Spooky store windows entice Bay Ridge shoppers

Students decorate shops for Halloween

October 22, 2013 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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The shoes normally displayed in the front window of Areosoles, a store on 86th Street in Bay Ridge, had to share space with “Autumn Night,” a painting depicting terrifying bats flying past a full moon on their way to perform evil deeds.

Other store windows in Bay Ridge were filled with paintings of zombies, witches, haunted houses, grave yards and other frightening images.

But if you think the dark images scared away customers, you would be wrong. It was just the opposite. Shoppers loved it!

The spooky scenes were all painted by local students who took part in the Bay Ridge Community Council’s Halloween Art Contest Tuesday morning. Scores of kids, from public and private schools in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, spent Tuesday morning painting Halloween-themed artworks on store windows for the chance to win prizes. The painting was done with permission from the store owners, of course.

The community council has been sponsoring the contest each fall for more than 40 years. The goal is to have the paintings stay up on the windows until after Halloween.

After the student artists were through, a panel of judges looked at each painting and selected gold, silver and bronze medalists for each grade. The winners are to be announced at a later date.

“You couldn’t have had a more perfect, beautiful day for the children to show their talent than today. The weather is perfect,” Community Council President Renee Dorsa told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Sunny skies and warm temperatures greeted the students as they started their day.

“We’re thrilled to be holding this fun and exciting event,” Dorsa said, as she walked along Third Avenue looking at the students’ paintings.

“Autumn Night” was created by Fort Hamilton High School sophomores Rabah Rabah and Chris Caminiti, who were busy at work well into the afternoon perfecting their creation.

Down the block on 86th Street, Silvia Levezi was hard at work on the front window of Central Sports. She, along with fellow Fort Hamilton students Tyler Rivera and Hector Pellot, created “The Night of the Full Moon,” a spooky scene with a haunted house, a trail, and dozens of pumpkins. “We’re not done yet,” Pellot told the Eagle. “We’re probably going to paint a scary face above the house,” he said.

On the corner of Third Avenue and 86th Street, the front and side windows of Leo’s Casa Calamari Restaurant were taken over by fifth graders from PS 185. The front window was decorated with an unnamed painting by Sadie McCann depicting a witch flying on her broomstick and another witch stirring a cauldron. Olivia Daoud helped Sadie with the painting duties.

Not all of the Halloween art works were frightening. On the side window of Leo’s Casa Calamari, Noah Oleksiuk was getting help from Vincent Petrillo bringing his painting of “Tweety Bird” to life. Beneath the image of the famous cartoon character, Noah wrote “Twick or Tweat.”