Halloween is Saturday, and the Upper East Side plans to spend most of Friday on it. Of the roughly 160 events on the city's 2026 Trick-or-Streets list, two are on the Upper East Side. One closes East 78th Street on Friday afternoon, and the other closes East 92nd Street for ninety minutes on Saturday. The neighborhood's biggest free Halloween event, at Asphalt Green on the river, also falls on Friday, which means anyone saving everything for Saturday evening will miss most of the organized part.
Two Blocks on the City's List
NYC DOT's Trick-or-Streets partner list runs from early October through Halloween night in all five boroughs. On the Upper East Side it has two entries. The Allen-Stevenson School is listed for East 78th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues on Friday, October 30, from 1 to 8 p.m. Carnegie Hill Neighbors is listed for East 92nd Street between Fifth and Park Avenues on Saturday, October 31, from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
On Saturday, much of the list is in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, where block associations have open streets running from noon or earlier into the evening. Several of those Brooklyn blocks run until 8 or 9 p.m. The Upper East Side's one Saturday closure lasts an hour and a half.
Here is the weekend in order. The two museum programs are on Fifth Avenue and across the park on Central Park West.
| Day | Time | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Oct. 30 | 1–8 p.m. | Allen-Stevenson School street event | East 78th St, Lexington to Park | Not listed |
| Friday, Oct. 30 | 2:30–3:30 p.m. | Asphalt Screams sensory-friendly hour | Litwin Field, 555 E. 90th St | Free, ticket required |
| Friday, Oct. 30 | 2:30–6 p.m. | Asphalt Screams street fair | Litwin Field, 555 E. 90th St | Free, ticket required |
| Friday, Oct. 30 | 3:30–6:30 p.m. | Asphalt Screams main event and haunted maze | Litwin Field, 555 E. 90th St | Free, ticket required |
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Spooky City: Faces and Places of NYC | Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave | Included with admission |
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Halloween Celebration | American Museum of Natural History | $25 plus admission, $15 plus admission for members |
| Saturday, Oct. 31 | 4–5:30 p.m. | Carnegie Hill Annual Spooktacular | East 92nd St, Fifth to Park | Free, no RSVP |
The DOT page says that events are subject to delay or cancellation, so check it again on the morning you head out.
Friday Runs From East 78th to the River
The East 78th Street closure covers the block between Lexington and Park, and the city lists it from 1 to 8 p.m. on Friday. That is the longest Halloween street window on the Upper East Side this year, longer than any other event in the neighborhood by several hours.
At the other end of the neighborhood, Asphalt Green's Asphalt Screams takes over Litwin Field on the Upper East Side campus at 555 East 90th Street. It is free and open to "friends, families, and kids of all ages," but Asphalt Green asks guests to claim free tickets online ahead of time so it can manage capacity.
Each part of the event has its own line cutoff, and the haunted maze closes first:
- Street fair: 2:30 to 6 p.m., line closes at 5:45
- Main event: 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., line closes at 6:15
- Haunted maze: 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., line closes at 5:30
The maze line closes an hour before the maze itself shuts down. A family arriving after school pickup at 5:15 has fifteen minutes to get in line. Come in costume and bring a clear or small bag for faster entry. Outside food and drinks are not allowed on the field.
East 78th and Asphalt Green are a crosstown walk apart, and their hours overlap almost completely. A Friday afternoon can include both.
Every Big Event Has a Quieter Option
Both of the neighborhood's large free events offer a lower-key way to take part, and each sets it up differently.
At Asphalt Green, the quiet option is a slot on the clock. Its sensory-friendly hour runs from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., before the main event begins, with reduced sound, lighting, and crowds. At 3:15 the music starts getting louder little by little, so the switch to the full event is gradual.
Carnegie Hill draws its line on the map instead. The Annual Spooktacular splits East 92nd Street at Madison Avenue. The block from Madison to Park is the "High-Energy Block," with games, dancing, and music. The block from Fifth to Madison is the "Chill Zone," which the organizers describe as "a calmer, low-sensory space for festive fun."
For planning, this makes the quiet options easy to find. At Asphalt Green, arrive early. At the Spooktacular, enter from the Fifth Avenue end. Children who want the louder block can walk east past Madison when they are ready, without leaving the event.
Saturday Morning Moves Indoors
Saturday has no street closures on the Upper East Side until 4 p.m. The organized daytime options are museum programs.
The Museum of the City of New York at 1220 Fifth Avenue is holding "Spooky City: Faces and Places of NYC" from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The activities come with museum admission. The museum asks visitors buying tickets online to include every guest, children too.
Across the park, the American Museum of Natural History runs its Halloween Celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with crafts, face painting, live marine biology, trick-or-treating, and a costume parade. It requires a separate event ticket on top of general admission. The event ticket is $25 for the public and $15 for members.
The two museum programs end at 3 and 4 p.m., just as the Spooktacular begins. A family can go from a museum morning to East 92nd Street without much waiting in between, and from MCNY at 103rd Street it is an eleven-block walk down Fifth.
Ninety Minutes on East 92nd Street
The Spooktacular is free, needs no RSVP, and runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. along East 92nd Street from Fifth to Park. Carnegie Hill Neighbors describes it as a family block party with costumes, music, dancing, games, trick-or-treating, and plenty of candy.
Ninety minutes on one Saturday is the only time the Upper East Side closes a street for Halloween itself. East 78th Street gets seven hours on Friday. Families who plan only one stop on the 31st should be there by 4.
After 5:30, the Decorated Blocks Take Over
Once the Spooktacular ends, the rest of Saturday evening is up to whoever is out walking. The streets with the most decorations are on no official list, and their best hour comes after the organized events end.
In the New York Post's October 16 guide to free Halloween events, a Yorkville resident suggests "heading out around dusk," when glowing jack-o'-lanterns light up blocks including East 87th Street between York and East End Avenues and East 78th Street between Park and Lexington. In the same piece, another New Yorker says the Upper East Side has her favorite creepy corners, with "more than 15 spooky houses in a 10- to 20-block radius."
East 78th Street appears twice in this post. The city closes it on Friday, and on Saturday evening it is a recommended stop for the decorations. Of all the blocks in the neighborhood, it has the most going on across both days.
For more streets, Upper East Site's 2024 decorations guide recorded displays that year on East 64th Street, including a motion-activated killer clown, Jack Skellington decorations inspired by "Nightmare Before Christmas" on East 62nd Street, a 12-foot skeleton on East 78th Street, and a giant spider on East 92nd Street. Those are 2024 sightings, so this year's displays may differ, and every one of them is on a private home, best enjoyed from the sidewalk.
Some visitors will head for the 69th Street block that keeps appearing in citywide guides. The Post places it on West 69th Street, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, on the Upper West Side.
The dogs have already had their turn. The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy held its Halloween Howl & Healthy Hound Fair, the park's yearly dog-costume event, on Sunday, October 18, at the basketball and hockey court and along John Finley Walk. Put it on the calendar for next October.
If you'd like an East Side block chosen with the same attention to timing, whether you're buying, selling, or renting, Irene Sarri would be glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
