Tompkins Square Dog Parade: A victim of its own success?

Plus: A plan to make 5th Avenue more pedestrian-friendly [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [He’s been running the Tompkins Square Dog Parade since 2020. Now, he’s ready to quit.]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☀️ Sunny, highs in the upper 60s. It's Friday in New York City, where the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade returns to the East Village tomorrow — more popular than ever. And it's become too much of a production for one guy to manage. "I need another, bigger entity to take over this beast," said Joseph Borduin, who's been running the event since 2020. Here's how the canine costume contest — which will run down Avenue A tomorrow due to construction in the park — became arguably [the marquee Halloween event in the city](. And here's what else is happening: - Mayor Eric Adams yesterday unveiled a plan to [double the width of the sidewalks and reduce the number of traffic lanes]( on 5th Avenue between Bryant Park and Central Park. (It's unclear when, or if, the plan will become a reality.) - Police said an Uber driver in Queens was attacked in his vehicle last week by a woman who [bit him, pushed him to the curb and stole his car](. - An off-duty correction officer who shot and killed a teenager playing with a fake gun [was found not guilty of manslaughter or second-degree murder]( by a Bronx jury yesterday. - Federal prosecutors have charged an Indian government official for his alleged involvement in a scheme to [have a Sikh separatist leader and New York City resident assassinated](. - The city’s multibillion-dollar shelter system has been plagued with [nepotism, self-dealing and conspicuously high salaries for executives]( according to the Department of Investigation. - The state's human rights office, which is supposed to support New Yorkers who've been denied housing because of their race or ethnicity, has chronically [mishandled those discrimination complaints]( according to a new comptroller's audit. - For the first time in four years, New York City did not break a new record for overall drug overdose deaths in 2023 — but [overdose rates among Black New Yorkers]( have remained stubbornly high. - A former Long Island funeral home owner who [sprayed police officers with wasp killer during the Capitol riot]( pleaded guilty to assault charges yesterday. - Mayor Adams said the first phase of the East Side flood protection project [is complete]( — two months early and $10 million under budget. - Donald Trump visited a Bronx barbershop yesterday, though he didn't get his hair cut or [apparently convince the shop owner to vote for him](. - In other Trump news, the mysterious owner(s) of four betting accounts has poured $30 million worth of cryptocurrency into [bets that Trump will win the election](. - "Sounded like an explosion, it sounded like a bomb went off honestly": An NJ Transit bus blew a tire at the Port Authority bus terminal yesterday, [shattering the glass in front of a waiting area and seriously injuring one man](. - A [great white shark washed up]( on a Cape Cod beach this week. - [Pro-Palestinian]( soda. - [Frigid]( Feeld party. [“I was just cleaning up the dog run, and then October came around and they were like, ‘Hey, don’t forget about our annual Halloween parade.’”]( - Tompkins Square Park Dog Run regular Joseph Borduin on how he wound up running [THE INTERNATIONALLY-RENOWNED HALLOWEEN DOG COSTUME CONTEST]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [GPS system for NYC school buses off to bumpy start]( When New York City’s public school system launched its NY School Bus App in January, officials promised "peace of mind" to families who would be able to track students’ bus trips in real time. But 10 months into the effort, only 19,000 out 145,000 families – or just 13% – are using the app. [The Elizabeth Street Garden gets two more weeks to avoid an eviction]( A down-to-the-wire filing means an appellate judge will have to hear both sides once again by Oct. 30. [We Rely On Your Support]( [AOC ventures into the Hudson Valley to help a fellow Dem. Will it work?]( Rep. 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