Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade returns for its 35th year on Oct. 19

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade is back this fall, marking its 35th year on Sunday, Oct. 19, from 1–4 p.m.

This year's event will feature a parade along Avenue B and a limited-entry costume competition. Advance registration is required to participate in both, and it opens on Oct. 6 on a first-come, first-served basis.

Four dogs from Pup Starz, Social Tees and the ASPCA will serve as Parade Grand Marshals, spotlighting the importance of adoption. The day will also include a festival block for participants on Sixth Street between Avenue B and Avenue C, where sponsor Stella & Chewy's will be handing out treats for four-legged guests. 

The parade is organized by New York Dog Parade, a nonprofit founded by author and canine columnist Fern Watt ("below, and with the dog parade team). 

Organizers say they've been working with local groups and city agencies on safety measures and crowd-control strategies, with expanded programming planned for both dogs and humans.

The event is free to attend. Volunteers are also needed; those interested can email volunteer@nydogparade.org. 

For updates, visit nydogparade.org or follow @nydogparade on Instagram.

Monday's parting shot

Photo by Jose Garcia 

A moment today at the Tompkins Square Park pigeon dog run...

Summer's parting shots

Last day of summer... and some scenes from Tompkins Square Park this past week...

A new in-ground pool is in the works for Tompkins, but no one knows when. Was this the last summer for the mini pool?

Noted

Thanks to Sonya for the photo outside Tompkins Square Park today... background here if you really want to know.

Friday's opening shot

An 8 a.m. view from Tompkins Square Park...

JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s infamous fight restaged in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Stacie Joy 

The cast and crew for Ryan Murphy's series "American Love Story," which chronicles the love lives of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, returned to the East Village on Thursday. 

The location: Tompkins Square Park, standing in for Washington Square Park, where the couple was seen in a very public fight in 1996. The crews restaged that here. (The Daily Mail has some fight pics from Thursday.)

Crews also brought in some early 1990s trash cans...

Why film in this neighborhood? Bessette reportedly lived in the East Village when she first moved to NYC in 1989. 

And here's Paul Anthony Kelly playing JFK Jr. in the series, due out on FX next Valentine's Day.

Sunday afternoon, Tompkins Square Park

Just before 2 p.m., about an hour before the start of the annual Charlie Park Jazz Fesitval in Tompkins Square Park... until 7 p.m.

Saturday's opening shot

At the Seventh and A entrance to Tompkins Square Park this morning... as barricades await their instructions ahead of the annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival here tomorrow from 3-7 p.m. 

Hit this link for info on the performers. 

The weather will be sunny and pleasant today, with the humidity creeping back up tomorrow ... not to mention a possible late-day thunderstorm.

This is why you should not feed the pigeons

As seen in Tompkins Square Park today... thanks to Beth Grossman for the photo...

Wednesday's parting shot

A post-storm stroll through a mostly empty Tompkins Square Park this evening... (and no tree limbs down!).

Report: 1 of the young hawks from Tompkins Square Park has died

Photo from June by Steven 

Goggla has the sad confirmation of a rumor that circulated toward the end of July: One of the red-tailed hawk fledglings has died. 

The young hawk was found dead on a fire escape along Avenue C on July 27. 

Per Goggla: 

It's not known exactly what happened, but the situation looked a lot like one we saw in 2022 when a fledgling had to be rescued from a fire escape after displaying obvious signs of illness. In that case, the theory was it had been weakened by rodenticide poisoning and died just a few hours after being rescued.

The Department of Environmental Conservation has the deceased hawk, and hopefully, they can determine the cause of death. 

In more positive news, the other two 2025 offspring of Amelia and Charlie remain active in the park this week, Goggla reports (even nabbing their own meals!).

This marked Amelia's eighth season raising chicks in Tompkins.

American elm chainsaw massacre

Parks workers chopped up and removed the remains of the stricken American elm in Tompkins Square Park. 

