Ashley Bellman heads down to Tompkins Square Park for a preview of this year’s dog parade and some tips on keeping your pets safe this holiday season.
What to Know
- The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade has been cancelled, organizers said on Facebook
- The annual parade in the East Village has taken place for the past 28 years, the organizers said
- The Parks Department was asking the organizers to pay for a "large insurance and liability policy" they couldn't afford, they said
An annual Halloween dog parade that’s become an institution in the East Village has been cancelled indefinitely due to a lack of funding.
The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade, which has drawn costumed dogs and owners to Tompkins Square Park for the past 28 years, won’t be taking place this year, its organizers said in a Facebook post.
The city’s Parks Department is asking for "a large insurance and liability policy in order to hold the event this year — and we simply don’t have the funds or sponsors willing to provide it," the organizers wrote.
The parade has raised more than $200,000 for the park over the years, according to the post.
A “Save the Tompkins Sq. Dog Parade!” GoFundMe shared by the organizers in a Facebook comment had raised $631 of its $15,000 goal as of midday Thursday.
Local
NBC New York has reached out to the Parks Department for comment.
“We wish to thank all our sponsors as well as everyone who has donated time, money, effort or stayed up to the wee hours getting that super hero cape to fit just perfectly on their dog,” the organizers wrote.
“We’re hopeful that the annual dog parade will return in some form in the future,” they added.
