"It's great to see folks start passing by early in September, to see if we have begun," Frederic Sandy told the Forest Hills Times last fall. He was talking about the "31 Days of Halloween" display he and his family put up at 87-23 69th Avenue, near Metropolitan Avenue and Sybilla Street.
That quote is a good way into October 2026. Forest Hills Halloween used to be something people found by walking past. This year the neighborhood has put it on a calendar. On Saturday, October 31, the first Forest Hills Halloween Parade and Costume Contest assembles at Sybilla Street and 69th Road. That's the same cross street people have used for more than a decade to find the Sandy house. Six days before that, Austin Street is the Queens pick on the city's list of five borough signature events for its record Trick-or-Streets program.
The calendar has three anchors: one house, one open street and one parade. Most of what's useful to know follows from how they connect.
A display that outgrew its block
The "31 Days of Halloween" has been growing since 2014, according to the Forest Hills Times profile by Michael Perlman. Sandy often starts decorating on the first day of fall. The 2025 edition added the display's biggest animatronic yet, a 15-foot scarecrow, with a soundtrack built around Ozzy Osbourne and KISS. KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was a local native.
The best measure of how big it got is what happened to the street around it. Last year the 112th Precinct let the family close the block for safety because of the foot traffic. It was also the first year the household accepted candy donations. The neighborhood also builds part of the display itself. The "100 Pumpkin Challenge" started in 2020 and asks people to drop off carved jack-o'-lanterns for the display, tagged #100pumpkinchallenge.
"The 31 Days of Halloween has definitely grown, which is obvious in the crowds," Sandy said, noting that the ForestHillsHalloween TikTok channel has followers from all over the world.
The Forest Hills Halloween House website shows a live countdown to Halloween and lists the 69th Avenue address. It hasn't posted 2026 dates or hours yet, and the gallery is still labeled 2025. Last year's profile said the house usually opens on October 1, so it makes sense to stop by. Check the site or the family's social channels before you plan a visit around a specific evening.
The parade turns a house display into a procession
Sandy is also the lead organizer of the parade, which he's presenting with the Metro Village of Forest Hills Businesses. Metro Village is a local nonprofit that works with Forest Hills businesses and residents. The organizer's page lays out the route:
- Assembly: Sybilla Street and 69th Road
- Start: 12:00 p.m., Saturday, October 31
- Route: Toward and along the Metropolitan Avenue business corridor
- Finish: Continental Avenue, also known as 71st Avenue, at Metropolitan Avenue
- Street closure: Metropolitan Avenue closed to traffic from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m., police-sanctioned
- Weather: Rain or shine
NYC DOT's Trick-or-Streets listing has slightly different details. It shows the Forest Hills Halloween Parade on 69th Avenue from Sybilla Street to Metropolitan Avenue, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with Metro Village of Forest Hills as the organizer. The organizer's page calls itself a work in progress and promises more details. It doesn't yet list costume-contest rules, categories, registration or participating businesses. Plan to arrive before 11 if you want to be at the assembly point, and watch the parade site for final timing. It also has a downloadable route map.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the parade has a full weekend day around it. The route also puts the costume crowd on Metropolitan Avenue's storefronts while the street is closed. The organizers say that was the point, describing the protected pedestrian corridor as a way for local businesses "to enjoy the foot traffic."
Austin Street gets citywide billing
On September 30, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn announced the largest Trick-or-Streets so far, with 160 car-free Open Streets and plazas across the five boroughs. It's the fifth year of the program. DOT's list of signature events has five entries, one per borough. The Queens entry is the Austin Street Open Street, between 71st Avenue and 71st Road, on Sunday, October 25. It's produced by Neighbors for a Safer Austin Street with Hive Public Space.
Citywide, the programming includes trick-or-treating, face painting, live entertainment and games. DOT says it's giving out 75,000 pieces of candy across the program. No one has published an Austin Street schedule act by act yet.
