New Yorkers are ice skating in heat wave at Bryant Park e
At Bryant Park, Christmas is in the air — even if the air is a balmy 80 degrees.
Temps in the city hit 80 on Wednesday and 74 degrees Thursday, but that didn’t stop people from ice skating and enjoying festive fare.
The Winter Village — complete with ice rink, Christmas tree, holiday market, Lodge bar, and cozy igloos — went up in Bryant Park at the end of October, but the unseasonal weather has left visitors questioning it.
“It’s too hot for Christmas, so you don’t really feel the ambiance,” said Maria Kalinina, 31, who was in town from Paris for a business trip. “I took some videos about how weird it is: people in t-shirts ice skating with the Christmas tree.”
Others were making the best of it — while wearing tank tops and other summery outfits on the ice.
“It’s like we are having a nice summer day,” said Lindsey Christensen from New Jersey who took her 6-year-old daughter skating Thursday. “It’s pretty wild. We came here to do seasonal things, and it doesn’t feel like the right vibe.”
She felt like she was getting a tan, adding “I should have put on sunscreen.”
Vendors are adapting with drinks and snacks more suited to warm weather.
The Lodge bar added a refreshing apple cider spritz ($18) to the menu for those who don’t want hot cider.
“It’s probably the most popular drink right now,” a bartender named Eva, who declined to give her last name, told The Post.
The S’mores N’More food stall put a cold hot chocolate on its menu last week when temperatures warmed up.
On Wednesday, they sold hundreds.
“It’s nice to be able to adapt to our surroundings,” said Sharon Tong, who has worked there for the last two seasons.
On Thursday, Lauren Lazzarro, who lives in New Jersey, was buying one for her daughter, Sarah. “She wanted a hot chocolate at Bryant Park Village, but she’s sweating.”
Sarah didn’t seem to mind. “It tastes just like hot chocolate, but it’s cold,” she enthused.
“As long as it has sugar, she’s happy,” her mom added.
Olivia Johnson, an 11-year-old from New Jersey who was skating with her mom, Jill, and wearing a flimsy flower skirt on Wednesday, said the experience reminded her of a time she went ice skating in Miami.
“I want to come back when it’s colder,” she said. “It just feels more natural that way.”