Photos by Stacie Joy
During SantaCon today in the East Village, the 9th Precinct had two checkpoints set up for several hours ... one on Avenue B between Third Street and Fourth Street ... and on Avenue A between 11th Street and 12th Street...
Officers at the scene said they were there to monitor quality-of-life issues, with tickets for open containers (and at least one minor with alcohol).
SantaCon started this morning at 10 on 40th and Broadway, with 60-plus bars throughout Midtown East and West and elsewhere participating ... as well as eight East Village bars officially taking part ... with others following suit.
There were also more than a dozen (by our unofficial count) bars and restaurants with a Santa ban.
I pretty much avoided them all day. And it’s forecasted to rain tomorrow so the sidewalk vomit will get washed away, so this wasn’t the worst Santacon in history.
ReplyDeleteI was happy to see Cooper's Craft & Kitchen making people take off their Santa outfits if they wanted to enter.
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the more mellow SantaCons that I can remember. The usual rooftop ragers on my block didn't happen this year either.
ReplyDeleteSo happy I am staying the entire day and night in with my cat while watching Netflix, and cooking away. Stay safe out there kiddos.
ReplyDeleteI'd honestly love to see a list of the places in the EV that BANNED Santa's from entering, b/c those are the ones I'd support.
ReplyDeleteAs for today itself, I planned ahead to not have to leave my building, and stayed snugly at home.
IF this wasn't the "worst" santacon ever, maybe the sudden cold weather may have helped. The buildings near me that have party roofs did not have anyone hanging out up there in 35 degree weather, thank heaven.
Thanks to a once in a lifetime World Cup in December, we stayed home watching football from 10 to 5, and avoided the whole thing altogether.
ReplyDeleteAnecdotally very low key east of Tompkins Square. Reminded me a little of the earliest Santacons. Obvious bar and party crawlers in relatively sedate groups. Civilized queues at Santabars. A few too drunk couples quietly staggering. There have been warm weekend nights recently that were far rowdier.
ReplyDeleteRight, my worst problem living in the EV now is Santa Con or St Patrick's Day.
ReplyDeleteIMHO the work cup games deflated santa con this year. The bars with a no Santa policy to watch the game was completely packed and probably did better than the data con bars, during the day at least
ReplyDeleteI was happy to see a NYPD presence outside of Solas for about 12 hours and around the corner at the 13th Step. I think their visibility, Joseph's theory, and the near freezing weather played a big part in this year being a lot more mellow.
ReplyDeleteSigh...to be young and STUPID again....
ReplyDeleteThank God this was the most low key SantaCon in years, but what I did notice was many more seriously drunk women, who were not dressed up for SantaCon, being assisted by their boyfriend and/or girlfriends. People still used this fake charity event to get drunk, but did so without the outfits on, and they were much less rowdy.
ReplyDeleteAfter two decades here in the EV, I fail to understand why this horrible day is vastly important to thousands of obnoxious people wanting to get piss ass drunk, whom probably have never worked a day in their lives in the restaurant industry, which reeks havoc, chaos, suffering, and most of all, PTSD on its staff members, not to mention the ER's of local hospitals.
ReplyDeleteBut NOTORIOUS 9.38 AM, I thought you were a HUGE fan of Solas?
ReplyDeleteOnly kidding. :)
To Annoy 3.35 PM:
"I'd honestly love to see a list of the places in the EV that BANNED Santa's from entering"
I know last year, The Penny Farthing had a no SantaCon policy and they were very popular this year with the World Cup crowd, which, as noted, had more than a minor impact on this year's Bromageddon.
I also observed a milder event this year. Hopefully, it is losing some steam. Besides the drinking, the draw is somewhat tenuous. Imagine a big sports event, but without the actual game to watch. Hmm. It was a fun novelty but I cannot see this becoming anything like a genuine, lasting tradition. Then again I'm not a futurist.
ReplyDeleteAnother big factor that cut down on the crowds this year is that so many people are sick at home with Flu, Covid and RSV. The pharmacies are selling out of cough syrups, pain relievers and Kleenex. I had a hard time finding all of these items the last few weeks. Good luck
ReplyDeletefinding pediatric Tylenol and other children’s meds, also sold out. And Covid tests are back at the checkout counter at CVS. There’s an easy way to avoid getting sick: wear a mask.
Yes. Low key Bromageddon. World Cup and Health Issues .....tempered the Santas!!! Stay safe ........and EVGrieve....much respect again for terrific reporting!!!!!! PS: AND THE AMAZING PHOTO/JOURNALISTS!!!!
ReplyDelete@3:34pm: I'd like to be as optimistic as you are.
ReplyDeleteI'd love it if this event was seen as a lame thing that only losers attend (which is what it IS!), but I'm afraid the lower attendance had more to do with people watching the World Cup than with any outbreak of sanity & decency...
Not sure how big of an overlap between World Cup and Santacon enthusiasts. Hello??? World Cup is a SOCCER tournament. Santacon is... well you know!
ReplyDelete@6:06pm: I think you may be underestimating the number of Americans who watch the World Cup - some of them only so they can keep up with the conversation amongst their friends & co-workers, but soccer is actually a bigger deal in the USA than you may realize.
ReplyDeleteWith all the various nationalities represented in the population of NYC, you can be sure there is a ton of interest in soccer and the World Cup - and it's people of all ages.
Hellgate has a good write-up of what went down in Times Square:
ReplyDeletehttps://hellgatenyc.com/santacon-why
Glad it wasn't as bad for our neighborhood this year and am happy more people were into the World Cup than this pathetic event. This gives me hope it will die some day.
This event is awesome. Not for old people obviously and no you don’t have to get wasted to enjoy it
ReplyDeleteLove to see it
ReplyDelete