LIGHTS OUT!
Frank Seddio selling his beloved
Canarsie Christmas lights house
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COURIER L 4 IFE, DECEMBER 3-9, 2021
BY BEN BRACHFELD
Canarsie may be losing its
shine!
The man behind Canarsie’s
most famous holiday lighting
display, former Democratic
party boss Frank Seddio, has
put his building up for sale —
potentially ending the half-century
old tradition that rivaled
the most decadent displays
from across the Five Boroughs.
At the corner of Flatlands
Avenue and E. 93rd Street, Seddio
and his trusty team of helpers
would cover his law offi ce,
which he shared with infl uential
party lawyer Frank Carone,
with over 150,000 holiday
lights, moving fi gurines, and
blow-up animals that brought
thousands of visitors each year
to marvel at the bright display.
“We are probably the most
elaborate Christmas display in
the city of New York, including
the Rockefeller Center. What
do they have? They have a tree,
which is bigger than mine, but
that’s it,” the politico said of his
display in 2018.
Now, though, the building
is on the market for an asking
price of $975,000.
The 3,400 square foot house
was built in 1931 and boasts
three bedrooms and one-anda
half bathrooms — but its biggest
selling point is its place in
Canarsie history.
“This is your chance to own
a piece of history in Canarsie,”
the listing reads. “The Seddio
house has been entertaining
thousands for more than half
a century with the magnifi cent
‘Canarsie Christmas House.’ It
has lit up the corner and faces
since the 60s.”
And Seddio has lit up the
corner.
The former Democratic head
honcho, who led the borough’s
party from 2012 until he stepped
down in 2020, bought the house
in 1986, when it was already
well known for its Christmas
lights display from the 1960s as
the dreamchild of its previous
owner, Frank Guarino.
“When Frank Guarino
passed, I made it a point to take
over and make him proud by
keeping his memory alive the
way he would want it,” Seddio
told Brooklyn Paper’s sister
publication PoliticsNY in 2019.
“He was like a father and a mentor
to me.”
But those days may soon be
over.
Seddio, currently recovering
from hip surgery, is moving
his Canarsie law offi ce in January
to Downtown Brooklyn, in
an effort, he says, to be closer to
the county’s courthouse buildings.
Meanwhile, Carone may
soon no longer need the space,
as he is under consideration
for a top job in the incoming
administration of Mayor-elect
Eric Adams, according to a Politico
report.
As such, Seddio will not
be hosting his light show this
year.
“One thing after another got
in the way, so we’re not able to
do it,” Seddio told Brooklyn Paper.
“I had hip surgery, which
kinda knocked me off my feet,
so we’re not doing it this year.”
Seddio, a fi xture in Canarsie
civic circles for decades, said
that the decorations included
about 350 animatronics and
“thousands upon thousands” of
lights, and the show expanded
every single year with ever
more knick-knacks, doodads,
and thingamajigs.
“We’ve been buying stuff
for 50 years,” Seddio said. “We
have an accumulation of 50
years worth of Christmas decorations.”
The former chair typically
threw a soiree each year to celebrate
opening night for his
Christmas display, featuring a
who’s-who of Brooklyn politicos
(the guest of honor in 2019
was Attorney General Letitia
James).
Owing to the pandemic, Seddio
elected last year to still put
up the light array but to forgo
the fi esta, though the public
was still able to walk by and
marvel.
“It’s time to bring some good
cheer,” Seddio said of last year’s
display. “This is the time to
have hope that things will turn
around and that we will be able
to not just celebrate the holiday
or celebrate our lights, but celebrate
life again.”
Now, while he will no longer
be getting lit, Seddio still holds
out hope that the new owner
may carry on the Canarsie custom.
“Maybe the new owner of
the house may want to do it,” he
said. “We haven’t decided yet,
we’ll see what happens when
that person comes along, if
they’d like to do it.”
JOLLY DAYS: Frank Seddio at his Canarsie Christmas house in 2018.
File photo by Caroline Ourso
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