Chelsea

Frightening times could mean an even scarier Halloween.

New Yorkers are expected to cut back this year – buying less candy, wearing used costumes, recycling old decorations and throwing fewer parties.

“The economy has caught up to Halloween this year,” said Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, which is predicting a 15.4 percent decrease in Halloween-related spending, based on a consumer survey.

“Since retailers know that American’s will be looking to celebrate on a budget, there’s no doubt we will see creative costume and decorating in every price point imaginable,” Mullin added.

Costume Cutbacks

Local shop owners noted that tough times have put some costume manufacturers out of business over the last two years, making it harder to fill shelves.

“By now I usually have my whole order, but I don’t even have half now,” said Kodi Hadrick, manager of Abracadabra in Chelsea.

Hadrick is having trouble stocking this season’s most popular costume: Michael Jackson.  The lack of vendors and increase in demand has led to both shoddier outfits and higher prices, she said.

The Jackson suits rose to $65 this year from $45 – but that’s still a bargain compared to higher-end costumes of all sorts popular in years past.

Bargain Hunting

“Buyers are stocking up on smaller stuff to accessorize and making the costumes themselves as opposed to spending $100 on a full costume,” said Justin Nelson, manager of the Halloween Adventure Shop in Union Square.

Those who lack a crafty side might want to try Craigslist.org, where a used fat ballerina inflatable suit goes for $15 while a vampire costume for a toddler runs $12. Meanwhile, Housing Works, a non-profit thrift store chain in New York City, is selling used outfits at an Oct. 24 “Costume for a Cause!” fundraiser.

“The overriding theme for Americans’ Halloween celebrations this year will be, ‘How creative can I be, and how little can I spend?’” said Phil Rist, executive vice president of BIGresearch, who conducted the Halloween survey for the National Retail Federation.

Preservationists in Chelsea and Greenwich Village fear a loophole in a City Council bill could bring a blight of advertising into some historic neighborhoods.

“I think it is certainly likely to diminish the character of buildings in commercial and manufacturing zones in historic districts,” said Ed Kirkland, chairman of the Community Board 4 Landmarks Committee.

The bill, proposed Councilmember Melinda Katz (D-Queens), would legalize advertising on construction sheds that cover sidewalks when buildings undergo exterior construction.  Advertisements wouldn’t be allowed to abut any buildings or sites that have historic designation from the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, under the bill.

But advertising could still appear in historic districts originally zoned for commercial and manufacturing uses, which would include parts of Greenwich Village and West Chelsea, according to Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. (more…)

It’s far from the national pasttime. But netball, an English-born sport played by 20 million people worldwide, is gaining a foothold in New York.

The Manhattan International Netball Club, which practices in a Chelsea gym, recently played in a national tournament in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

The team members are largely expatriates from England and some of the 70 other countries where netball is played. While women have historically played the non-contact sport, that is changing. The Bronx has its own men’s team.

Bizarro Basketball

To the uninitiated, netball looks like bizarro basketball meets Ultimate Frisbee.

The court is slightly larger than a basketball court, and there are baskets but no backboards. Players can’t dribble, either – it’s a passers’ game. And while each position is zoned, players shadow their counterparts up and down the court. A defender must leave three feet of space once an opposing team member catches a pass.

Netball has long been a mainstay of the Commonwealth Games, and there’s a push to make it an Olympic event.

Locally, Matthias Wilkie, president of the USA Netball Association, hopes to expand the game beyond the expatriate community, by bringing it to schools.

Cheslea residents are fighting to landmark a townhouse that newly discovered evidence indicates may have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.

The W. 29th Street home was once owned by Abigail and James Gibbons, two prominent 19th Century abolitionists with ties to Harriet Tubman’s famed escape route for slaves.

Construction on a penthouse addition to the building has been ordered stopped by the city as the Landmarks Preservation Commission considers whether to declare the townhouse a landmark.