Super storm Sandy scares away Halloween

Children in New Jersey will have to wait for Halloween this year after Gov. Chris Christie signed an executive order postponing trick-or-treating and other holiday celebrations across the state.

Executive Order 105 will postpone Halloween activities until Nov. 5 because of the dangerous conditions left in the wake of super storm Sandy.

“I’ve taken this action to minimize additional risks to lives and the public safety as we begin the process of rebuilding and recovering from Hurricane Sandy,” Christie announced in a written statement.

New Jersey officials aren’t alone in pushing off the holiday. The White House also canceled Halloween activities.

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Perhaps the most high-profile postponement was that of New York’s huge parade in Greenwich Village, with its outlandish floats and millions of revelers, mainly adults, the Associated Press reported.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city’s police were simply too taxed with Sandy’s aftermath. Trick-or-treating, the mayor said, could go ahead as long as caution and good judgment were used.

It was the first time the parade had been canceled in its 39-year history, Jeanne Fleming, who has directed the event for 32 of those years, told the Associated Press. Also being canceled was the popular Jackson Heights Halloween Day Parade in Queens.

Towns in Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Maine also halted festivities because of the danger posed by flooding, downed power lines and fallen trees.

Seventh-grader Samantha Bertolino of Ridgefield, Conn., told the Associated Press that a postponed Halloween just won’t be the same.

“It’s kind of like trying to reschedule Christmas,” she said. “You can’t really do that.”

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