2023 photo by Stacie Joy
Reporting by Stacie Joy
With the Parade scheduled in just a few days, no one seems to know what is happening.
Joseph Borduin, the parade producer, seems as confused as we are. He mentions a frustrating and ongoing lack of cooperation from the City and a long wait with bureaucratic stumbling blocks to get the event up and running on (gulp) Saturday — this Saturday.
As of press time, the event has been pared down to a parade processional only — no contests, no judges, emcees, stage or prizes — and the location has been moved to Avenue A between 14th Street and Seventh Street, with barricades preventing (or attempting to prevent) people from entering Tompkins Square Park. There will also be a registration process, with a cap of 800 people. The event hours are
still 1 to 3 p.m., and the parade is sponsored by The Veterinary Emergency Group.
Right now, there are more questions than answers. Borduin said he and his team of organizers are "still waiting for the city to schedule a walkthrough with city agencies to approve the parade route before they can release anything official."
So, even this information may be subject to change. As soon as we have more information, we'll share it with you.
27 comments:
Fine with me, I'm obsessed with dogs but that event is mad annoying. The dogs don't wanna be in those stupid costumes and there are annoying people everywhere. The type that wait an hour in a line for a bagel.
Like that strip of Ave A is not already a shit show on weekends. I suspect the dog cafe pushed hard to get this event in their front yard. Someone paid someone for this....
So easy to shut down Avenue B instead of Avenue A. Will not affect bus routes. City won't do it because it means 30 people will need to vacate their vehicles for few hours from free parking spots ( Avenue A is all metered parking except 6 spots between 10th and 11th Streets).
I really do love dogs, even though I am a loyal cat dad. As someone who lives in this area, and has supported this fun day every Halloween season, I must say this event has gotten out of hand. Last year, there were probably thousands of people in the park with their fur babies, which was truly overwhelming. I had a difficult time navigating the streets. The entire park was overtaken. And I began to wonder then if this was now an issue of safety. Some of the participants were oblivious to those around them. Perhaps scaling back with restrictions is a good thing?
Bring back the days when the event was just locals and we held it in the dog run
Reads like a fine NYC ADAMs fiasco
This event was so much fun when it was just a small thing in the dog run. But it has gotten to the point where it isn't at all for the neighborhood anymore and needs to move to a larger place with a more widen open space.
Ya. Wigstock too.
Just a parade without a contest sounds fantastic.
Jesus, you people are miserable.
I live on Avenue A between 10th and 11th and this will completely take over the block I live on. Saturdays because I work all week and not remote are the days I do my chores, going to the market, hardware store, etc. It's bad enough that I have to walk in the street because of the line outside the bagel shop, now hundreds of people will be blocking the sidewalk in front of my building for the entire afternoon so a bunch of idiots can force their dogs into costumes. Didn't Boris and Horton already sucker people into giving them $259,000. Put it back in East River Park. This really sucks and frankly is dangerous.
All star comment!
Lots of bitching and moaning that will surely be replaced by oohs and ahhs and omgs when we see these cuties in their costumes.
According to the Community Affairs Officer at the 9th Precinct Community Council meeting this evening the Dog Parade is on for Saturday on Avenue A between 7th and 14th Streets.
it's just gotten way too big! Last year it was basically impossible to even get into TS-park due to the masses. Then there was suddenly the closed off area on 7th Street btw A+B for VIPs. What?
I think they should cancel it altogether. Since the masses are overwhelming. And not being allowed to enter 7th street btw A+B really rubs me the wrong way, this being my hood for 30 yrs.
We need a grump parade. Imagine the signs! I just worry that it would spiral out of control like Santa Con and the neighborhood would be descended on by complainers. We'd also need NYPD presence to separate the groups marching like the West Indian Parade.
This used to be a community event to raise funds for the TSQ dog park's upkeep. It, and the dog park, were run by volunteers who were dog owners that frequented said dog park. The money raised was kept in a 501c3 and accounted for. Who runs it now and for what purpose?
Absolutely miserable bunch. Everyone thinks the city belongs to them because they live here 30 years. Just give them a medal or the key to the city or something.
I lived in Little Italy in the 90s. Can you imagine how was it living there during San Gennaro? All these cryings over a few hours long event...
I second the Wigstock proposal.
I’m pouring one out for the brave souls who have lost their lives navigating around a crowded street during previous dog parades.
They are too numerous to count, but not forgotten. This multi-hour scurge is too much to bear for a quiet, peaceful community like ours. The always-tranquil confines of Tompkins Square Park are turned upside down with nefarious types: dog owners. The horror.
Sigh... if only. It was so fun back then. In fact the whole City was. Glad I got to be here. The Adam's admin can't even deal this, imagine what else is going on.
Eric Adams' staff too busy ripping apart Elizabeth Street Garden to give out permits or work with citizens.
Just because you can enlarge an event year over year doesn’t mean that you have to. The last time I attended, I acknowledge was years ago when we’d go into the skate park and watch the owners and dogs wind their way through. I do wonder why it has to be so huge that an entire avenue and bus lines are compromised for an entire day.
Are there massive amounts of profit coming in and if so—wouldn’t there be some kind of dog palace in place at the dog run now?
Otherwise, if the costs are now enormous by enlarging it so much, so that the profits decrease greatly, well, this seems like a counterintuitive move.
And frankly it seems like the people running it are NOT the best fit if they want it to be a huge event—days before it, they still seem not to know whichway is up.
I mean, in NYC, if there’s an event that shuts down 5 blocks of a city and bus routes, that’s major!! you can be sure that all this stuff is planned ahead and not last minute will-we-won’t-we…
It's literally the 32nd Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Festival. It was happening there long before the dog cafe was open.
Well, yesterday was National Grump Day so most of these comments track.
Maybe we could get the Player Haters' Association to organize! Silky Johnson could be grand marshal.
First Run is still maintained by a community organization: https://www.tompkinssquaredogrun.com/ (Pretty easy to find out by using the magical box you'll already typing on!)
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