Run for your life (or at least your sanity), SantaCon is coming!

If you were planning to be in any of these afflicted affected areas of Manhattan tomorrow, you might want to rethink those plans.


"While the party bills itself as a 'charitable' pub crawl, it's had a fraught relationship with people who live in its path over concerns including public urination, death threats and numerous arrests. . . .

"Last December, New York's SantaCon took to Twitter to brag about the fact that no one associated with their group was arrested in 2015, according to initial reports."

-- from Veronika Bondarenko and Julia Bottles' updated DNAinfo NY report

by Ken

The first time I found myself enmeshed in the tide of drunken, degraded humanity that is SantaCon, a few years back, I had no idea what was happening. I guess I just assumed it was some sort of spontaneous hooliganism which was unaccountably escaping the vigilance of the NYPD. That was bad enough. When I discovered what it was, and that it was in fact organized drunken, degraded hooliganism, I was really peeved.

Now, as you can see from the quote above, the organizers of the event are actually capable of bragging that, at least according to preliminary reports, not one of their troops of marauding scumbags has been arrested! Talk about setting your behavioral bar really, really low.

For those of you who are coming into this story as clueless as I was way back when, not to mention those of you who are lucky enough not to have SantaCon anywhere near you, here's the deal:

SantaCon Will Invade These Manhattan Neighborhoods Saturday

By Veronika Bondarenko and Julia Bottles
Updated December 9, 2016 11:22am

Get ready for the Santas.

SantaCon, a controversial yearly pub crawl involving roughly 20,000 revelers dressed in Santa and Christmas-themed costumes, has announced its starting location and released the map of its official route.

The Santas will gather at the Flatiron Building pedestrian plaza at West 23rd Street and Broadway starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, according to the event's website. [Note: Lots more links onsite. -- Ed.]

Then the imbibing Santas will make their way through Midtown, Gramercy, Flatiron and the East Village, hitting up over 45 bars and several strip clubs along the way.

After the kickoff, revelers will watch Twitter or sign up for alerts by texting "follow santacon" to 40404 for information about the next bars.

In addition to the SantaCon bars there will be "Santa Clubs" which revelers can get access to for a $10 charitable donation. [Onsite there follows a list, which you're welcome to access for yourself. I'll be darned if I'm going to publicize the names. -- Ed.]

While the party bills itself as a "charitable" pub crawl, it's had a fraught relationship with people who live in its path over concerns including public urination, death threats and numerous arrests.

In 2013, SantaCon rerouted around Hell's Kitchen after residents begged them to steer clear of their area. In 2014, organizers had to scrap plans to start at the Maria Hernandez Park and later in all of Bushwick after both local residents and businesses got word of the plan.

As in previous years, there will be an alcohol ban on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road and in train stations the weekend of SantaCon, the MTA announced Wednesday.

This year SantaCon organizers released a statement defending the pub crawl and addressing concerns saying "there is no excuse for inappropriate behavior" and promising that they are working "even more closely with the New York Police Department ensure that the event remains enjoyable for locals and Santas alike."

Last December, New York's SantaCon took to Twitter to brag about the fact that no one associated with their group was arrested in 2015, according to initial reports.

I suppose we should be encouraged by the organizers' presumed admonition to their revelers that "there is no excuse for inappropriate behavior." However, as far as I can tell, and in full realization of how fuddy-duddy-ish this sounds, it seems to me that the one and only reason this orgy of assaultive mayhem exists is precisely as an excuse for inappropriate behavior. What else is it about?

#