Ghosts, Goblins, Superheroes, and Pricesses Dance on the Upper East Side: A Photoessay

By Vladimir Brezina

Halloween. But I was stuck at home working. It was clear I wasn’t going to make it to the Halloween Parade in the Village this year.

But around 5 p.m., unusual sounds from the street below began to penetrate my concentration. I discerned excited voices, children’s squeals, and then—the beat of dance music!

When I emerged to take a look, I found that my block of 92nd Street, between Madison and Park Avenues, had been blocked off and the First Annual Carnegie Hill Halloween Block Party was in full swing!

It was mostly for children. Little ghosts, goblins, skeletons, witches, dragons, tigers, superheroes, knights in armor, princesses, pumpkins, bananas, cobwebbed barrels and even tubs of popcorn, some young enough to be held in arms by their parents who clearly were having just as much fun, cavorted in the street. A little later there was a tiny parade, and prizes were awarded for best costumes. Then, the main business of the evening: trick-or-treating from house to house. Many houses in that block have for days been festooned with their own cobwebs, giant black spiders, and grinning skeletons in anticipation.

Here are a few photos.

Scary big yellow bird:

Photo session:

Now, these ladies of the organizing committee are scary:

Kids and adults:

Waiting for the prizes to be announced:

The suspense is nerve-wracking:

… and nail-biting:

Finally the scary lady in the white bridal gown awarded the prizes. This pumpkin won the first prize in his age group:

The Marx Brothers won the first prize in the family category (a diminutive Harpo is in there somewhere):

Red eyes seem very appropriate for Halloween, so I didn’t remove them from these photos. More photos are here.