Exclusive: NYC kids trick or treat at Gracie Mansion; tickets available to PIX11 viewers

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- Every year, Gracie Mansion is transformed into a haunted house for children.

This year, families from New York City shelters will be invited, including asylum-seeker children for the first time. PIX11’s Monica Morales got an exclusive one-on-one with the Department of Social Services commissioner about the importance of inclusion this year.

Converting Gracie Mansion into a fun place to visit for Halloween is weeks in the making. The Halloween fun at Gracie Mansion is first come, first serve. PIX11 News is the first to help you get tickets.

Families can expect ghosts, goblins, skeletons, and a corn maze. Also, the lawn outside Gracie Mansion has been converted into a cemetery of sorts.

Hundreds of kids in costumes trick or treat at the mayor’s house the weekend before Halloween. This year, Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Park said it will be a Halloween experience like no other.

More than 2,000 kids are expected to trick or treat at Gracie Mansion. Hundreds of families from nearby shelters were also invited, plus dozens of children of asylum-seeker families. For many, it will be their first Halloween in America.

Since launching in 2014, Park said Gracie Mansion’s Halloween celebration has always focused on inclusion, but this year is special. Planning for the event starts in the summer. Teams of people put up the decorations.  

Officials promise a fun and festive time for everyone.