Empire State gets Chanukah lights

NEW YORK, Dec. 14 (JTA) — For Chanukah, a holiday of miracles, a young girl is getting her wish — and New Yorkers will be basking in its glow. On the first night of Chanukah, Dec. 23, the lights on the Empire State Building will shine blue and white, thanks to 9-year-old Mallory Blair Greitzer. Greitzer, a New York City resident, wrote a letter to the building’s management company asking it to change the colors of lights for Chanukah. The company refused. Greitzer says she was told that the landmark’s lights are blue and white for Israeli Independence Day and that the lights can only honor each religion one day per year. A letter written by Greitzer’s father was also rejected. Unhappy with the outcome, he then wrote directly to real-estate magnate Leona Helmsley, who owns the company that manages the building. Against the advice of her staff, Helmsley granted the Greitzers’ request. Mallory Greitzer will turn on the lights. The next night, Dec. 24, they will be red and green in honor of Christmas.