Halloween

The New York Public Library is hosting the ultimate costume contest this Halloween, forcing participants to really "make it work." Not only must costumes be inspired by a book or author, but they will also be judged by Project Runway star and fashion consultant Tim Gunn. The Halloween Masquerade event takes place on Friday from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.
Get more details here

Events & Things To Do

To kick off Halloween weekend, watch NYC architects face off in a pumpkin-carving contest

Bjarke Ingels Group’s pumpkin tower from 2017; photo by Daniel Cole for Center for Architecture

October 19, 2018

To kick off Halloween weekend, watch NYC architects face off in a pumpkin-carving contest

Don't expect to see typical Jack-o'-lanterns at the Center for Architecture's pumpkin-carving event this Halloween. On Oct. 26, 20 New York City-based architecture firms will face off at Pumpkitecture!, the center's third annual competition, which tests the ability of architects to create amazing designs across any medium (ie: a round, orange gourd). Attendees can watch the architects live-carve inventive structures and vote for the People's Pumpkin.
More on the gourds

October 19, 2018

L train shutdown haunted house and nightclub brings transit terror to Bushwick

The impending 15-month L train hiatus has lots of people wanting to stand on a chair and go "eek!" to begin with, but some clever hosts have found a way to turn transit terror into a Halloween happening. The L Train Shutdown & Club Transit haunted house and nightclub, which opened yesterday and will run through November 3rd, serves up a chilling six-months post-shutdown Brooklyn where "things did not go as planned" in a 40,000-square-foot Bushwick warehouse.
The full horror, this way

Reserve tickets to celebrate Halloween with de Blasio at Gracie Mansion

Via de Blasio’s office

October 15, 2018

Reserve tickets to celebrate Halloween with de Blasio at Gracie Mansion

Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray on Friday opened the free ticket giveaway for festivities at Gracie Mansion this Halloween. From Friday, October 26 to Sunday, October 28, guests will be able to tour the historic home decked out in a haunted theme and enjoy activities like face painting, story-telling, a magic show, and arts and crafts. Expect both tricks and treats from the couple at this annual spooky celebration.
Here's how to get tickets

Events & Things To Do

All of the spooktacular events coming to the Merchant’s House Museum this Halloween

Photo via MHM

October 8, 2018

All of the spooktacular events coming to the Merchant’s House Museum this Halloween

What better way to celebrate Halloween this year than a history lesson in 19th-century death and mourning? The Merchant's House Museum released its list of "events to die for" happening in October, all of which promise to be a ghostly good time. Spooky events include a walking tour following Edgar Allan Poe's life in Greenwich Village, a reenactment of an 1865 funeral, candlelight ghost tours of the most haunted house in Manhattan, and much more.
More on the eerie events

Events & Things To Do

2018’s best NYC neighborhoods for Halloween trick-or-treating

Trick-or-treating in Brooklyn, via Flickr cc

October 8, 2018

2018’s best NYC neighborhoods for Halloween trick-or-treating

Once again this year, in addition to the annual Village Halloween Parade, October 31st promises to bring out a veritable parade of pint-sized, adorably costumed youngsters hell-bent on scoring treats and scaring parents and each other. While urban trick-or-treating is nothing like the suburban version, it has its perks (apartment buildings can be like hitting the jackpot)–and its fair share of friendly neighbors, stores, businesses and neighborhood events. Technology–local-social site Nextdoor has a trick-or-treat map that neighbors can add themselves to if they're handing out candy–makes things easier and safer. Like so many other topics, New Yorkers love to argue over which neighborhoods offer the best bounty. Below are a few picks among the least tricky with the best treats.
Where the treats are this Halloween

Go pumpkin picking and trick-or-treating on Governors Island

Photo via Governors Island

October 1, 2018

Go pumpkin picking and trick-or-treating on Governors Island

It's officially October, which means it's time to start planning your fall agenda. And while there are plenty of great places for pumpkin picking and foliage peeking outside the city, there are still some ways to enjoy autumnal activities without leaving NYC. On Governors Island, you'll find one of New York City’s only pumpkin patches, complete with a backdrop of fall foliage, live music, a beer garden, and pumpkin painting with the Children’s Museum of the Arts. And on Saturday the 27th, the Island will host free trick-or-treating.
Get the details

