Normally, Chipotle celebrates Halloween by just inviting people to dress up in tinfoil like a burrito, but this year, as part of their big push to highlight locally-sourced ingredients, the chain is asking people to dress up like a farm instead. Your reward? A $2 "BOO-rito" and the chance to win $2,500. more ›

Lady Gaga may be one of the most powerful women according to Forbes, but the Jersey Shore kids are beating her in the Halloween costume contest. The reality television personalities are allegedly the most popular outfits of the season, despite looking like this. more ›

It's almost Halloween, which means it's time for humans to dress their dogs in costumes so we can oooh and ahhh over them. This Saturday is the 20th Annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade. The event will take place from noon to 3 p.m., and this year there's even going to be a photo booth area in the dog run, which will act as a red carpet for the pups. If past attendance is any indication, expect about 500 dogs in costumes! If you make it over there, be sure to send us your photos or tag them "Gothamist" on Flickr. Let's see if these dogs can give the cats a run for their money. more ›

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum's campaign for a space shuttle is still going strong! And tomorrow, you can join them in solidarity. They're "inviting New Yorkers to publicly show their passion for space exploration. Please join us—dressed up as your favorite space themed character—as we ride the S train shuttle from Grand Central Terminal to Times Square." Can't argue with their fervor, a retired space shuttle would be a lot cooler than the subway shuttle. more ›

Costumed characters from Sesame Street and other children's shows have become a regular fixture in Midtown, where they can make about $80 per day posing for photos with tourists, according to the Post. The tabloid spoke with the men behind the masks, and learned that there's a science to figuring out the rates. "I charge one dollar for some people, and more for others," said José Montier, 40, who dresses as Cookie Monster. "It depends on if they're a big group, if they look like they're rich." more ›

Santacon wasn't this weekend's only crazy costume event. Dozens of New Yorkers donned turn-of-the-century garb for the second-ever "Vintage Tea Party" which took place yesterday on an antique V train. Participants sipped tea, nibbled on dainty cookies, and did just about everything else you'd expect at an old-timey gathering as they traveled from Lower Manhattan to Long Island City and back. Though the "Vintage Tea Party" is over, locals looking for antique entertainment can still ride in classic subway cars on the "Nostalgia Train" — which will run on the V line on Dec. 20 and Dec. 27 between 10 am and 5 pm. more ›

A group of costume-clad commuters will turn a subway ride into a subterranean soiree. The tour guides from Levys' Unique New York will host a free, unsanctioned "Vintage Tea Party" on an antique subway train where costumed straphangers can sip tea, dine on dainty cookies, and enjoy "everything else you'd expect from a late-19th century parlor-room drama," according to organizers. more ›

The Manhattan District Attorney's office announced yesterday that 15 people were arrested on charges including grand larceny in connection with an identity-theft ring. Prosecutors say that the crime ring stole more than $700,000 in an overly elaborate and complicated scheme, involving (but not limited to): An old-timey band of pick-pockets, futuristic identity theft, and of course, costumes. more ›

Last month celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and Emeril Lagasse visited the White House garden to film part of a special two-hour episode of Iron Chef America to emphasize locally-grown, healthy food. The three were joined by the White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford, who teamed up with Flay against the other two chefs in a cooking contest filmed later in NYC. more ›

It may have been raining, but the annual Village Halloween Parade still attracted thousands of costumed marchers and spectators. Check out these photographs from our readers (and thank you for sharing them!). more ›

While the humans get the big Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village on October 31, canines have a series of Halloween Parades to participate in. This past weekend, there dogs were decked out in elaborate costumes in both Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side and Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Take a look at these awesome costumes—our favorite is the Hulk Dog, if only because she endured getting dyed green! Update: We learned that Hulk Dog is an Olde English Bulldogge named Fanny—she got 2nd place for her costume. more ›

We thought that using Craigslist to find someone to harass one's married lover's wife was bad, but Topless Robot offers up this NYC Craigslist ad. TR does warn with its headline that "The Most Awful Nerd in America Found," and that sensitive souls might be disturbed by it—plus "I don't think I'll ever be clean" again after reading it: "Need an amputee to complete my Halloween costume (Brooklyn)"... more ›

