Community Corner
Halloween Dog Parade 2018: What You Need To Know
After 28 years at Tompkins Square Park, the parade's pups will march through a new location.
EAST VILLAGE, NY — The dogs are having their day after all — but in a new location.
After a brief brush with death this summer, the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade is back on. But instead of processing through the same East Village park it has for nearly 30 years, the event has moved to East River Park in the Lower East Side.
The parade was cancelled in August after the city's Parks Department, which owns Tompkins Square and East River parks, told organizers they would need to take out a $1 million insurance policy because of the event's ballooning attendance, which soared to some 500 pups and 25,000 humans in 2017.
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Just last week, local leaders and a television network stepped in to revive the parade and host it in a new location.
Tenant-advocacy group Good Old Lower East Side has taken on the liability of an insurance policy and ESPN has pitched in $10,000 on top of the network's Katie Nolan hosting the parade. Ada Nieves, a former host of the pageant, has taken the reins as organizer from longtime parade planner Garret Rosso.
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Councilwoman Carlina Rivera coordinated the various groups with the city to green-light the parade.
Here's what you need to know about changes to this year's fest of four-legged friends:
Where is this year's parade?
The parade is happening at the East River Amphitheater in the Lower East Side. Attendees and their dolled up doggies can enter through Corlears Hook Park at 451 Cherry Street.
When is it happening?
It is this Sunday, Oct. 28, and will run from noon to 3 p.m.
How do I get there?
The closet station is East Broadway on the F line from there it's a roughly 13 minute walk to the waterfront. Attendees can also arrive on the NYC Ferry — the Lower East Side route's Corlears Hook stop leaves passengers mere steps from the amphitheater.
Where can I tune into the parade?
ESPN will broadcast the parade. The network's Katie Nolan, the host of "Always Late" on ESPN+, will host this year's parade.
Photo courtesy of Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
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