Newest Pandemic Shortage and Price Spike: Christmas Trees
Dec. 16, 2020 Diana Karvelis spent 15 minutes choosing just the right Christmas tree — a five-footer that cost $65 — at a stand in the East Village on a freezing weekday night. “In the past it’s been a ‘nice to have,’ now it’s a ‘need to have,’” she said. Ms. Karvelis, who was laid off from her job and moved to a new apartment in the midst of the pandemic, said that in a year when she could not see her family in person, the experience reminded her of cutting down a Christmas tree while growing up outside Detroit. She is one of many New Yorkers searching for comfort in coni...