Unique holiday NEST New York tree displays are filling Midtown with pleasant scents

Can NYC Streets Really Smell Good?

As the holiday season kicks off in Midtown’s Fifth Avenue, a popular shopping destination, a new initiative is underway to improve its often less-than-pleasant scents. Partnering with luxury fragrance brand Nest New York, efforts are being made to replace the usual city odors with enchanting holiday fragrances.

Goodbye to the typical mix of cigarette smoke, car exhaust, and food truck aromas. Instead, visitors can delight in scents like pomegranate, mandarin orange, pine, clove, cinnamon, and hints of vanilla and amber.

Toni Rakis, the creative director and chief brand officer, described the ambitious project aimed at transforming the bustling area between 47th and 59th Streets into a cheerful winter wonderland as a big undertaking. “Hundreds of pounds of expensive fragrance oil are continuously pumped through pipes located along tree displays in the area,” Rakis explained. Maintenance teams are on hand to ensure the fragrance supply remains plentiful throughout the season.

“Some people walk down Fifth Avenue and are genuinely surprised, asking, ‘Where is that scent coming from?'” Rakis shared, admitting that while the project brings its challenges, the experience is ultimately fulfilling. “It’s really fun to stroll up and down the street.”

The Fifth Avenue Association, which is sponsoring this aromatic venture, is enhancing the street with festive decorations. This year, they’ve collaborated with pop artist Donald “Drovertson” Robertson to add stylish winter paintings to the seasonal display, marking the initiative’s first pilot run in 2023.

This outdoor effort aligns with a broader movement in New York City to combat unpleasant odors in public spaces. Notably, recent visitors to Grand Central Terminal have noticed an improvement in air quality, thanks to a partnership with Bath & Body Works that pumps the scent of fresh fir leaves into the subway area during the holidays.

During a visit to the Fifth Avenue installation on its opening day, many pedestrians expressed their enjoyment of the enhanced shopping atmosphere, with some stopping to take in the festive scents.

Victoria Meister, originally from Buffalo and enjoying the city with her two young kids, remarked how the fresh aromas reminded her of family winter traditions. “It brings back memories of ice skating and the warmth of coming home,” she said. “It adds a cozy feel to the hustle of the city.”

Maggie Wilson, a Toronto student exploring schools in Manhattan, noted how the scent made her feel happy and excited about her upcoming Christmas stay in New York.

Katie Kahn and her nearly 14-year-old daughter Abby visited from South Carolina to celebrate Abby’s birthday. They both agreed that the air’s fragrance heightened their holiday spirit. “It smells like Christmas—like being in the woods picking out a tree,” Katie observed, emphasizing how it added warmth to the season.

Meanwhile, Paula Byrd and her daughter Sarah Beth from Covington, Louisiana, appreciated the scent, though they didn’t realize its significance at first. “We thought it was just a cute decoration,” Paula said, highlighting the uniqueness of this experience in a big city.