What’s a nice Jewish boy doing giving Santa Claus tours in New York City? That question can be posed to Jared Goldstein, an ebullient East Village resident who in recent years has led visitors around the city on many kinds of tours.
“Somebody’s got to do it,” Goldstein said while describing his Santa tours, entertaining strolls to sites with connections to Christmas and the history of Santa in America. While there are already a lot of “holiday lights tours” of department store windows and such, Goldstein said, no one else has considered a Santa Claus tour. His tour celebrates the 200th anniversary of Santa, who, according to his research, was declared the patron saint of New York at a meeting at the old City Hall.
