Brooklyn, NY – A Pacifier Tree Grows In Borough Park

Brooklyn, NY – A long standing Scandinavian tradition has apparently, quite literally, taken root in the heart of Borough Park as two trees outside a 48th Street apartment building seem to be growing an unusual crop – used pacifiers.

“The old building superintendent used to hang the pacifiers that he found dropped on the ground on the trees,” one building resident told VIN News. “Over time people started bringing their children here and they would hang their pacifiers on the tree as a way of getting their children to give up their pacifiers.”

There are actually two pacifier trees at The Plymouth, located at 1450 48th Street. According to a recent article in Mishpacha’s Family First Magazine, the pacifier tree phenomenon began approximately seven years ago and today, the trees average one ceremonial pacifier hanging a week, as children make the trek to 48th Street to bid adieu to their beloved pacifiers, easing a rite of passage that can sometimes prove difficult for toddlers and frustrating to their parents. While hundreds of pacifiers have been hung over the years, approximately several dozen pacifiers adorn the trees at any given time as many are blown away or fall to the ground as their supporting branches break.

While pacifier trees may be rare in Brooklyn, they are not uncommon across the Atlantic and both the Swedish word “napptrad” and the Danish work “suttetrae” translate to “pacifier tree”. Pacifier trees can be found in Slottsskogen, Sweden, Aarhus, Denmark, in Frederiksburg Garden, located near Copenhagen and in Mannheim, Germany, with pacifiers tied to the tree with ribbons, often with attached notes and pictures as well.