'Nightmare on Bailey Ave.' May Be a Dead Issue

The Bloomingdale Council is expected to continue discussion on the "Nightmare on Bailey Ave." event Tuesday night, even though some organizers have said it may be too late to still hold the event with less than a month's notice to prepare for Halloween.

"Nightmare on Bailey Ave." is a Halloween-themed event where organizers have said more than 1,000 residents flock to the Bailey Avenue neighborhood on Halloween to visit haunted houses, be spooked by neighbors dressed in costume and trick-or-treat.

Discussion on the event was tabled until Tuesday after Councilwoman Linda Shortman said she felt the conversation would be more appropriate for a work session meeting. The item came before the Bloomingdale Council in September after first receiving approval from the Bloomingdale Recreation Commission and needed support from the council in order for the street to be blocked off to traffic. Shortman said Monday she wanted the discussion to be tabled because "I, and others, have questions about this event."

Those questions include the total costs associated with the event and whether additional insurance is needed. Shortman previously voiced sentiments that she would not be in favor of the borough supporting "Nightmare on Bailey Ave."

"If it's not too late and questions are answered, I may support it," she said.

Michael Mascitello, a Bailey Avenue resident and one of the organizers, said he does not think the Republican council members, who voted in favor of the tabling discussion on the topic, understand how important the event is to the community.

"[Shortman] doesn't know the magnitude of this. In tabling the discussion, it's essentially shut it down," he said.

Mascitello said he has been involved in organizing the event since 2000. In 2003, he approached the borough to inquire about the road being blocked off on Halloween because he was concerned about the safety of the children who walk in the street and he has been filling out the road block request form every year since. Even if the event is not held this year, Mascitello is concerned about safety.

"My concern is that [the kids are] going to come here looking for it and the street won't be shut off, we don't have sidewalks, sometimes the street lights don't come on," he said. "Cars come flying down the street."

The Bloomingdale Recreation Department has sponsored the event in the past, reimbursing residents for costs associated with materials used to build structures. According to Mascitello, the event was held every year since 2003, with when the council majority voted not to support "Nightmare on Bailey Ave." This year, Mascitello said he feels politics is getting in the way of something that has been enjoyed by residents of all ages.

"You want to know how to kill a town spirit and kill Bailey Avenue? Just table the vote," he said.

Shortman said she is still uncomfortable with the event being held on residents' private properties and considers "Nightmare on Bailey Avenue" to be a "neighborhood block party," despite Councilman Ray Yazdi, who has recused himself from votes on the topic because he is an organizer, arguing otherwise. 

"As a resident, I, and others I spoke to, never knew it was open the public," Shortman said.

But Mascitello said "Nightmare on Bailey Ave." is not not exclusive to children and families of the Bailey Avenue neighborhood.

"This evolved. This became something by the people, for the people," he said.

Mascitello said more than a dozen volunteers are needed to plan the event and that it simply may be too late to throw it together. Without approval to block the road, he said the neighborhood will not host the event this year and even if the council votes Tuesday to block off the road, there may not be enough time.

The Bloomingdale Council will meet at 7 p.m. at Bloomingdale Borough Hall.