One of the sweetest and more recent traditions of holiday time in NYC is the Museum of the City of New York’s (MCNY) Gingerbread NYC. 2025 marked this competition’s fourth year. This exhibit runs until January 19, 2026.
“The Museum invites professional and amateur bakers from across the five boroughs to design edible creations that celebrate the city’s iconic places, buildings, and spirit—rendered entirely in gingerbread. The theme, ‘Iconic New York,’ invites bakers to reimagine a building, place, or thing that represents the heart of their neighborhood, community, or borough,” states the MCNY’s webpage for this contest.
Among the confectionery competitors were a Statue of Liberty, the New York Botanical Garden, and from our area: the Newton Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant. It’s not unusual that last one would inspire holiday frivolity. When I first saw the digester eggs of Newton Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant they reminded me of Christmas tree ornaments.
The gingerbread version of the Newton Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant won three awards for its creator, Kate Sigrist. It was awarded: Best Borough Spirit, Most Unique, and Best Overall.
In the brief bio of her next to her entry it says, “Kate is a compulsive maker and has never met a topic that she can’t turn into an all-encompassing, living-room-devouring project. Baking is one of her favorite skills in her ongoing mission to make all the things.”
This year’s six judges span expertise in baking, fine art, community, and comedy. Aliyyah Baylor, Co-Founder of Harlem’s bakery, Make My Cake, which is a Food Network and New York Times favorite. Magnolia Bakery is represented by its CEO and Chief Baking Officer Bobbie Lloyd. Jonah Nigh is a comedian, public speaker, and fundraising executive who most recently served in leadership positions at The Juilliard School, The New School, and the Jewish Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art weighs in via their Drue Heinz Curator in Charge, Department of Drawings and Prints Nadine Orenstein, in addition she was a former judge of the National Gingerbread House Competition in Asheville, North Carolina. Amy Scherber is the owner and founder of Amy’s Bread and operates Chalsty’s Café at MCNY. Melba Wilson, is the owner of three restaurants named Melba’s; she is also a cookbook author, a philanthropist, and a community activist.
Gingerbread NYC continues through January 19, 2026 at the Museum of the City of New York (1220 Fifth Avenue, NYC. at 103rd Street)
The Greenline 