Despite all that’s going on in the city and overseas, the city is determined to uphold the tradition of wholesome scary goodness for Halloween. Mayor Eric Adams will host its annual two-day community haunted house at Gracie Mansion, and the NYPD Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) opened its haunted house in Queens this month.
“I am confident that when we open ‘The People’s House,’ New Yorkers will finally believe me about the ghosts floating around here,” joked Adams. “Halloween is a great opportunity for New Yorkers to spend time in their communities, and that’s why we are inviting our city’s residents to celebrate the haunted—we mean historic—grounds of Gracie Mansion.”
The mansion, located at 88th Street and East End Avenue, is over 200 years old and has served as the New York mayor’s home since 1942. For this year’s celebration, the mansion will have trick-or-treating, a corn maze, and a spooky cemetery on Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29. The event is geared towards children between six and 10 years old.
City residents can reserve up to four free tickets online, and there will be about 300 tickets saved specifically for families in the shelter system and seeking asylum, said Adams.
“This year, we are making sure that ‘The People’s House’ is truly open to all the people by inviting families experiencing [homelessness] and seeking asylum to join our ‘Halloween at Gracie Mansion 2023’ celebration,” said Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park in a statement. “We know that children experiencing homelessness endure a unique set of incredibly challenging circumstances, and this event will provide them a safe space to simply be children and enjoy all the incredible Halloween activities available at this year’s celebration.”
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio and his then wife Chirlane McCray, began the tradition of the haunted house at Gracie Mansion in 2014. The couple famously dressed up in various matching costumes.
The mansion’s decorations and festivities are sponsored by Affinity, Molina Healthcare, Target, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Empire BlueCross BlueShield, said the city. Support for the event is also provided by BLICK art materials, Chobani, Fresh Direct, John and Margo Catsimatidis Foundation, Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, Nickelodeon, New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), Scholastic Inc., 7th Heaven Inc., Sofia & Grace Cookie Company, Utz, Vadilal Quick Treat, Violife, The Vita Coco Company, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Meanwhile, the NYPD TARU’s annual free community haunted house in Fort Totten Park on the Willets Point peninsula, nicknamed the “Terror on Totten,” is open for the remainder of October from 4 p.m. to 11p.m.
The haunted house was created by NYPD inspector Frank DiGiacomo while at Precinct 78.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.