Tuesday, October 1, 2019

The 29th annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade is scheduled for Oct. 20 in East River Park


[Photo yesterday by Edmund John Dunn]

This year's Halloween dog parade is once again scheduled for the East River Park Amphitheater. The year's date: Sunday, Oct. 20 from noon to 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, Parade organizers are hopeful that the Parks Department might waive their sponsorship fees. At this point, the Parade does not have a sponsor. Update: The Heart of Chelsea Veterinary Group has agreed to sponsor the event. (The Parks Department apparently rejected an Amazon sponsorship because the company wanted to distribute Halloween-related items in the Park. Parks officials were said to cite a lack of resources to make this happen.)

Parade organizers are currently holding a fundraiser via Facebook to cover the additional $6,500-$11,000 in fees from the city as well as to to raise money for ongoing upkeep of the dog run. You can find the fundraiser info on Facebook.

The 28th annual dog parade almost didn't happen last year. You can read about what happened at this link.

Given the city's plans for stormproofing East River Park starting in March 2020, this will likely be the last time the amphitheater can host the parade in the years ahead.

16 comments:

  1. The move was a good and necessary one. It returned to the spirit of the original parade and was less about corporate sponsorship.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We need corporate sponsorship in order to fund upkeep and improvements in the dog run. A small local fundraiser is not sufficient to meet our needs. The Patks Department pays for none of this. Just adding new surface stone costs thousands of dollars. The K9 turf in the small dog run wasn’t a gift either. Where do you suppose the money comes from? As far as a corporate presence goes, there was little mention besides what’s on the poster, and some treat giveaways. Last year, at the amphitheater the last minute sponsor had a small presence by broadcasting live from ESPN. The funds they donated helped us get the K9 turf addition to the small dog run and a new water feature yet to be installed.

      Delete
    2. I’m curious what was the reasoning behind the AstroTurf in the little run? Besides “it looks good”.

      Delete
  2. I'm betting the amphitheater won't be coming back either - it represents a time when people were human and didn't live inside a cellphone

    ReplyDelete
  3. Save East River Park!
    https://www.change.org/p/mayor-bill-de-blasio-save-east-river-park-urge-nyc-to-develop-a-resilient-plan-with-consensus-from-community?recruiter=1005757590&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

    http://eastriverparkaction.org/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Note to self: Do not go near this event anywhere near Tompkins Park on the 20th. Too many people! Yet so many beautiful dogs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. To 9:09,

    The event is in East River Park not Tompkins Square Park

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, Anon. 8:56, just signed. Horrified to see less than 800 people have signed it, in contrast with the 30,000+ that signed the anti-Astroturf petition.

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  7. Gojira, thank you for signing!
    I didn't know about the anti-synthetic turf petition but personally, I had to stop running at the track at East River Park near 6th St. years ago.
    For me, the synthetic turf heating up in the sun was causing respiratory issues. Awful! Such a health hazard for everyone, dogs included!
    We need less synthetic ground for playing fields, more maintenance of East River Park and less pavement.
    Dogs love grass!

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    Replies
    1. K9 grass is completely different than synthetic turf used in sports areas.

      Delete
  8. Anon 10:28 I agree about that track turf it's strange that in this day and age there is such a strong toxic smell from that new track, I was wondering if it was harmless or not hmmm... and evgrieve "this will likely be the last time the amphitheater can host the parade in the years ahead." Please post about calling our reps!!!! We shouldn't give up. This plan is HORRIBLE.

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  9. From eastriverparkaction.org site:
    City Hall Hearing on the East River Park Plan

    Thursday, Oct. 3

    12:30 p.m., Protest on the steps of City Hall. Bring your Save the Park signs and sashes (you can also pick up signs at Sixth St. Tuesday).

    1:00 Hearing on the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, also known as the “Preferred Plan Option 4” or the “Kill the Park Plan.” Sign up and testify. You’ll have two minutes. Say what’s wrong with the plan, what you want, why the park is important to your life.

    The hearing at City Hall will bring us much closer to doom for East River Park—unless we can persuade our City Council to Vote NO on the plan to close and demolish East River Park in six months.

    The more people we have protesting and testifying, the more our elected officials will have to re-think their complicity in the destruction of this wonderful, unique jewel in our neighborhood.
    Sign our online petition

    ReplyDelete
  10. That plastic turf is being used all over the city. I wonder what the environmental reports had to say about it. And you can add to that the stink off the bike/bus lanes.

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  11. For next year, where will the 30th Annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade be if the East River Park is buried beneath landfill?

    The city does not seem concerned with toxic track turf chemicals being a health hazard. What about the landfill used to raise the park?
    During construction, landfill dust, which may contain harmful chemicals i.e. asbestos..., blowing around without any mature trees cleansing the air is simply unnatural and wrong and not healthy for dogs or anyone visiting/residing on the LES/East Village area.

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  12. our local Councilwoman seems to think Hurricane Sandy was the first ever hurricane - hurricanes are due to climate change! from today's email:

    "October we will all mark the seventh anniversary of when we first felt climate change impact our homes – the day Hurricane Sandy made landfall."

    Destroying an ecosystem for pseudo-science is not green. Of course, in the New Inquisition, simply questioning their assertions is mental illness.

    ReplyDelete
  13. According to the k9 grass site: "Dog turf is the same or much like the current generation of artificial grass used on athletic fields. In many cases, the turf is no different; it’s just marketed for dog use."
    https://k9grass.com/dog-owers-starting-to-dig-grass/

    ReplyDelete

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