Halloween Weekend in NYC 2026: Events, Transit Tips and Safety

Planning Halloween weekend in New York City? Find parade information, family-friendly ideas, neighborhood activities, transit links, and practical safety tips for October 31, 2026.

Looking for things to do in New York City this Halloween weekend? Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, 2026, making it a great time to plan a night out, enjoy family-friendly activities, or explore the city’s autumn atmosphere. Whether you’re heading to Manhattan, Brooklyn, or another borough, a little planning can help you make the most of the weekend.

1. Check the Village Halloween Parade details

Manhattan’s Village Halloween Parade is one of New York City’s best-known Halloween traditions. Before heading out, check the parade’s official website for the latest route, start time, participation information, and any changes for 2026. Crowds can be substantial, so plan your route and meeting point in advance.

Visit the official Village Halloween Parade website for current event information.

2. Find family-friendly Halloween fun

Families can look for neighborhood pumpkin displays, library programs, community-center activities, seasonal markets, and daytime Halloween events. Brooklyn and the other boroughs often have local options that are easier for younger children than a large nighttime crowd. Check each organizer’s listing for age recommendations, registration requirements, admission costs, and weather updates before leaving home.

3. Explore your neighborhood

You don’t have to travel into Manhattan to enjoy Halloween. Check local business improvement districts, community boards, libraries, parks, and neighborhood organizations for block parties, costume events, and family activities near you. If you’re visiting a specific business or event, confirm its hours directly because holiday schedules can differ from normal opening times.

4. Check subway service and street advisories

Large events may affect travel, and planned subway work can change your route. Check service before you leave and again before heading home. Allow extra time, keep a backup route in mind, and follow instructions from transit staff and event organizers.

Check official MTA service alerts and NYC Department of Transportation updates before traveling.

5. Halloween safety tips for kids and adults

  • Choose costumes that allow you to see clearly and walk safely; use reflective details when possible.
  • Use sidewalks and cross at intersections. Children should stay with a trusted adult and know where to meet if separated.
  • Keep phones charged, agree on a meeting point, and share plans with someone you trust.
  • If driving, expect busy sidewalks and possible delays around popular events. Never drive impaired.
  • Check weather conditions and bring layers or rain gear if needed.
  • For trick-or-treating, inspect treats and follow age-appropriate safety guidance.

6. Make a simple plan before you go

Pick one main activity, check its official details, plan how you’ll get there and back, and leave room for delays. If an event requires tickets or registration, confirm availability with the organizer rather than relying on an old listing. Keep an eye on official updates in case schedules or access arrangements change.

A Halloween weekend checklist

  • Confirm the event’s date, time, location, cost, and entry requirements.
  • Check MTA alerts and your return trip.
  • Dress for the weather and wear comfortable shoes.
  • Set a meeting point if attending with a group.
  • Verify last-minute changes through official event or city channels.

Bottom line: New York City offers plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween, from major Manhattan traditions to smaller neighborhood gatherings. Confirm details with official organizers before you go, plan your transportation, and make safety part of the fun.

Have a Halloween event or neighborhood tip to share? Tell us in the comments.

Here is what 56 looks like!!! Mara Brock Akil.

Hello all, here is the legendary Hollywood screenwriter and television producer Mara Brock Akil. She is the mastermind behind iconic hit shows like Girlfriends, The Game, and Being Mary Jane. Looking just fabulous at the young age of 56.

We are all thankful for Mara and all of her contributions. Big Shout out to you from all of us at The NA Times.

Powerful Nor’easter Batters Brooklyn, Leaves Trail of Flooding and Damage

A powerful, slow-moving nor’easter tore through Brooklyn and the greater New York City area this past weekend, flooding streets, downing trees, and leaving thousands without power as the storm parked itself over the region for the better part of three days.

Flooding along a Brooklyn street during the weekend nor’easter. Photo: The New York Times

Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for New York City on Friday, just hours before the storm rolled in with wind gusts topping 55 miles per hour. By Saturday, high tides had already pushed water into low-lying neighborhoods across the borough, with flooding reported from Coney Island to Red Hook and Greenpoint. In Coney Island, the MTA installed storm doors at subway entrances along Mermaid and Neptune Avenues to try to keep floodwater out of the system.

High tides pushed water into low-lying neighborhoods from Coney Island to Red Hook. Photo: The Gazette

The flooding continued into Sunday as a second round of high tides swept through the region. Streets across Brooklyn turned to rivers, and fallen trees littered blocks throughout the borough, snapping power lines and leaving residents in the dark.

The storm’s impact was felt hardest in East Flatbush, where a brick parapet wall collapsed at a three-story building on Church Avenue, just off Nostrand Avenue. The collapse forced dozens of residents from their homes as emergency crews worked to secure the building and assess the damage.

Emergency crews assess a Church Avenue building in East Flatbush after a parapet wall collapse. Photo: ABC Channel 7

Citywide, the nor’easter proved deadly. A New York City Housing Authority worker was killed after being struck by a falling tree, and four other people were hospitalized with injuries after also being struck by falling trees during the height of the storm. Across the Northeast, more than 130,000 customers lost power at the storm’s peak, with Long Island and other parts of New York state among the hardest hit.

Fallen trees littered blocks across the borough, snapping power lines. Photo: SuaraGarut.id

By Monday, the storm finally began to loosen its grip on the region, with forecasters calling for conditions to ease through the start of the week, though lingering rain and wind were still expected across parts of New England.

