New York Halloween Parade in 2024 has a new love: the crowds

PUSH EAST, PUSH WEST

The Halloween Parade here in New York City has been a treasured experience for DANIEL PLUS LAUREN, both dressing up, and covering it. Thursday night’s 51st Annual celebration was no different, except the in-crowd. Right at the center of 13th and 14th Street and 6th Avenue, DPL learned quickly what a warm Halloween night in history and a post New York Yankees World Series parade crowd was like. The answer, it’s massive, and packed at every square inch. DPL learned quickly you’ve got no where to move if you’re trying to move.

If you’ve somehow haven’t been in the crowd of the New York Halloween Parade, here’s what you need to know. Know what street you’re going to watch the parade at, think about this days or weeks before, and get there early to avoid fight the crowds. Please be aware that 6th Avenue (Avenue Of The Americas) is cut off, you can’t cross the street on all streets from Canal Street to 16th Street. Once you’re on either side of 6th Avenue, your best bet out of a spot or out of parade crowd is heading to 14th Street, going to 5th Avenue, trying to find a street where you can cross, or heading back to Canal or 16th to get back on 5th or 7th Avenue.

***UPDATE***

***Shortly after this article was published, New York’s Village Halloween Parade Artistic/ Producing Director, Jeanne Fleming, reached out to DANIEL PLUS LAUREN to address the crowd problem. Jeanne has advocated that the full length of the parade route be restored, cut to a shorter route originally by Mayor, Michael Bloomberg. Jeanne has been petitioning the city for years to restore the route at full length, because the Halloween Parade has much larger crowds than other events, but no luck. The area that DPL was at particularly is undergoing construction for the next year, making it extremely difficult to move. Jeanne also says the NYPD are fully aware of this crowd problem, but the NYPD’s hands are tied, because the MTA’s installing subway elevators for disabled passengers.***

Now you have 2 choices if you decide to participate in the New York Halloween Parade whether as a marcher or an attendee. First the attendees, please be ready to stay in your one spot for the entire night if you have no plans to move before it ends. But if the takeaway is the crowd is not for you, then march in the parade, and not just to avoid attendees. You can march unofficially by joining the parade at Canal Street and 6th Avenue to march along up to 16th Street. Then of course you’ve got the official way, donate and buy a spot ranging from $100 to $500 to be on the float, get on TV, march with influencers, and party all night long.

DANIEL QUINTANILLA