run on cables laid across the yard, and a tug on one can pull a figure over. Watching where you step keeps the decorations standing and your ankles in one piece.
Voices and music in the later hours
People in these houses go to work and send children to school the next morning. Keep voices down as the evening gets later, and save the carol singing for the bus.
Some houses play music with their displays, which is part of the fun. A portable speaker of your own on top of that is not, and it drowns out the house's own soundtrack for everyone else.
Driveways and parking, and why a tour helps
Parking around 84th Street is scarce on December evenings, and residents still need to get in and out. Never block a driveway, even for two minutes. Don't stop a car in the middle of the street for a photo either.
That traffic is one practical reason to come by bus or subway. A tour coach drops you outside the narrow streets and collects you again, while the subway route leaves no car to park at all.
On Scatto a New York's tour at ~$63, an English-speaking guide walks the group along the two most lit streets for about an hour. Moving with someone who knows the blocks makes it easier to keep to the sidewalk and out of the way.
A guide who knows the blocks
About an hour on foot with the group, no parking to hunt for, and the bus back to Bryant Park afterward. 4.6 from 2,400+ reviews on GetYourGuide.
Photos, and why drones stay home
Photographing a lit house from the sidewalk is what everyone does, and homeowners who decorate on this scale expect it. Where a sign asks for no photos, respect it by moving on to the next house.
Pointing a camera through windows or at people on their porches is another matter. Frame the decorations, not the family behind the glass.
Leave the drone at home. Flying over private houses and a crowded street at night is unwelcome, and New York City has strict rules on where drones may take off and land.
Tripods cause a similar problem on narrow sidewalks. A phone held steady against a lamppost does the job without blocking anyone's path, and our cold-weather guide covers gloves that work with a touchscreen.
Donation boxes and charity signs
Here and there a family collects for a good cause, with a box by the gate or a charity named on a small board. Giving is entirely up to you, but a small donation is a kind way to thank them for the show.
Nobody expects visitors to ring a doorbell or knock to say thanks. If a homeowner is out on the porch and happy to chat, a quick compliment on the display goes down well, and then let them get back to their evening.
The lights themselves cost nothing to see from the sidewalk, on any night they are on. What a tour charges pays for the ride and the guide, which our price comparison breaks down.
Litter and little ones, then the walk back
Residential blocks have few trash cans, so carry a bag for cups and wrappers. Leaving a cup on someone's garden wall is the quickest way to annoy the people who live there.
Children get excited around the figures, and that is half the point of bringing them. A word before you arrive about looking without touching saves a lot of tugging later, and our family guide has more ideas.
If you walk back to the R or D train, stay on the sidewalk until you reach the avenue. Our block-by-block guide suggests a loop through the main streets so you don't double back through the crowd.
The shortest version of all this is to behave as you would on your own street at night. Keep voices quiet and driveways clear, and leave the decorations alone. That covers nearly every complaint residents have.
How the neighborhood feels about the crowds
Feelings among residents are reportedly mixed. Many enjoy the visitors and the attention, while others mind weeks of traffic and noise on their street.
The surest way to keep the welcome warm is to visit like a guest. Come on a weeknight if you can (the calmer nights are in our timing guide) and leave the street as you found it.