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Christmas tree vandalized at Bridesburg Recreation Center: ‘It is an absolute disgrace’

Things aren’t so merry and bright in Northeast Philly.

Dan Bennett (left) and Alan Meixner both resident of Bridesburg section of Philadelphia stop by neighborhood Christmas tree damaged by vandals. Both worked as electricians. Lights on Christmas tree in front of the Bridesburg Recreation Center were vandalized. Photograph of tree taken on Tuesday morning November 29, 2022.
Dan Bennett (left) and Alan Meixner both resident of Bridesburg section of Philadelphia stop by neighborhood Christmas tree damaged by vandals. Both worked as electricians. Lights on Christmas tree in front of the Bridesburg Recreation Center were vandalized. Photograph of tree taken on Tuesday morning November 29, 2022.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

The holiday season is off to a rocky start in Northeast Philly after the vandalization of the Christmas tree at Bridesburg Recreation Center.

Now, the Bridesburg Civic Association is asking for help finding the perpetrators, who they believe are a group of teens.

The group detailed the situation in a Facebook post Monday, writing that the vandals cut the lights on the tree and ruined the wiring. As a result, the Christmas tree, which was first lit for the season over the weekend, has since gone dark.

Police are investigating, and the tree will remain dark until authorities allow the group to check into the issue, the civic association said.

The group said that the lights on the tree were new, and cost about $1,000. The extent of the damage to the lights is not clear, but the civic association wrote on Monday that it is unlikely that the lights can be fixed.

“It is an absolute disgrace the way kids disrespect what is not theirs and ruin it for everyone else,” the group wrote online. “Mad, frustrated, pissed off, are only the beginnings of how we feel for our community.”