However, it wasn't easy. East Village resident Joe Kay shared this photo, noting "that elm ate one of their chainsaws!"

Post-mortem on the freshly cutback American elm in Tompkins Square Park

Photos by and reporting by Stacie Joy 

On Tuesday, the Parks Department cut back the drooping American elm inside the Seventh Street entrance to Tompkins Square Park between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

Before this happened, I had reached out to urban forestry expert Georgia Silvera Seamans, founder of Local Nature Lab. (Read her initial response here.) 

As she's out of town, I sent her several of the photos of the trimmed back tree. Her response: "Looks like there was a major crack in a large branch. It also looks like staining from Dutch Elm Disease on the left front branch."

Thursday's parting shot

Sorry if you missed the five-star sex advice today in Tompkins Square Park... (thanks to Sonya for the photo!)

Parks Department prunes drooping elm in Tompkins Square Park

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Top pic Sunday by EVG 

7/25 — Update here.

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Visitors to Tompkins Square Park over the weekend noticed something amiss with one of its older residents: a large American elm just inside the Seventh Street entrance between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Several low-hanging branches appeared drooped or stressed, prompting speculation among locals about whether the tree might be suffering from Sudden Branch Drop (SBD), a phenomenon that can affect mature trees in the summer months. 

But not so fast, says urban forestry expert Georgia Silvera Seamans. 

"From the photos on EVG, it looks like there is some kind of torsion on the leftmost branch from the trunk," said Silvera Seamans, founder of Local Nature Lab and an expert in urban tree health. "This could have been caused by an imbalance in weight on the left side of the tree compared to the overall tree. The crotch — the gap between the branches where they split from the trunk — could be weak." 

Without examining the elm in person, she cautioned against jumping to conclusions but suggested the issue may be more structural than seasonal. 

"It also looks like two branches are rubbing together," she added. "My bet is something structural, which could be related to weight, age, or disease." 

As for whether the elm can be saved, Silvera Seamans said that it depends on what a professional arborist finds during an in-person inspection. 

"Branches could be pruned to lighten the load, heavier branches supported with tree braces, upper branches could be cabled," she said. 

Following our conversation, I walked by the tree to find that the Parks Department had cut it back yesterday — hopefully a sign that the elm will remain a healthy fixture in the park for years to come.

Concern for this drooping American elm in Tompkins Square Park

There's caution tape around one of the majestic American elms in Tompkins Square Park, just inside the mid-block entrance on Seventh Street between Avenue A and Avenue B. 

EVG reader Kate, who also sent in a photo, noted that the tree's branches are drooping noticeably now....

The tree map, provided by the Parks Department, indicates that it was inspected in February, with an unspecified service performed in May.

Here's hoping it just needs some pruning — and not something more serious.

Sunday's parting shots

This evening from Tompkins Square Park... and on 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B...

Tuesday's parting shot

Photo by James Chambers 

One of the juvenile red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park today plotting its next move...

Saturday's opening shot

At the 7th and A entrance to Tompkins Square Park. 

And cutting and pasting this Saturday forecast from The Weather Channel: "A shower or two possible this morning with partly cloudy skies for the afternoon. High 83F. Winds light and variable."

Hawkward teen phase: Young red-tailed hawks settle into Tompkins Square Park

Photos by Steven 

The three juvenile red-tailed hawks continue to explore their new home in Tompkins Square Park, seemingly unbothered by this week's inferno. (There are puddles to help.) 

The young ones are entertaining, learning how to use those things called wings...

Here's a recent photo of a post-clumsy exchange between mother Amelia (on the left) and one of the offspring... they are looking at the dinner rat that plummeted to the main lawn.

As Goggla documented (here and here), the hawklets are honing their skills, from learning to hunt ... balancing on tree limbs ... and staring down pesky squirrels. 

This is the first brood for Amelia, the resident female red-tailed hawk in Tompkins Square Park, and her new male companion, aka M2. This marks Amelia's eighth season raising chicks in Tompkins.