Tompkins Square Dog Parade Comes to a Halt
The lovable staple of the neighborhood is cancelled, but fans are holding onto some hope.
By: Catie Brown and Justin Pilgreen
The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade is an iconic event at the heart of celebrating Halloween in the city. However, fans of this 28-year-old event recently received heartbreaking news via the event’s Facebook page — the Halloween Dog Parade is cancelled. The organizers cited the Parks Department’s requirement of a large insurance and liability policy in order for this year’s event to occur, as reason for shutting down.
The Halloween Dog Parade, which was first held in 1990, has grown in popularity every year. The event is still put on by a small group of volunteers from the Tompkins Square Park Dog Run. According to Ada Nieves, co-host of the event, sponsors are typically brought in to help with cost but the required insurance policy for this year’s estimated 18,000 attendees would cost between $10,000 and $15,000.
Because of its prominent place in the community, a GoFundMe page was set up shortly after the news broke. We asked the creator of the page, Therese Moriarty, a few questions:
What inspired you to start this GoFundMe page?
“I’ve been attending the parade with my dog since I adopted him back in 2015. I was really saddened to hear that the parade was doomed this year, so I decided to help keep the tradition going. This is one of the rare New York traditions that people look forward to every year; tourists will even plan their trips to NYC around it. Since the parade draws a huge audience and it has so many fans, I figured that crowdfunding could be a good solution to this problem!”
How long have you lived in NYC?
“All my life. I’m not actually an East Village local, but my dog and I have been to the Tompkins Square Dog Run before since we have friends in the area.”
What’s your dog like ?
“His name is Hugo. You can find out more about him here.”
Within the first two days, the campaign achieved 20% of its $15,000 goal, but it’s now the start of October (with only 29 days until Halloween) and the GoFundMe has only raised $6,000. As it currently stands, it seems that for the first time, the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade won’t happen.
