dreaded SantaCon NYC is this weekend; free Fireball party yachts cancelled
SantaCon, that annual scourge where and drunken and debauched people descend onto the streets in Santa outfits, returns to NYC this Saturday, December 14, in case you’re looking for an excuse to not to leave the house this weekend. As Gothamist points out, Fireball whiskey was set to sponsor five free party yachts this Saturday, launching from Skyport Marina, effectively corralling many Santas away from the rest of us while they drink themselves silly on the East River. However, it seems that local politicians have put the kibosh on the festive floating fiestas. Council member Keith Powers, State Senator Brad Hoylman, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein and others penned a letter to Vice President of NY Waterway Donald Liloia, which you can read in full below. “It has come to our attention,” the letter reads, “that [Skyport] marina will be serving as a SantaCon party site for over 2,000 partygoers on Saturday beginning at 11:00 a.m.” It continues:
A full-day free event of this size, particularly one which attracts attendees likely to be intoxicated, will cause a substantial disturbance to neighbors. In the past, our offices have heard from constituents bothered by the noise from party boats launching at the Skyport Marina, and we have been able to work together to successfully mitigate the disruption. This event is likely to be exponentially more disruptive than what our constituents have previously experienced, and we worry it will undo any goodwill earned from noise reductions in recent months.
Liloia confirmed to Gothamist that the yacht party has been cancelled, and Fireball has deleted their social media posts about it; guess that’s 2000 more Santas to contend with on the streets, instead. If you do need to go out Saturday, there’s an official SantaCon venue list that could also serve as a list of places to avoid. Many bars don’t want to deal with the trouble SantaCon brings and ban anyone in Santa suits on the day. NJ Transit, Metro North and Long Island Railroad have banned alcohol from its trains on Saturday.
Speaking of Jersey, as Patch reports, across the river, Hoboken withstood its own Santacon last weekend, and among the eight arrests made was a 26 year old man who reportedly bit the hand of a Union City police officer while attempting to evade being handcuffed.
Will SantaCon be naughty or nice this year?
Here’s the letter from myself, @bradhoylman, and @HarveyforNY asking event planners to be good neighbors this year as @FireballWhisky and SantaCon descend on our district. pic.twitter.com/aBgrPz17Be
— Keith Powers (@KeithPowersNYC) December 10, 2019