That's it, we've had it with SantaCon. Over the years, this annual drunken shitshow has steadily devolved from cleverly subversive to barely tolerable to "time to lock yourself in your apartment for the day." Is it just us or was this year's SantaCon even more obnoxiously fratastic than usual? Gothamist photographer Katie Sokoler was grabbed and kissed (against her will) by a drunk man dressed as a Christmas tree, and she also witnessed inebriated Santas falling onto terrified children on the subway train. Meanwhile, a group of intoxicated Santas on Houston Street deliberately knocked over a disabled man with a cane.
The victim, who would only give us his first name, Rafael, walks with a cane because of a drunk driving accident. In an email followup, he told us:
I was walking down Houston in the blistering cold with a cane when all of a sudden I see an idiot dressed as Santa literally pushing strangers left & right. His obviously obliterated friends were laughing alongside with him but not participating in the pushing. I think to myself "he better not even dare" before Santa (wreaking of alcohol & a heavy duty physique) literally grabs my jacket and pushes me to the ground. Due to the fact that I'm literally 100 pounds, I flew down under, with enough reflex to not bash my head on the ground.
Then there's the revolting incident witnessed by local college student Brandon LeBlanc, who saw Santa vomit on a couple who were not participating in SantaCon:
It had to have been about 1 p.m. and I just got off the 6 train at the Brooklyn Bridge City Hall station. Immediately I noticed something was off when I saw a small group of Santas carrying on and singing Christmas carols. Initially I thought it was cute and that it was part of some flash mob or something, but nothing could prepare me for what I saw next. I turned and was greeted by an obviously drunk Santa who was stumbling and audibly harassing a young couple who were sitting waiting for a train. In traditional hobo fashion he was drinking what appeared to be a MD 20/20 from a brown paper bag, curious, I stayed to watch. He began staggering closer and closer to the now obviously agitated young couple who was trying to ignore them. As he staggered closer his mumbling grew louder and angrier, until he fell head first towards the wooden bench.
He landed in between the couple and hit the bench hard directly on his stomach, and in one fluid motion vomited in what can only be described in an explosion. It was literally a miniature puke fountain. The girl handed the guy napkins and he wiped his shoes and leg.
And James Quinn, a bartender on the Lower East Side, says his SantaCon "highlight" came when a mom dressed as a "sexy Santa" ordered drinks with a one-year-old baby and had the baby dance around the bar in a Santa hat. "She thanked us for letting her in with her child since the strip club won't let her in with the baby," Quinn tells us, adding that "the most disconcerting thing about SantaCon is that thousands and thousands of people dress up as the same thing so not a single one of them is liable for what another Santa does."
Exactly. The NYPD press office would not tell us if there were any SantaCon-related arrests yesterday, but we'd love to see the cops assigned to the SantaCon detail demonstrate some of the zeal they've shown for cracking skulls at Occupy Wall Street. We don't care how many cans of food the Santas donated, it's time for this boorish parade of conformity to be banished to the same circle of hell that awaits The Santa Clause star Tim Allen. And take the No Pants Subway ride with them!
Additional reporting by Bethany O'Grady
Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
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apple jax
Every baseball, football, hockey and basketball game both in person and televised = obnoxious drunken douche violent belligerent spectators. Solution: End all sporting events.
apple jax
youre a christmas hating bah humbug grinch douche. Do you hate st pattys day? cinco de mayo?new years eve? far bigger, just as drunk with no creativity and less fun. Santa says fuck you, coal in your stocking.
Shannon E. Kennedy
This was my ... 7th year participating in Santacon. I always viewed it as a costuming event. A chance to express yourself with other likeminded people and hoped for, more and more, Burners! This year was a total bust. I was a zombiefied Santa, with a fabulous handmade wig tweaked with teenie tiny mice... this year.. Santa's didn't bond with other Santa's .. Santa's were drunk and simple minded. We ended up breaking free and forming our own partAy... we entertained the tourists in time square and they were grateful. THAT was fun.
aktobk
the only difference between the negative events of santacon and the regular events that take place in the bar scene in manhattan is that at santacon, everyones wearing red so its easier to see. "omg but it happens durin ze day to!" ya well it also happens every damned weekend in the village. so i guess we better close all the bars down huh. bleh.
Phinny Bayle
I can't get through half this article or half these comments without hearing a bunch of 90yr old grandmas whining and crying about stuff younger people do. My god what a bunch of crotchety, cranky, whining old bitches you are. Such an obvious example of an editor using their pen to do what the rest of us are happy doing with friends at a bar after work... whining and crying about shit that isn't really a big deal. People have fun at Santa Con, I did the whole thing sober, and I had a blast. Take your tears, and call your mom, and the two of you can moan and whimper about how kids in your day were more respectful, and wonder "oy what is this world coming to?" Me... I'll be getting some sugar.. cookies with the hot ms. clause in a red skirt and goose bumps. Remember what that's like old man?!
