On the streets of Park Slope, Brooklyn, Friday evening, some of the costumes reflected the fact that Halloween fell as New York City is in the midst of choosing its next mayor.
Aside from the usual skeletons, walking pumpkins and Spider-Men, there were revelers dressed in trim suits with skinny ties in homage to Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, while others donned red berets, the signature of Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate. Suddenly Mr. Mamdani himself appeared on the packed sidewalk. Children gasped.
“Oh my God!”
“It’s Zohran Mamdani!”
Flashing his usual grin, Mr. Mamdani took up a station behind a table outside a bookstore. “Would anyone like some treats?” he asked.
He soon moved to a perch inside the store and handed out sweets to youngsters who had lined up outside. He made buzzing sounds at two children dressed as bees, and said, “Oh my God, what a kid,” when another, dressed as a tomato, declared, “I love New York.”
Then he headed back out, weaving his way through the crowds as he took selfies with supporters and dished on his personal Halloween history. His favorite costume he wore when he was young? A tube of Neem toothpaste, an Indian household staple, when he was 9 or 10. (“It wasn’t a big hit,” he laughed.) His most recent? An inflatable dog.
Two hours later and four miles away, Mr. Sliwa walked in the circuslike Village Halloween Parade in Manhattan.
“I’m here every year,” said Mr. Sliwa, gleefully repeating a statement he had made during a candidates’ debate: “Every parade has the right to exist.” He had arrived after attending a parade in Glendale, Queens.
He wore his beret, a dark suit and a light blue tie, and said he could hardly recall dressing up for the holiday as anything but himself.
“I’m always dressed up — as Guardian Angel guy,” Mr. Sliwa said, referring to his citizens’ patrol group, though he recalled once dressing as a witch as a child. “I never really went to Batman, Superman.”
Along the route, Mr. Sliwa ran into at least one reveler dressed as him. He hugged supporters and shook hands with police officers and firefighters. He petted a dog.
He met a group of children and told them that he was running for mayor. “I’ve never seen a mayor!” one of the children shouted.
For much of the route, Mr. Sliwa pumped a fist in the air. “This is the best thing about New York,” he said.
Mr. Cuomo did not do any trick-or-treating themed campaign events, according to Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for his campaign.
But his campaign posted an A.I.-generated ad depicting Mr. Mamdani as an evil candy-grabbing socialist who takes off his Mamdani mask to reveal himself as Mr. Sliwa. The disguise was a reference to Mr. Cuomo’s oft-repeated remark that a vote for Mr. Sliwa helps only Mr. Mamdani because it is not a vote for Mr. Cuomo.
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