Saving Santa, Right Here in Greenpoint

Gregory Mone proves the existence of Santa Claus

According to Gregory Mone, science writer, journalist and Greenpoint enthusiast, Santa Claus is real, and he is, in fact, from the North Pole—the North Pole of Brooklyn, that is. In his latest book, The Truth about Santa: Wormholes, Robots, and What Really Happens on Christmas Eve, Mone makes a clever, creative and altogether convincing argument as to why Santa Claus could—and does—exist using science, technology and engineering. To frame his theory, Mone reached out to more than 25 of the leading scientists in the country to help explain Santa Claus’ highly advanced strategies in determining whether children have been naughty or nice, slipping into houses undetected by adults, and most importantly, delivering presents to countless households in a period of 12 hours. But first: a little history—forget what you know, Santa Claus in from Greenpoint, and though Mone grew up on Long Island, this little North Brooklyn neighborhood has had a profound effect on him.

“Greenpoint is the center of the universe, the garden spot of the world!” Mone said, sipping a coffee outside of Cup Café on Norman Street. It’s a beautiful day and Mone—along with his Brooklyn publicist, who just so happens to be his Aunt MaryAnne—has snagged a sweet spot on the bench outside, in a perfect patch of sunshine. “Our family has a legacy in Greenpoint, and there’s so much history here. There is also a legacy of shipbuilding. It’s always been a hardworking community with a tradition of inventiveness, and of engineering and scientific wackiness, it made sense that Santa Claus would be from here.”

Mone, who lived in Greenpoint for several years after college before moving to Massachusetts with his wife, explained that his grandfather was an inventor, and conducted experiments in a small warehouse that is now Syrena Bakery. “He and his friend actually blew the roof off of the warehouse in a botched experiment,” Mone said with a chuckle. “Two of my uncles were Greenpoint inventors too. I guess my view of the neighborhood is colored by my family history, so having Santa Claus be from here is also kind of an inside joke.”

The Truth about Santa is Mone’s second book, though he has published a plethora of articles over the years and approached the task of defending Santa’s existence with a wide base of scientific and engineering knowledge and know-how. While science is sometimes viewed as a way to disprove mythologies and objects of fantasy, Mone is convinced that conversely, it can be used to actually give credence to that which we consider to be imaginary or impossible.

“I came at this project armed with a lot of information, and I decided to apply it to Santa Claus,” Mone said. “The fun part was going back to these scientists and saying, ‘hey, two years ago we talked about robotic surgery for an article. How would it be if Santa Claus had robotic limbs?’ It made for some awkward conversations, but some were really fantastic.”

“The book is a way to get kids to talk about science more, and presenting engineering in a fun, non-intimidating way,” Mone continued. “For two years, every time I wrote a science article I started thinking, maybe I could connect this to Santa somehow. Science is about making the impossible possible, and if you think about these questions creatively, there’s no reason not to think rationally—it’s ok to stretch science beyond the lab.”

Mone has been writing science articles since he started at the graduate journalism program at NYU, where he studied science writing. In 2003, he wrote his first novel, The Wages of Genius, which chronicles the life of a young man convinced he is Albert Einstein incarnate—a subject that led him to delve deeply into Einstein’s theories, and emerge with the sense that they could logically and practically be applied to subject like, say, Santa Claus.

But does Mone himself believe in Santa Claus?

“Um, yes of course!” he said, as if shocked by the question. “And I think I’m going to get really good presents this year, because I’m easing Santa’s burden. Now he doesn’t have to explain himself!”