For Brooklyn residents cleaning up in the storm’s aftermath, the message from city officials was clear: stay clear of downed power lines and damaged structures, and report any storm damage to 311.

Your UNCLAIMED FUNDS await you!

Quick PSA for our fellow New Yorkers: there’s a real chance you (or someone in your family) has money sitting with New York State right now, just waiting to be claimed. Here’s what to know and how to check, in under five minutes.

Wait, the State Has My Money?

It’s more common than you’d think. Banks, insurance companies, corporations, and even the courts are legally required to hand over dormant or forgotten accounts to the New York State Comptroller’s Office. Think old savings accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten security deposits, unused gift cards, insurance payouts, stock dividends, or wages that never made it to you.

Once an account’s gone inactive long enough, it’s considered abandoned property and gets turned over to the Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds, no fee, no time limit, and it just sits there under your name until someone comes looking for it.

The Numbers Are Wild

The Comptroller’s office reports returning roughly $2 million a day to New Yorkers who file claims, and it’s already sent back over $163 million so far this year alone. Multiply that out over the years and you start to see why so many people have unclaimed cash out there without even knowing it.

How to Check (It Takes Minutes)

This part is genuinely easy:

  • Head to osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds and use the free search tool.
  • Enter your last name (or your business name) and hit search.
  • If there’s a match, you’ll see the details and can start a claim right online, most are paid out within 30 days.
  • No luck under your exact name? Try nicknames, maiden names, common misspellings, or old addresses.

It’s also worth searching for family members, since you can flag anything you find and the office will notify them directly. And if a claim isn’t found online but you know it’s out there, you can always follow up by mail.

A Word on Scams

Because this topic involves “free money,” it’s naturally a magnet for scammers. A few things to keep in mind: the Comptroller’s Office will never charge a fee to release your funds, and it won’t ask for sensitive personal or financial info out of the blue over email or a random link. If someone reaches out claiming to be “the government” and wants payment or private details before releasing your money, that’s phishing, full stop. Stick to the official site and you’re safe.

Bottom Line

It costs nothing and takes five minutes to check, so there’s really no reason not to. Go run your name (and your parents’, while you’re at it) through the database. Worst case, you find nothing. Best case, a check shows up in your mailbox.

IPHONE DUO…

Apple finally did it. At yesterday’s “Surprise and Shine” event at Apple Park, the company pulled back the curtain on its first-ever foldable iPhone — and after years of rumors, leaks, and speculation, the real thing is even more ambitious than most of us expected. Say hello to the iPhone Duo.

A New Shape for iPhone

This was also a bit of a milestone moment behind the scenes: it marked John Ternus’s first keynote as Apple’s CEO, following Tim Cook’s exit earlier this month. Fitting, then, that he used the stage to introduce what Apple is calling the biggest change to the iPhone in almost two decades.

The Duo uses a book-style folding design, closed it’s short, wide, and pocketable, but open it up and you get a full 7.6-inch internal display alongside a 5.4-inch outer screen for quick, on-the-go use. Both panels are Super Retina XDR OLED with ProMotion up to 120Hz, always-on support, and serious outdoor brightness. Apple says the unfolded screen is its largest iPhone display ever, offering roughly 50% more screen real estate than the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Built Like a Tank, Folds Like Paper

The engineering here is the real headline for gadget nerds. The frame and hinge cover are Grade 5 titanium, with a mirror-polished body and a hinge made from over 100 individual components engineered to keep the screen flat when open and stress-free when folding. Apple leaned on its Vision Pro team to help pull it off, and it shows: unfolded, the Duo is just 5.2mm thick, making it the thinnest iPhone Apple has ever made. Folded, it’s a more familiar 11.3mm and weighs 254 grams.

One detail worth calling out: the inner display uses a nano-texture finish specifically designed to cut down on glare and make that dreaded foldable-phone crease far less noticeable. Early hands-on impressions suggest Apple may have actually solved the crease problem that’s plagued every other foldable on the market.

The Trade-Offs

A phone this new comes with some notable departures from the iPhone playbook. There’s no Face ID here, instead, Touch ID is built into the side power button. The rear camera system skips the telephoto lens found on the iPhone 18 Pro, sticking with a 48MP main and 48MP ultra-wide pairing. Under the hood, it runs the same A20 Pro chip found in the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, backed by a dual-battery system built for the two-screen design.

It’s also an eSIM-only device, and while Apple didn’t mention MagSafe on stage, the spec sheet confirms it’s still supported.

Price and Release Date

Here’s the part that might make you wince: the iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for the base 256GB model, climbing to roughly $3,000 for the 2TB configuration. That’s a real premium over the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which start at $1,199 and $1,299 respectively. For anyone not ready to pay upfront, Apple’s new Apple Upgrade leasing plan starts at $57.99 a month.

It comes in two colorways, Star White and Night Sky, and unlike the rest of the new iPhone lineup (which ships September 18), the Duo won’t hit shelves until Friday, October 23, in more than 70 countries.

Worth the Wait?

Apple took its time getting here, and it shows in the details, the titanium build, the nano-texture display, the hinge engineering. Whether it’s worth the price tag (or the trade-offs like no Face ID and no telephoto) is going to come down to how it actually feels to use day-to-day, and how that hinge holds up months from now. But as a first swing at a totally new iPhone category, the Duo is easily the most interesting thing Apple has shipped in years.

Will you be lining up for one in October, or sitting this generation out? Let us know in the comments.