Even as the pandemic threatened to ruin Halloween, New Yorkers dressed up, they danced, they played and they even skated from morning to night.
Even as the pandemic threatened to ruin Halloween, New Yorkers dressed up, they danced, they played and they even skated from morning to night.
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
ByTroy ClossonNov. 1, 2020
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
Even as the pandemic threatened to ruin Halloween, New Yorkers dressed up.
They danced, they played and they even skated from morning to night.
Here’s what I saw throughout the day →
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
At a festival in Harlem, a boy dressed as Batman chased his brother, who wore a Superman costume.
I asked a group of kindergartners from P.S. 153 what they dressed as, and they shouted excitedly over one another.
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
Alex Espeut, 32, told me the social isolation of the pandemic had been “extremely hard” for her son, Tatum, 8, who was born with cerebral palsy. She hoped the holiday, even if modified, could “give him a little happiness.”
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
This was one of the few times since 1979 that Anna Hassel, 70, had not handed out sweets from her home.
“I really feel for these kids, and anything I could do to make the day special was worth doing,” she said.
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
Later, I traveled to Bethesda Terrace at Central Park. Costumed dancers twirled and swayed to music.
Javier, one dancer, told me, “If we have to sanitize and wear masks to still have fun, we’ll do it.”
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
At the park’s Skate Circle, a 6-year-old girl in a blue princess dress spun in circles with her father. A woman donning all black grooved to ’80s music. A 56-year-old man swerved past in a rainbow-colored costume.
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
By 9:30 p.m., I had made my way to Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side.
Bars and sidewalks were bustling, but not overflowing. Orange hues from string lights engulfed crowded outdoor seating areas.
Did the Pandemic Destroy Halloween? Here’s What We Found
At a lounge, onlookers loved Oscar, a cocker spaniel dressed as a lumberjack.
Nina Rivera, a server at the lounge, told me she and others “weren’t sure how this would go, but everyone’s been in a great mood.”
More news from the New York region.