Halloween Updates: Green ET Attacks New Haven Boy; Lead Paint Horror Tale Prompts Rescue Plan

A New Haven human named Melvin McCoy found himself in the grip of a green extraterrestrial visitor on Halloween, while up the road a crew worked on freeing other New Haven humans from a real-life homegrown horror: lead-paint poisoning.

That was some of the fun mixed with a little serious business taking place Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening along the road that winds through Edgewood Park.

The occasion was a drive-in family holiday party organized by the city to enable parents to bring their costumed kids on the Halloween trail without worrying about either Covid or street mayhem.

Drivers lined up along Edgewood Avenue to enter the park road at Hobart Street beginning at 4 p.m. for the five-mile-per-hour cruise past macabre-themed stations.

Pepe Vega (framed by Amir Glenn and Aiden Vega) let them know where to find the music to accompany their ride.

The youth and recreation department’s Felicia Shashinka arranged for parents to mark down if their kids have peanut allergies, so that they would get nut-allergy-safe versions of the treat bags awaiting them by the skatepark at the end of the course.

“Say hello to my friends, the ghosts,” beckoned youth and rec’s Martin Torresquintero as families drove past his tricked-out ranger station.

Community Action Agency staffers were among those who dressed up vehicles to display along the route.

“I’m the mad fisherman!” proclaimed retired city Riverkeeper Peter Davis.

Some duck costumes were particularly realistic along the way.

A new entrant in this year’s version of the drive-through party was this float prepared by the Health Department’s lead paint remediation outreach team.

“That’s the best one we’ve seen all day!” Natasha Howard proclaimed as she ferried her charges Classy, Cash, Silver, and Champ past the float.

She asked what the point of the float was. She learned that the health department prepared the float — and brought along flyers to distribute — to let people know about the dangers of lead paint poisoning to children, and about federal money available to help clean up peeling lead paint in apartments.

Howard knew all about that problem. She said she learned the apartment she moved into on Orchard Street had peeling lead paint. She said she called the Livable City Initiative. Inspectors showed up, a little work was done, but the problem remains, she said.

Maybe not for long: Rafael Ramos (pictured), who oversees the lead effort as the city’s new director of environmental health programs, got her phone number and promised to follow up. ​“The float worked,” he said.

Info in hand, Howard pressed on …

… past more floats …

… and a sentry to the tunnel beneath the Edgewood Avenue Bridge …

… where shrieks and wicked wails filled the darkness, followed by the approach of zombies roaming at the other end.

Howard and everyone else — even alien-attacked Melvin McKoy — emerged safely. At the end, the bags of candy, some with peanuts, some not, awaited the survivors.