By James and Karla Murray, Fri, October 28, 2016 6sqft’s ongoing series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, award-winning photographers James and Karla Murray return with a series of snapshots from last year’s debaucherous Village Halloween Parade. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected].
Started by Greenwich Village mask maker and puppeteer Ralph Lee in 1973, the Village Halloween Parade began as a “wandering neighborhood puppet show.” The event was a walk from house to house in Lee’s neighborhood, created for his children and their friends to enjoy. In the three years that followed, the parade took on new shapes and sizes, propelled first by George Bartenieff and Crystal Field of the Theater for the New City, who staged the production in its second year as part of their City in the Streets program; and then two years later when the parade became a non-profit with its own resources to put on a major show. By 1985, the parade morphed into an extravaganza that marched down Sixth Avenue, attracting 250,000 participants and onlookers. Today, the Village Halloween Parade is the largest celebration of its kind, considered by Festivals International to be “The Best Event in the World” for October 31st.
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By Susan Cohen, Mon, October 24, 2016 Halloween is a lot like real estate; Both the holiday and the industry place a premium on size and neighborhood, it’s not unheard of to hear phrases like “tons of it” and “prime location” used to describe trick-or-treating or a new listing, and when it comes down to it, apartment hunters and trick-or-treaters want the same things: the best block, thoughtful exteriors, attention to details, and most importantly, value. Ahead, 6sqft has put together a list of some of the best blocks across the five boroughs to score sweets and scares. Just remember to bring along your broker parent and to count the square feet pieces of candy.
Where to spend Halloween this year
By Metro New York, Mon, October 17, 2016 With Halloween around the corner and shelves stock full of candy, it’s hard not to be tempted to buy our favorite brand. But what is the most popular one in the entire country? According to research done by a UK website called FamilyBreakFinder, which describes itself as “the UK’s favorite site for family friendly holidays, short breaks and days out,” it’s M&M’s.
SEE POPULAR CANDY BY STATE AT METRO NEW YORK…
By Dana Schulz, Sat, October 31, 2015 6sqft has already brought you a map of what Americans love to eat most by state, but when October rolls around, New Yorkers forget about the avocados (yes, that’s our state’s favorite food) and move on to sweeter treats. So before you get yourself into a sugar coma today, check out this fun map of the most popular Halloween candy by state (h/t Mashable). Turns out, the most number of states chose candy corn, but Reeses Peanut Butter Cups had the highest number of total votes. New Yorkers, however, have a very strange favorite…
See what it is
By Dana Schulz, Thu, October 29, 2015 Unfortunately, the pumpkins at Whole Foods don’t come with labels like “local” or “wild caught,” but the good news is that your Halloween purchase likely comes from nearby. This interactive map from the Washington Post highlights the total acres of pumpkins harvested, by county, in 2012. It was created using data from USDA Agricultural Census and shows that “pumpkins are grown commercially in just about every county in the Northeastern states.”
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By Michelle Cohen, Wed, October 28, 2015 As if New York City home prices, monthly rents and apartment sizes weren’t scary enough. Between the horrors of Airbnb, overpriced dorm-style “co-living,” super-expensive micro-apartments, and Donald Trump, it’s hard to imagine we’d need Halloween to scare ourselves silly.
But scare we do. Because of listings like these that know no season. Because sometimes real estate gets a little too real. From spookily dilapidated to eerily obscure to downright hideous, 6sqft has rounded up some of the most horrifying listings out there.
Be very afraid
By Dana Schulz, Mon, October 26, 2015 Still up in the air about your Halloween costume, but want to make sure you’re not one of 10,000 Donald Trumps wandering around NYC on Saturday? Check out this cool map called Frightgeist that shows what the most popular costumes are in cities across the country. Using Google Trends, the map from Google News Lab pulled the top 500 costume searches to create this handy national- and local-based resource.
Some fun facts from the map
By Michelle Cohen, Mon, October 19, 2015 To kick off Halloween season, 6sqft has found a listing that will strike terror in the heart of anyone looking to move right in; this underdressed underachiever of a “one-bedroom” co-op at 138 West 10th Street looks just a fright. The listing throws in the towel and offers, “West Village pre war one bedroom wreck in beautifully preserved building on one of the most sought after tree lined blocks.” Which, if you think about it, is only one word away from lots of folks’ dream apartment.
Once you get past the completely spooky condition of the small but well-located space, it’s worth noting that it actually has quite a bit going for it given its $550,000 ask, which, though more than the price of a Brooklyn cemetery plot, is far less than you’d pay for the average Village one-bedroom apartment. But it’s clearly up to you, brave buyer–plus an architect, a contractor and a lot of patience–to clear away the cobwebs and make the dream happen.
Follow the screams
