The annual Village Halloween Parade marched on last night, despite an earlier attack that killed eight less than a mile from its route, when Sayfullo Saipov drove a truck down the Hudson River bike path Tuesday evening. Albeit a slightly more dim crowd than usual, New Yorkers showed their resilience and attended the Village parade, and the performances were as passionate as ever.
A strong police presence helped alleviate some of the tension among onlookers, although the NYPD did not release how many additional officers were present than originally planned.
In an act of solidarity, Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio attended the parade later that evening. “This afternoon was terrible,” Cuomo told CNN. “We’re at a Halloween parade to say, ‘You didn’t win, you didn’t affect us.’ We’re living our lives because we’re not going to let the terrorists win, period.”
Gov. Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio march in annual Halloween parade in the West Village, hours after deadly truck attack https://t.co/Btu10DnwcT pic.twitter.com/ZUcYoIlPDI
— ABC News (@ABC) November 1, 2017
Some parade-goers were in fact comforted by the heightened security. The night ended with the Empire State Building glowing red, white, and blue in memoriam for the victims.