We can't decide if this trend is more or less inappropriate than the slatternly tween Halloween costume fad. While it's true that only a very sick perv would be aroused by these provocative pooch costumes, isn't that also true of the "Devil Grrrl" costume for eight-year-olds? As we were recently reminded by that New Jersey cow-fucking incident, bestiality is still a thing, and if you're going to go out with your dog dressed like this, you should definitely keep it on a tight leash. more ›

It's common for boring female grownups to dress up as slutty nurses/schoolgirls/nuns or whatever on Halloween, but now pre-teens are mimicking their airhead elders, and there's a whole range of sexually provocative costumes on sale for pre-pubescent girls. The retail chain Party City is well-stocked with everything to make this Halloween a happy one for pedophiles, from a pirate costume for 8-year-olds dubbed the "High Seas Hottie" to a "Devil Grrrl" costume that comes with a red miniskirt, fishnets, a tiny pitchfork, and the sales pitch: "This grrrl devil likes to get things heating up!" It gets creepier... more ›

Did any of these people ever even see Fame? You wouldn't know it by looking at the outfits they chose for the costume contest that was held last night in conjunction with a screening of the classic 1980 film. This all went down in McCarren Park, where one would wager the audience had way more interesting 80s vintage incorporated into their daily attire than they did for the event. Cut-off tees? Jean shorts? Yawn. Check out the contestants, the winners and the disaffected hipsters, above. more ›

Have really fake-looking beard, will rob: Surveillance footage has emerged of two men who disguised themselves as Hasidic Jews to rob a Diamond District jewelry importer on New Year's Eve afternoon. more ›

For some reason, this amazing contest from the Parks & Recreation Department escaped our attention until now! Parks officials want you to think of a mascot! This adorable (and nutty) image of a squirrel unzipping his fur (ew) to reveal a Parks logo is included, but don't let that stymie your imagination: "Is it Nutty the Squirrel, Hudson the Hawk, or Parker the Leaf? Is it another animal, person, or object, or a previously unknown creature that emerged from the depths of New York City’s 29,000 acres of parks, gardens, and forests?" Person? That means you could potentially suggest former Parks Commissioner Robert Moses! Still, keep this in mind: "Designs must be able to be produced into a costume that can be worn by an adult between 5’6” and 6’ in height and up to 180 pounds in weight. There may be some creative adjustments to your original design due to accommodations made for the human body." More details here. more ›

You didn't think you'd get out of here without some more ADOWABLE doggy costume photos to brighten up this nasty rainy day, did you? These heartwarming shots were taken by Katie Sokoler on Sunday at the McGorlick Park dog costume parade. It would be just too much cute to publish all the photos here—we do have some restraint—so feel free to overindulge at her flickr set. And for the Halloween dog completist, here are our other bow-ntiful photo spreads. Tomorrow, photos from the annual chinchilla costume parade in East New York! (Teaser.)
more ›

Today was the sort of day rain dates were made for. After getting washed out yesterday, Tompkins Square Park had plenty of autumn sunshine for what is claimed to be the country's largest dog costume parade. Thousands of dollars in prizes including six iPods were given away to the owners of the winning dogs. more ›

The best part of Halloween is unequivocally being able to dress your pets up in costumes without being dubbed "crazy." This weekend some totally normal humans will be showing off their costumed canines in Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park at the 10th annual Great Pupkin Dog Costume Contest. Get there at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday if you want to register your pup, and shortly after if you want to be a spectator. Wonder how many John McCanine and Bark Obama outfits there will be! more ›

Awww, are you ready to have your heart warmed up by 100 zillion watts of pure canine cuteness? While the furry masses crowded Times Square Sunday for the Fourth Annual Dog Day Masquerade, the city's well-heeled hounds opted for a more refined day of dress-up at Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side, where the annual Halloween Howl was as pup-ular as ever. Flickr aficionado "istolethetv" was all over it like Scooby on snacks.
more ›

It's gonna be a scorcher today, the first day of Williamsburg Walks -- where the neighborhood creates a pedestrian-only zone on Bedford Avenue between Metropolitan and North 9th Street. more ›

more ›