The Real Central Park Santa Claus

By [Laura Shin] The man in the Santa suit greeting families in Central Park is an 82-year-old photographer from the Upper East Side, but he is no fraud. Everything from Ed Bobrow"s snow-white beard to his warm personality is real. â??Ed exemplifies what we look for in a good volunteer, said Laura Frank, director of volunteer services for the Central Park Conservancy (CPC). â??His heart goes into it. Bobrow is a CPC volunteer and every year, he grows out his beard and transforms into the Central Park Santa Claus, taking pictures with children at the Belvedere Castle and the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center in the park. Hundreds of children and their families lined up Dec. 5 outside the Discovery Center, where they sang along with Christmas carolers, sipped hot chocolate and, of course, waited patiently for their chance to meet Santa. After the celebration, Bobrow led the family in a countdown to the lighting of the Discovery Center. â??The children are absolutely my favorite part, Bobrow said. â??Their reaction, their warmness and their excitement are all wonderful to see. Among the children who ran into Santa"s arms, whispered for a Christmas gift or gave him a hug, were Gabriela Carneiro"s two sons. â??They were shocked to see Santa Claus himself, Carneiro said. â??They were kind of frightened but it was nice. Central Park has been featuring Santa Claus since 2005. This year, Bobrow is â??Father Christmas, dressed in a Victorian-style Santa suit to go along with the Victorian Holiday Lighting ceremony that also took place Dec. 5. Bobrow is Jewish and believes all children should enjoy Santa Claus. That"s why he always wears a yarmulke under his Santa hat, so that when Jewish children come, he can remove the hat and assure them that, â??Santa is Jewish, too. â??I think Santa is a symbol of peace, giving and goodness, Bobrow said. â??I don"t think it has anything to do with religion. When he"s not donning his Santa costume, Bobrow works as a greeter at the Belvedere Castle and as a Greensward guide, helping visitors find their way around the park. He has been with CPC since 2004. About three years ago, he also became a volunteer photographer for the park. â??I enjoy helping people, he said. â??Helping them find their way, telling them about the park, I think that"s what I like the best. Bobrow is a native New Yorker. He worked as a management consultant and as an adjunct professor at NYU. He has written several books and traveled all over the world. He and his wife, Gloria, were married 54 years when she passed away two-and-a-half years ago. He has a son and daughter-in-law who live on the Upper West Side. Bobrow"s dedication to his volunteer work stems from his deep love for the park. It"s where he and Gloria spent so much time together and adopted a bench, and it"s where he produces some of his favorite photographs. Though he never studied photography and he didn"t start his photography career until his late seventies, Bobrow has had solo exhibitions, mentored young photographers and has been interviewed on television about his work. He always carries his Canon G10 with him. Most of his photographs are scenes he stumbles upon, like the reflection of a lamppost in a puddle outside of Belvedere Castle. Other times, the conservancy asks him to photograph events in the park. Though he always enjoyed taking â??snapshots, Bobrow began taking photographs three or four years ago at his wife"s suggestion. â??I miss her terribly, he said. â??Thank God for the photography because that is what keeps me going. Bobrow will be Father Christmas at the Belvedere Castle from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dec. 23 and 24. â??I think I enjoy it as much as the children do, but that"s the child in me, he said.