Thursday, October 1, 2026
The lights are shining bright and the holiday season is in full effect at 144 Weidner Ave., in Oceanside, as William H. Sitzman has once again pulled out all the stops in decorating his home.
“It’s a family tradition that dates back to when I was little,” Sitzman said. “We have so many lights and people always stop at the house.”
This year, aside from getting into the Christmas spirit, Sitzman had extra motivation to decorate his home. Underneath one of the trees at the house is a collection box, where Sitzman is generating donations for the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the families of New York City’s first responders who have been killed in the line of duty.
Sitzman, 36, has lived in Oceanside all of his life and works as a first responder in New York City as well as a volunteer for the Oceanside Fire
Department. In November, his family members and fellow volunteer firefighters came to his house to help him decorate, and it took them about two weeks to finish.
So far, Sitzman has collected about $100 in donations, but he said he hoped to get more as Christmas drew near. Sitzman said he was grateful for everyone who helped him decorate the house, which can be seen from Lawson Boulevard.
The bright lights that line the roof and panels of the house change colors, Sitzman said, and the tree on his front lawn has bright, icicle-shaped lights dangling from it. The lawn is lined with inflatable Christmas decorations, and the door to his home as a poster of Chevy Chase’s character Clark Griswold from the holiday classic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” “Every year it’s bigger and bigger,” he said. “There’s always lines of cars down the block, so we figured we might as well put it to good use.”
