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By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
Sorry kids, Halloween isn’t happening this year.
The Marine Park Civic Association has announced that there will be no Halloween Walk this year on account of the civic’s first-ever lawsuit.
“The Halloween Walk is off,” said president Jim Ivaliotis at the public meeting on Sept. 17. “It’s a result of us being sued, the first time in 29 years.”
Kids in Marine Park have grown up with the Halloween Walk, which began as a spooky night-time stroll through the park’s wooded trails, but evolved into a day-time event with costumed volunteers, contests, and candy.
Matthew Hosty, 18, grew up on Stuart Street and has attended every Halloween Walk since he was 13-years-old, and eventually began volunteering as the “Wolfman” three years ago.
He was shocked to hear that the heavily attended Marine Park tradition has been canceled.
“Yeah, I’m upset,” he said. “It was so much fun. A lot of people go, I couldn’t even give you a number.”
The civic association’s officers are staying mum on the details of the suit, except to say that it was filed in June this year and that it stemmed from an incident in October 2012.
The lawsuit was the primary reason for canceling the Halloween Walk, although financial concerns factored into the decision, according to Ivaliotis.
“It’s not purely monetary, but that’s a big part of it. In case this thing goes far, and we have to entertain more legal representation than just the insurance company lawyers representing us, there’s going to be a large cost of event insurance,” Ivaliotis said. “It’s too risky to do it and we had to make that decision.”
That being said, Ivaliotis is reluctant to institute a fee to attend the event, which the civic has provided free of charge since its debut.
“I’m really sorry,” said Ivaliotis. “This had become an institution, but it has to pass this year.”