It's really sad that SantaCon has turned into this. I will confess that I did have a lot of fun watching all the Santas this year as I always do. SantaCon has definitely become one of my favorite Off-Beat Holiday Events but with incidents like these, I can understand opposition.
I hate Santa Con and I lock myself into my apartment on Santa Con day while my kids go out and frolic, much to my personal shame.
Not all Santa's should be held responsible for the bad behavior of a handful of bad Santa's. Obviously, we need increased police presence on Santa Con days, message board where the police can complain about having to police the animal Santas, Santa pens to keep the Santas in Free Santa Zones and rules about Santas being allowed to bring their sacks of toys into public parks.
Have you forgotten that a dozen bars pledged part of their proceeds to Toys for Tots?
UserNom
this is my 3rd year going to Santacon and I think it depends on the group you go with. if youre a bunch of shitbag jersey/LI trash...then yeah..youre going to act like it. but youre going to act like it on any Saturday when youre drinking..so just b/c you have a santa costume on doesnt make it any worse. I witnessed some pretty cool stuff this weekend, carroling, people helping old ladies cross the street, giving candy to kids after asking the parents etc. There are a ton of negatives with Santacon but there's also a ton of good. In my subway car from Fulton & Bwy to GC, everyone made sure that the regular folks werent bothered and even ushered away the drunken dolts from them. Not to mention, when idiots started jumping on cars on Stone Street, the rest of the crowd pulled them off or chanted "asshole" at them, and they quickly got the point. dont crucify the event bc of a bunch of drunken idiots.
BPlease
I like how on your douchey planet, only B&T types pull this shit, group chants solve things, and 'tons of negatives' are somehow canceled by 'tons of good.' Shut up, stupid.
UserNom
who said anything about cancelling out? the fact is that it's not all negative and people can legitimately go out without being belligerent messes. those same idiots that everyone is griping about are idiots the other 364 days of the year.
There are so many ways I want to respond to this opinion piece, this is this most direct response I can give: http://j.mp/santacon2011torf
PSX Boy
This was my first SantaCon & I saw none of this "bad Santa" behavior the entire 12 hours I was there. The worst thing I saw was one Santa that had passed out on a couch in a bar in midtown around 8pm. But overall it seemed like everyone was having a good time, Santas & non-Santas alike. The bars were so packed that it took forever just to get from the door to the bar to order a drink & by the time you were done with it it was time to move on to the next place - I think I managed to get in 4 drinks over the entire 12 hours. I spent most of the time walking through the streets singing carols & handing out candy canes to kids. My group was stopped multiple times throughout the day by bystanders asking what was going on, but they were all genuinely happy about it. And the fact that there were exactly zero SantaCon-related arrests in NYC (http://www.nydailynews.com/new... ) should go to show you how few & far between these bad Santas actually were. Stop harping on the few bad apples and appreciate all the good, well-mannered Santas that were helping to spread a little holiday cheer.
New Idea Slow beginning Gaining steam Party Time Fun for all Cheer and joy More People Debauchery expands Vomiting in the streets Too many too many too many Fucking people Now Here comes the hate
it's a beautiful thing really Humans acting like Humans From the Santas to the Cynics
I suppose my pillow fight is next on your hatchet list, John?
Gwinny
I did the pillow fight once and found it way too violent -- no joke. Lots of teenage boys hitting WAY too hard and shoving people. It was worse than the mosh pit I once found myself in at a Ramones concert. I'm not trying to stop your event though, I just won't go anymore. I like the Bubble Battle better.
J_12
There is an amazing amount of bitterness here.
The point of Santa Con is for people to put on costumes, get drunk, and act like idiots. Most of the criticism here amounts to sour grapes because Santa Con has become too successful in achieving its goals. If you don't like it, just stay away from it (that's what I do) but don't pretend that it is some kind of blight on the city.
Yes, Santa Con attracts a fair share of douchebags and meatheads, and encourages some anti-social behavior, but look around and you will see things just as bad on St. Patricks Day, New Years Eve, the Puerto Rican Day parade, the godawful San Genarro festival, many Yankees home games (god forbid they should win the world series ...), and in fact many average weekend nights in the greater NYU area or around Bedford Ave in Williamsburg.
BPlease
You forgot to imperiously tell people to just move out of NYC if they can't handle it. Be sure to edit, won't you.
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