It takes a special person to convince strangers to let you bring a 110-ton crane onto their property to rip out their beloved tree and drive off with it.
Yet year after year, Erik Pauze does just that.
He’s the head gardener at Rockefeller Center, where he’s worked for 34 years. In that role, Pauze cares for thousands of plants across the complex, but his most well-known project – the one that millions of people will admire, judge and take selfies with — is the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, and it’s been part of a tradition dating back to the Great Depression.
The tree will be lit this Wednesday night on national television in a two-hour prime-time special.
https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/his-job-is-to-pick-the-rockefeller-center-christmas-tree-it-takes-all-year
