Barricades were set up Monday afternoon along Sixth Avenue as the clock wound down to the 50th Annual Village Halloween Parade.

Greenwich Village resident David Weiss has been going on-and-off most of his life.

“Back in the day, when I was a little younger, it was something that was very unique and very specific for the West Side here,” Weiss said.

What You Need To Know

  • Participants line up at Sixth Avenue and Canal Street and make their way up Sixth Avenue from Spring Street to W 18th Street

  • The parade route will be closed to traffic from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday, and seven side streets will be off-limits to traffic as well

  • As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to spark protests, NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said there are no credible threats to the city

Weiss said he was about 17-years-old when he went to parade for the first time.

“I’ll come down, I’ll take pictures, photographs and then if it’s exciting I’ll stay,” Weiss said.

“This parade started as a small neighborhood parade 50 years ago and it’s grown into one of the most popular parades in all of New York City because people know they can see hundreds of Michael Jackson zombies doing Thriller at the same time,” City Councilman Erik Bottcher said.

Bottcher said the zombies are a must-see. While the undead may not be able to be kept away, the NYPD plans to keep any crime at bay.

Police planned an overnight sweep of the parade route. Participants line up at Sixth Avenue and Canal Street and make their way up Sixth Avenue from Spring Street to W 18th Street.

The parade route will be closed to traffic from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday, and seven side streets will be off-limits to traffic as well.

As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues to spark protests, NYPD Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said there are no credible threats to the city. Police will keep an eye out for agitators who may try to shut the parade down.

“Acts of violence, clashes between protesters and, let’s say, for example, anybody that’s trying to deal with the Halloween day parade, we’re not going to tolerate that. We’re going to take swift action right away,” Daughtry said.

Daughtry said there will be police officers on every corner if something does happen.

“There will be police officers that you will see in uniform. There will be police officers you will not see in uniform,” he said.

As thousands of people prepare for Tuesday night’s festivities, Weiss hopes newcomers and seasoned parade-goers alike can catch a bit of the wonder he had as a kid going to the parade.

“I just hope whoever comes, they have fun, they enjoy themselves,” Weiss said.