I think the first time I saw the Village Halloween Parade, it was actually by mistake. I was living upstate and working in radio at the time, and came home to NYC for a Halloween party in Hoboken. 

It was last minute, so my costume was horrible: I dressed as my high school self with ripped up jeans, a denim jacket, and my sister’s Forest Hills High School phys ed shirt. 

Anyway, on the way from Queens to the PATH Train, there was the parade. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the craziest, most bizarre, coolest parade I had ever seen. Needless to say, we were late to the party because we stayed and watched the parade for a while before one of my buddies finally convinced the rest of us to leave.

Fast forward more than twenty years to when I became a reporter at NY1 and was asked to be part of the parade coverage. It’s been one of my favorite nights since, and I’m bummed that there won’t be a full-scale parade in the Village this year. Looking back on my lousy costume the first time I witnessed the spectacle, things definitely have improved for me, as we've had an annual agreement with Broadway show costumers to dress us for the festivities. And yes, we miss Broadway tremendously.

Probably my most intense costume was Uncle Fester from The Addams Family on Broadway. Tons of makeup, a skin cap so I appeared to be bald, and a big coat - which was perfect because it was a chilly night! A great memory was sitting in the makeup chair going through this extraordinary transformation and seeing actress Bebe Neuwirth walk into the room in her full makeup and costume as Morticia Addams. I had forgotten we were getting dressed and ready during a Sunday matinee. Neuwirth was thrilled we were going to be characters from her show. 

Other costumes over the years included a sailor from “On The Town," a rocker from “Rock of Ages," football player from Beetlejuice - maybe my favorite because I played football at Stuyvesant High School, so it was fun to have the pads on again. Perhaps one of the more unique items I wore: the long, red, high-heeled kinky boots from the show, “Kinky Boots.” The rest of my costume wasn’t much. But those boots?! I remember putting them on in one of our news vans and as I struggled to walk, some police officers stared and snickered.

I said, “Hey guys, you want to try?” They got quiet at that point, but then kept giggling. Staying on my feet in those boots for 90 minutes was a challenge, but at least I didn’t have to dance!

The one year I remember most was 2017, when there was a terrorist attack on a bike path in Hudson River Park just four hours before the parade was set to begin. Eight people were killed and eleven others were injured. That year we were being dressed by the costumers at “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, and I was to be Augustus Gloop, the young man who really had a thing for chocolate. 

I walked into the newsroom and the managers were huddling and deciding what to do. There was going to be a parade, but how would we handle the coverage? I have said that the scenario could be used in a future journalism class. Do we dress our on-air folks in costumes? Do we change the tone and go without costumes? At first, I was told to get dressed, so there I was with a blond wig, rosy cheeks, and an apparatus that, let’s just say, made me look a little larger around the waist line. 

The newsroom erupted in laughter. I mean, I looked pretty ridiculous. It was a tense day, and that added some levity. But within minutes, I was told to get out of the costume. The parade would go on, but we would stay in our street clothes. Pat Kiernan and I swapped places: He hit the parade route with the mayor and governor.  I was on the anchor stand with Jamie Stelter. We did the best we could to still have some fun but keep the proper tone on a day where lives were lost in a traumatic event. I think we did OK. The parade went on, the show went on, and I was proud to be a journalist and New Yorker on that day.

Over the years the parade has provided me with great moments of anxiety, a serious rush broadcasting live while marching on Sixth Avenue surrounded by people, not to mention the throngs watching from the sidelines. Seeing the creativity that goes into the costumes, and the independence and free spirit that is in abundance on that evening, was always inspiring. It’s also a great night of comradery among the nearly all-hands-on-deck group of producers, technical staff, videographers and the on-air folks. It has been an honor to work with Pat, Jamie, Ruschell Boone, Frank Dilella and Stephanie Simon over the years. I have felt privileged to be part of an event that is so truly representative of the energy and sometimes offbeat nature of my hometown. 

I have one last story.  After the parade a few years ago, when we were dressed by the great folks at the tremendously successful “Wicked” on Broadway, Pat, Ruschell, Frank and I decided to grab a bite in the Meatpacking District. We had all changed into our own clothes, but Pat still had his green face makeup on. He had been dressed as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and to a certain extent, still was. To eat an entire dinner with a green-faced Pat Kiernan was something. 

Afterwards, Pat and I walked on 14^th Street to the L train and went our separate ways. I watched him walk down the stairs to the subway, I realized that he really didn’t look all that out of the ordinary. After all, this was Halloween in New York City. It will be Halloween in New York City again, but just not what we are used to. I look forward to being back out on the parade route again someday, surrounded by zombies and vampires and superheroes and monsters of all sorts. One of the greatest nights in the greatest city in the world.