Events & Things To Do

NYC trick-or-treat: The best neighborhoods for sweets and scares

Screen capture of ‘Hocus Pocus’

October 23, 2017

NYC trick-or-treat: The best neighborhoods for sweets and scares

By Susan Cohen

Halloween is a lot like real estate; both the holiday and the industry place a premium on size and neighborhood, it's not unheard of to hear phrases like "tons of it" and "prime location" used to describe trick-or-treating or a new listing, and when it comes down to it, apartment hunters and trick-or-treaters want the same things: the best block, thoughtful exteriors, attention to details, and most importantly, value. Ahead, 6sqft has put together a list of some of the best blocks across the five boroughs to score sweets and scares. Just remember to bring along your broker parent and to count the square feet pieces of candy.
Where to spend Halloween this year

October 28, 2016

The Urban Lens: A walk through the wild and wonderful Village Halloween Parade

By James and Karla Murray

6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, award-winning photographers James and Karla Murray return with a series of snapshots from last year's debaucherous Village Halloween Parade. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Started by Greenwich Village mask maker and puppeteer Ralph Lee in 1973, the Village Halloween Parade began as a “wandering neighborhood puppet show.” The event was a walk from house to house in Lee's neighborhood, created for his children and their friends to enjoy. In the three years that followed, the parade took on new shapes and sizes, propelled first by George Bartenieff and Crystal Field of the Theater for the New City, who staged the production in its second year as part of their City in the Streets program; and then two years later when the parade became a non-profit with its own resources to put on a major show. By 1985, the parade morphed into an extravaganza that marched down Sixth Avenue, attracting 250,000 participants and onlookers. Today, the Village Halloween Parade is the largest celebration of its kind, considered by Festivals International to be "The Best Event in the World" for October 31st.
see more here

These sweet maps reveal the most popular candy by state and country

By Metro New York

With Halloween around the corner and shelves stock full of candy, it’s hard not to be tempted to buy our favorite brand. But what is the most popular one in the entire country? According to research done by a UK website called FamilyBreakFinder, which describes itself as “the UK’s favorite site for family friendly holidays, short breaks and days […]

Uncategorized

October 31, 2015

Mapping the Most Popular Halloween Candy by State

6sqft has already brought you a map of what Americans love to eat most by state, but when October rolls around, New Yorkers forget about the avocados (yes, that's our state's favorite food) and move on to sweeter treats. So before you get yourself into a sugar coma today, check out this fun map of the most popular Halloween candy by state (h/t Mashable). Turns out, the most number of states chose candy corn, but Reeses Peanut Butter Cups had the highest number of total votes. New Yorkers, however, have a very strange favorite...
See what it is

Events & Things To Do

October 29, 2015

Map Shows Where Our Pumpkins Really Come From

Unfortunately, the pumpkins at Whole Foods don't come with labels like "local" or "wild caught," but the good news is that your Halloween purchase likely comes from nearby. This interactive map from the Washington Post highlights the total acres of pumpkins harvested, by county, in 2012. It was created using data from USDA Agricultural Census and shows that "pumpkins are grown commercially in just about every county in the Northeastern states."
Find out more

Events & Things To Do

October 28, 2015

Surreal Estate: NYC Listings That Are Scary, Hairy, and Totally Hideous

As if New York City home prices, monthly rents and apartment sizes weren’t scary enough. Between the horrors of Airbnb, overpriced dorm-style “co-living,” super-expensive micro-apartments, and Donald Trump, it’s hard to imagine we'd need Halloween to scare ourselves silly. But scare we do. Because of listings like these that know no season. Because sometimes real estate gets a little too real. From spookily dilapidated to eerily obscure to downright hideous, 6sqft has rounded up some of the most horrifying listings out there.
Be very afraid

October 26, 2015

Frightgeist Map Shows What the Most Popular Halloween Costume Is in Your City

Still up in the air about your Halloween costume, but want to make sure you're not one of 10,000 Donald Trumps wandering around NYC on Saturday? Check out this cool map called Frightgeist that shows what the most popular costumes are in cities across the country. Using Google Trends, the map from Google News Lab pulled the top 500 costume searches to create this handy national- and local-based resource.
Some fun facts from the map

Events & Things To Do

October 19, 2015

Eeeek! This Frightful $550K Village Fixer-Upper Is a Diamond in the (Very) Rough