Bloomingdale Halloween Event Fate Still Undecided

"Nightmare on Bailey Ave." was one of several agenda items from Tuesday night's Bloomingdale Council meeting that was not discussed after council members left the meeting.

But pushing the discussion back on the Halloween-themed event may have further decreased the possibility that it will be held this year, according to Mayor Jonathan Dunleavy and some organizers.

"Nightmare on Bailey Ave." brings more than 1,000 residents to the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Bailey Avenue for trick-or-treating, spooky scenes, haunted houses and volunteers dressed in scary costumes. Last year, the council majority voted not to fund the Recreation Commission-sponsored event, as Republican council members have said they consider the event more to be a "neighborhood block party" as opposed to an event where the entire town is invited.

Councilwoman Linda Shortman said Wednesday she still has apprehension about the event being held on private property, but that she may have supported the event if questions she had about insurance liability could have been answered Tuesday night.

"I think that one of the problems that is nagging on this is this is private property. The question I wanted answered by the professionals was if we're covered under the insurance," she said. "I would have supported it if that one issue was clarified."

But the conversation did not happen Tuesday, after during a presentation made by Councilman Ray Yazdi and directed at Shortman on the AvalonBay Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program. No borough business was able to be conducted after there was no longer a quorum that night, and a special meeting was scheduled for Monday so that all of the agenda items not discussed can be revisited.

Monday may be too late for the Bailey Avenue event though, as discussion had already been postponed once from September after Shortman tabled the talk for a work session meeting.

"You just killed [Nightmare on] Bailey Ave.," Yazdi said Tuesday after the majority members left.

Yazdi is recused from voting on the issue because he is a primary organizer, but he told council members in September that at least a month is needed to build structures, purchase supplies and prepare for the Hallowen day. The council's approval is needed to have the borough block off the road during the event and also for the Recreation Commission to reimburse organizers for supplies.

After the meeting Tuesday, Yazdi said the event would still be possible only if a discussion was held by the end of this week.

"I already talked to all the people from all around town who offered to help," he said.

Yazdi said many people, including contractors who are currently working on private property on the street, have offered to help make the event a reality for the children, even with the shortened timeframe. But Mike Mascitello, another organizer, said last week, Mascitello said if the road blocking was not approved, the event would "absolutely not" be held because of the risk of safety of children walking in the street.

Dunleavy said he does not think the event being held this year is likely, even if the council votes in favor of it Monday. But ultimately, he said, it would be up to the organizers to decide if they are willing and able to pull it together in a timeframe that is less than half of what they say is normally needed.

"If [the vote is] postponed to next week, that would give them 15 days," he said.