Yesterday we heard from Brooklynite Mariela Quintana on the ins and outs of a brownstone Halloween. Today, Upper West Sider Eliza Shapiro weighs in on a more local type of trick-or-treating.

Mastering the art of a successful Upper West Side Halloween is a subtle craft indeed. The UWS proper (not truly Morningside Heights, mind you) is certainly not the ideal neighborhood for a college student: you will have maneuver roving bands of 11-year-old candy-fiends on Friday night. However, should you decide to venture below 110th Street but still stay local, there is much neighborhood fun to be had this Hallows Eve.  

Scoff all you want, if one was truly dedicated to some form of trick-or-treating, the Upper West is the place for it. If your slutty nurse costume is too revealing to gain to access to the treasure troves of huge apartment buildings on Riverside and West End, fear not. Costumed or not, just walk along Broadway from the 80’s-100’s and be on the lookout for stores giving out candy: Bwog recommends heading to the bodegas and older neighborhood places and then to Amsterdam and Columbus and following the same protocol.

We suggest taking this walk in the afternoon when all the schools in Manhattan Valley get out to watch the mini-parade of little Batman and princess fairy costumes. There will also be several apartment buildings converted into haunted houses, mostly along West End. To be minimally creepy, there will be many neighborhood folk young and old at these pre-war funhouses.  

There are also, of course, the quintessentially Upper West options of taking an evening stroll through the always somewhat creepy Riverside Park (look for raccoons! seriously) or, of course, finding a good stoop to sit and sort your candy.