The rain stopped just in time on Oct. 31 for the residents of Chester Drive and Douglas Circle in Greenhaven to emerge from their homes and lay down yellow brick road paint from a stencil bought on Etsy.
Buckets of candy appeared under a giant inflatable rainbow as a Wizard of Oz scene emerged all down the block.
Long-time Chester Drive resident Marilyn Cooper, age 91, was delighted to pass out candy. She was dressed as herself, but with obvious pride in her neighborhood.
“I have been here in this street since 1972,” she said. “And look at all this enthusiasm. Look at all these young people.”
The street was transformed into a Wizard of Oz extravaganza, a collaboration between neighbors who refer to themselves as the “Chester Drive/Douglas Circle Crew.” Everyone pitches in, which is how Ethan Chin, a 2016 Rye Neck High School graduate, came to set up an outdoor screen with sound effects, and a Wizard played by resident Shai Eapen spoke from it, addressing trick-or-treaters.
“Hey, the Wizard said my name!” one child in costume exclaimed.
This outsized Halloween collaboration is nothing new for these neighbors, who have sometimes shortened their neighborhood group’s moniker to CD/DC or just “Chester Crew.” They work together in a partnership that was forged in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year it was called “Welcome to the Land of Oz, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, Brought to you by the neighbors of Chester Drive.”
Amy Eapen, Shai’s wife, who handcrafted her own Tin Man costume, said this year’s theme was her idea but another neighbor, Rachel Silva, was the “project manager.”
Silva said a lot of the collaboration happens using a What’s App group chat of CD/DC. Several of the neighbors moved in just before Covid and, isolated in their homes, were looking for reasons to get together, socially distanced. Silva organized food trucks and they had “Food Truck Fridays” during Covid. After that, Halloween began to happen — Witches, Care Bears, Handmaid’s Tale, and now The Land of Oz.
“I have to pinch myself,” said neighbor Kristin Ascher. “We lucked into the right cul-de-sac.” Barbara Wang showed off her Scarecrow costume, like others, all mostly handmade.
Do the children of the neighborhood even remember “The Wizard of Oz?”
“They know ‘Wicked,’” said Amy Eapen. “And a new “Wicked” movie is coming out.”
Ethan’s father, Thomas Chin, surveyed the yellow brick road and pointed to the home of his neighbor, Bibi Hull. The house, complete with gravestones, a giant spider web — and spider! — included a hanging woman, seemingly suspended in midair. Hull is known for her annual Halloween display. Silva called her the “creative genius” of the crew.
Hull shrugged and said she and her husband, Rodney, had one of their first dates 25 years ago on Halloween. Because of that and their having lived for a time in an area of the Upper West Side known for Halloween decorations, they take the holiday seriously.
Over the years, she and Rodney have built all kinds of decorations, including an E.T.-moon-and-bicycle prop. This year, she said, Rodney was a “good sport” to dress up as a flying monkey to accompany her Wicked Witch costume.
The Chester Crew is now hard at work planning a Christmas Tree lighting in the center of the circle on Chester Drive.
And they already are batting around ideas for next Halloween.
One possibility: “Nightmare on Chester Drive.”