The end time depends on which source you read. DOT's event table lists 2:00 to 7:00 p.m., and 6sqft reported the same hours on October 2. The mayor's announcement says 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Plan on the 2:00 start, and treat anything after 5:00 as a bonus until the organizers confirm.
Put the open street and the parade together and you get the shape of Forest Hills Halloween this year. One weekend is centered on Austin Street's shopping blocks. The next is centered on Metropolitan Avenue, with the Sandy house, near Metropolitan and Sybilla Street, close to where the parade lines up. The Forest Hills Times noted last year that shops and restaurants on both Austin Street and Metropolitan Avenue already join in Halloween, along with the decorated Forest Hills Gardens rowhouses on and near Burns Street. What's new in 2026 is that both corridors have official dates.
The month, laid out
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Oct. 10 | Foster The People, with Goth Babe | Forest Hills Stadium | Doors 5:30 p.m. |
| Fri, Oct. 16 | FISHER, with DISCO DOM and No Socials | Forest Hills Stadium | Doors 5:00 p.m. |
| Sat, Oct. 17 | FISHER, with OMNOM and KITTY | Forest Hills Stadium | Doors 5:00 p.m. |
| Sun, Oct. 25 | Forest Hills Greenmarket | Queens Blvd. and 70th Ave. | 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. |
| Sun, Oct. 25 | Austin Street Trick-or-Streets | Austin St., 71st Ave. to 71st Rd. | From 2:00 p.m. |
| Fri, Oct. 30 | Restoration Fridays at Forest Park | Buddy Monument | 10:00 a.m. to noon |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | Forest Hills Halloween Parade | Sybilla St. and 69th Rd. to Metropolitan and Continental | Noon per organizer, 11:00 a.m. per DOT |
The stadium dates in the first three rows come from Forest Hills Stadium's own upcoming-events list. The FISHER nights on October 16 and 17 are the last shows listed there for the season.
Filling in the weeks between
October 25 is the easiest day to stack. The Forest Hills Greenmarket runs year-round on Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Queens Boulevard and 70th Avenue, next to MacDonald Park. It closes just as Austin Street opens a short walk away, so you can pick up pumpkins in the morning and get to the open street for the afternoon.
Forest Park has free programs most weeks. NYC Parks lists free intenSati sessions at Myrtle Avenue and Park Lane South on October 7, 14, 21 and 28, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Restoration Fridays volunteer mornings meet at the Buddy Monument on October 16 and 30. The park's official October calendar doesn't list a Halloween-specific event.
Two summer openings now fit into a Halloween weekend route. Kostantina Frozen Yogurt opened July 16 at 7238 Austin Street, at 72nd Road, just past the open street's blocks. Masani Pizza opened July 15 at 96-01 69th Avenue near Harrow Street, in the former Lillian Pizza space. That puts Masani on the same avenue as the Halloween house.
Here is a simple way to cover the month:
- Early October: Walk past 87-23 69th Avenue once the display is up, and bring a carved pumpkin for the display if the 100 Pumpkin Challenge returns.
- October 10 or 16–17: Pick a stadium night, or take advantage of the last quiet weekends before the stadium season ends.
- Sunday, October 25: Greenmarket in the morning, Austin Street from 2:00, then frozen yogurt at 72nd Road.
- Saturday, October 31: Be at Sybilla Street and 69th Road before 11:00 a.m., follow the parade down Metropolitan Avenue to Continental, and expect Metropolitan to stay closed to cars until about 1:30 p.m.
The house on 69th Avenue has drawn a crowd since 2014. This is the first year the rest of the neighborhood has set dates around it.
Most of our week happens on these same Forest Hills streets, from Austin Street to Metropolitan Avenue. If you have questions about the neighborhood or its buildings, or you just want a local's read on which blocks go all out for Halloween, reach out to the team at Skyline Residential & Commercial. We're always glad to talk about Forest Hills.
