Fox News Christmas Tree rebuilt after arson

Fox News Christmas Tree rebuilt after arson

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas again.

The Fox News tree that was set ablaze in Midtown by a vagrant firebug was quickly rebuilt Thursday ahead of a live-broadcast relighting ceremony.

Workers assemble ornaments during the reconstruction of the Christmas tree outside News Corp headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.
Seth Gottfried
Workers climb on top of the Christmas tree while assembling it in front of the News Corp building in Midtown, Manhattan.
Workers climb on top of the Christmas tree while assembling it in front of the News Corp building in Midtown, Manhattan.
Seth Gottfried

Photos show workers installing the 50-foot metal-framed artificial fir on Thursday morning — one day after the symbol of holiday spirit was torched, allegedly by an arsonist with a lengthy rap sheet.

Builders hung dozens of red and white ornaments on the tree and topped it with a large red star, the images show.

The new Christmas tree is estimated to be 30 feet tall, which is 20 feet smaller than the previous tree.
The new Christmas tree is estimated to be 30 feet tall, which is 20 feet smaller than the previous tree.
Seth Gottfried
A crew member adds a finishing touch with a big red star on top of the new Christmas tree.
A crew member adds a finishing touch with a big red star on top of the new Christmas tree.
Seth Gottfried
The new Christmas tree is lifted up after it was burned down by alleged suspect Craig Tamanaha.
The new Christmas tree is lifted up after it was burned down by alleged suspect Craig Tamanaha.
Brigette Stelzer

On Wednesday, Craig Tamanaha, 49, a homeless man known to police for committing a series of low-level crimes, was arrested for allegedly setting the tree on fire — then soon released by a judge due in part to New York’s lenient bail reform laws.

But the new Christmas conifer was triumphantly towering once again by around noon, in time for a lighting ceremony that will be aired at 5 p.m. on Fox’s “The Five.”

Fox News Christmas Tree on fire
Homeless man Craig Tamanaha was arrested for torching the Fox News Christmas tree and then quickly released from jail.
citizen

Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott called the new tree “a sign of resilience and hope” in the face of a horrible act.

The destroyed tree was originally lit during the network’s “All-American” Christmas special on Sunday. It glowed outside the News Corp. building  that houses Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post on the tourist-heavy block of Sixth Avenue and West 48th Street.

Fox News Christmas tree
A new tree was quickly put up today around noon. Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott called it “a sign of resilience and hope.”
Brigette Stelzer