For three decades a sign of peace has brought joy

Norris Ogard, 74, first put up the annual lights in response to U.S. involvement in the Gulf War.

Courtesy Norris Ogard

Peace to me is tranquility, safety, love and kindness. It embodies the virtues I was taught to which to aspire, and it’s small enough to put on a balcony railing. It’s one word that exemplifies all of that to me.”

Norris Ogard

Above West 235th Street, on a balcony at the Parkway House apartment building, is a glimmering set of gold twinkle lights that spell out the word “PEACE.” The 74-year-old man behind it, Norris Ogard, is in his 35th year of putting up the decoration neighbors say they look forward to each year.

“I just want to open my heart up to whoever sees it,” Ogard told The Press “It’s part of my being that I choose to impart through the lights.”

A self-described “old hippie,” the 40-year Riverdale resident was first prompted to put up the sign in 1990, after U.S. involvement in the Gulf War began under former President George H.W. Bush. Ogard saw other Christmas decorations around the neighborhood and wanted to make his own statement. It was “one of those ‘give peace a chance’ sort of things,” he explained.

Ogard said he’s always been a “peacenik,” a term used to describe someone who is against war and violence. As a young man during the Vietnam War, he burned his draft card in protest, adding that friends of his returned home wounded and traumatized. After witnessing injuries, drug addiction and exposure to Agent Orange — a toxic chemical the U.S. used to destroy forest cover — he was appalled by the “horrors of war.”

“I’ve always been peaceful in my heart and in my head,” Ogard said.

Before retirement, his career was shaped by that perspective. Ogard worked in HIV care for children with the BronxCare Health System, a not-for-profit hospital in the South Bronx, as well as a nurse practitioner in public schools, a massage therapist, an interior renovator and a freelance photographer.

After the holiday season has passed, Ogard leaves the lights up until they burn out, typically around April.

“Peace to me is tranquility, safety, love and kindness,” he said. “It embodies the virtues I was taught to which to aspire, and it’s small enough to put on a balcony railing. It’s one word that exemplifies all of that to me.”

When Ogard first started hanging the lights, neighbors didn’t know who was behind it, but over the years came to recognize him. This winter, several made comments to Ogard in person, and hundreds more liked and commented on a social media post he made showcasing the annual display.

A block away lives Anthony Biscardi, a neighbor since 2020. The sign was one of the first things he admired about the area.

“When I look up at it,” Biscardi said, “it brings me a sense of hope that peace is still possible, and it’s nice to see that represented in the community.”

A similar feeling of optimism was echoed by longtime residents. For Judy Sommerich, who has lived in Riverdale for over 50 years, seeing the word “PEACE” each year is a comfort.

“It stands as a powerful visual reminder that despite our religious, cultural, spiritual and political differences, what so many of us truly want is the same: peace,” she told The Press.