Greenburgh Halloween traditions face new liability waiver requirement
Town officials say that they do not wish to decrease the number of events, but they recognize that these events should take place with certain precautions in place.
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A longtime Halloween tradition in parts of Greenburgh could look different this year as residents navigate new requirements for closing neighborhood streets to traffic.
For the past six years, Rebecca Berry said the town has provided barricades for Halloween in the Secor Woods neighborhood, with Berry and her husband setting them up and taking them down.
But Berry said residents were recently told they would also need $1 million in liability insurance.
“It’s just frustrating to all of a sudden have all these hoops to jump through when it’s been no big deal,” Berry said.
Robert Hak, who lives in the Orchard Hill section, received a similar message. Hak and his family have hosted a large Halloween event for years and wanted to close their street to traffic.
“We’ve never had a problem. We’ve never had any risk of any kind of collisions, but it’s Halloween. We wanted to reduce the risk given the number of people,” Hak said.
The town board has since backed away from the insurance requirement but say they found a middle ground.
Amid police safety concerns, the town attorney has created an indemnification agreement, or a liability waiver, that event organizers will be required to sign. According to the town attorney, the waiver is intended to encourage organizers to better protect pedestrians in the right of way while limiting the town’s liability.
The clause also clarifies the town’s concern about keeping vehicles away from people in the street.
Town officials say that they do not wish to decrease the number of events, but they recognize that these events should take place with certain precautions in place.
“I understand the town’s need to protect itself and to make sure that this isn’t just random events happening,” Hak said.
The town attorney says that indemnification must be required.
The town board did discuss that at a Wednesday night meeting that took place after News 12's deadline.
