It was a nice try: Some New York City residents, apparently concerned about the imminent descent of drunken millennials dressed in Santa suits on their neighborhoods this Saturday, plastered some posters around the East Village and Williamsburg advertising the (fake) cancellation of SantaCon.



The unsanctioned public-service announcement reads:



New York City residents have petitioned to cancel SantaCon 2016 due to the types of people it attracts. This petition received overwhelming support. As a result, SantaCon 2016 and all future SantaCon celebrations have been cancelled within New York city limits. Residents of New York City thank you for your cooperation.

The signs also ban known offenses of SantaCon bar crawlers, including congregating in Santa suits and throwing up on the sides of buildings. A representative for the real SantaCon told DNAinfo that no, these are definitely fake and the event will continue, as planned, in Manhattan. (The “convention” moved to Williamsburg last year, but it’s back on the other side of the East River, with its participants invading midtown, the Flatiron, and the East Village.)



The fake fliers appear to be posted by the mysterious NYCR, or New York City Residents. Gothamist reached out to them, and one of its members replied:



“Our country feels so divided right now that we are all searching for things that unify us. The one thing that I have found that we all have in common is our disdain for SantaCon. Over the past few years myself and others have witnessed several horrible acts including but not limited to; sex acts in aisle 4 of the Duane Reade on 14th and 3rd, countless fist fights, and excessive vomiting.



We have reached out to organizers and asked them to cancel but have not heard back. We hope they will come to their senses. We hope the organizers hear us loud and clear and are aware that we will be out in force tomorrow to stop SantaCon if they don’t cancel.”

The NYCR members added that it’s “not just a bunch of 40- and 50-year-olds and we have several people under the age of 35 planning on participating.”

