Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (2012–present), and Hoda Kotb (2017–present). Tallest Tree on Record Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a large Christmas tree placed annually in Rockefeller Center, in Midtown Manhattan. The tree is erected in mid November and lit in a public ceremony in late November or early December. Since 1997, the lighting has been broadcast live, to hundreds of millions, on NBC's "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" telecast on a Wednesday after Thanksgiving. The broadcast features live entertainment and a tree lighting ceremony, where the tree is lit by the current Mayor of New York City and special guests.
Rockefeller family were particularly prominent in this area. The family was honored for its conservation efforts in November 2005, by the National Audubon Society, one of America's largest and oldest conservation organizations, at which over 30 family members attended. At the event, the society's president, John Flicker, notably stated: "Cumulatively, no other family in America has made the contribution to conservation that the Rockefeller family has made". In 2016 fifth-generation descendants of John Sr. criticized ExxonMobil, one of the successors to his company Standard Oil, for their record on climate change. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Rockefeller Family Fund both backed