Happy Halloween, New York! 🎃👻
On today’s date, October 31, 1974, the first iteration of what became the famous Village Halloween Parade took place in Greenwich Village—starting out small with costumed puppets and artists, later evolving into one of the largest Halloween street-festivities in the world.
In today’s NYC Newsletter:
Best Halloween Events
Mayoral Race Updates, Emergency Executive Order, SNAP
Sweepstakes Poll: Win $75 Amazon Gift Card
Let’s get to it.
– Sofia Kurd.
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🎃 Happy Halloween! 🎃 Here are the best events happening today: NYC — Friday, October 31
🧟♂️7 – 11 PM: Village Halloween Parade returns with City Harvest and restauranteur Simon Kim as grand marshal, marching up Sixth Ave from Spring to 16th St. Costumed New Yorkers are welcome to join the lineup (6:30–8:30 PM at Canal). Free.
👯♂️3:30pm-midnight: 49th Annual Village Halloween Costume Ball: Outdoor event 3-7pm (free admission). Party 6:30-midnight ($20). Click here to learn more
🌯3pm-close: Chipotle is serving $6 burritos, bowls, salads, and tacos for anyone who shows up in costume. Funds go toward the Cultivate Foundation.
🍩All day: Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts for anyone who shows up in a Halloween costume.
Ⲷ4 PM & 5 PM (+ Nov 1): The Cathedral of St. John the Divine opens its crypt for the Crypt Crawl — a guided walk through underground passages and a look at how Halloween evolved from Celtic rituals to modern times. $20 general, $15 for students and seniors. Click here for tickets.
🚸6:30 PM: The Park Slope Children’s Halloween Parade — the country’s biggest kids’ parade — steps off from 14th St and 7th Ave, ending with music and community fun at Washington Park. Free.
🎥6:50pm: The Cat and The Canary (1927) Film: Film Forum (South Village). $17, Click here to learn more.
🕺8pm-midnight: The Salon 12th Anniversary Halloween Stomp: ‘A Secret Private Social Club’ in Murray Hill. Click here to buy tickets.
🪩9pm-1am: Anna Copa Cabanna + Joe Mcginty’s 10th Halloween S(t)inging Spooktacular Piano Karaoke Party: Sid Gold’s Request Room (Chelsea), Free entry. Click to learn more
🛁11/1, 8pm: Brooklyn Bathhouse’s Nightmare On Prom Night Halloween Party: Brooklyn Bathhouse. Soak in the haunted bathhouse: Enjoy two saunas, a steam room, and three thermal pools. After your soak, head upstairs to party, drink, and dance! Click to learn more
NYC Fact Of The Day
🇲🇨 Central Park is larger than the entire country of Monaco—843 acres versus Monaco’s 499 🇲🇨
Pet Costume Contest Winner
The winner of this year’s NYC Newsletter Halloween Pet Contest is…
🥳 Morty Nabs, the french bulldog from SoHo! 🥳
We love your costume, Morty!
🎉🎊
Morty as a dinosaur
Local News
Are you registered to vote in the NYC Mayoral Elections? Check and register here.
1. Mayoral race update – Zohran Mamdani vs Andrew Cuomo vs Curtis Sliwa
Multiple recent polls show Mamdani holding a strong lead over Cuomo and Sliwa. One Marist poll reports Mamdani ahead by 16 points among likely voters.
Big money is pouring into the race: former mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed Cuomo and reportedly donated over $8 million to a pro-Cuomo SuperPAC in a last-ditch bid to stem Mamdani’s momentum. Politico
While leading in numbers, Mamdani faces significant public concern over safety — one poll found 47% of New Yorkers believe crime would rise under his administration. NY Post
Endorsements are aligning: a key list of backers for the three-way race was published today, indicating how alliances are forming ahead of the November 4 election. City and State NY
2. Humanitarian & migration pressure in the city
The city of NYC extended an emergency order (Emergency Executive Order 878) for five days starting October 30 in response to an ongoing influx of asylum seekers arriving without plans for shelter.
This remains a high-stress operational challenge: shelter capacity, funding, and coordination with state and federal agencies are under strain.
3. Financial stress on vulnerable households & food-insecurity measures
With the federal SNAP (food-stamp) funding set to lapse November 1, New York State declared a separate state of emergency to expedite $65 million to food banks. Reuters.
Implication: economic insecurity is mounting for low-income New Yorkers; this may ripple into politics (voter sentiment), social services, and city budget priorities.
Famous New Yorker Bios
Fiorello La Guardia
Fiorello La Guardia, often called “the Little Flower,” was New York City’s reformist mayor from 1934 to 1945. Half-Italian, half-Jewish, and fluent in several languages, he was a populist firebrand who cleaned up corruption, built public housing, and expanded city infrastructure during the Depression. La Guardia read the Sunday comics over the radio to children during a newspaper strike and helped shape the modern, civic-minded image of New York leadership.
🚨Sweepstakes Poll🚨
🚨Participate in this week’s poll for a chance to win a $75 Amazon Gift Card:🚨(must be submitted before October 31, 2025 for entry).