1,000-pound pumpkin draws gawkers to Park Slope for annual Halloween tradition

The Great Pumpkin is rising in Brooklyn.A Park Slope man has turned the stoop of his brownstone home into a beloved Halloween destination as he has continues a tradition of displaying a massive pumpkin — with this year’s coming in at nearly 1,000 pounds.Charlie Pigott recently hauled the mammoth fruit from Pennsylvania and used a forklift to place it outside his front door — where it has drawn crowds, from classes full of local kids to gawkers making a pilgrimage just to rub it for good luck.“I wake every morning to the sound of laughing children outside talking about it.And a mom or a dad saying, ‘Get off the stoop!’ By the time I come out, I’m like, ‘You can go on a stoop! You can climb on the pumpkin! Take a picture and enjoy!'” said Pigott, 60.The local real estate broker admits that this year’s pumpkin is roughly 100 pounds lighter than last year’s — theorizing that the summer’s heavy rain may have been to blame for the stunted gourds.But he’s made up for the slight dip in size by planting several other pumpkins — ranging from 2 pounds to 120 pounds — and bales of hay across his 8th Avenue property.The family tradition began after Pigott and his daughter Elizabeth stumbled upon a 100-pound pumpkin on the side of the road in Connecticut — which they dragged home and plopped on their stoop.The neighborhood went wild, with a constant sea of children and gawkers swarming their front stoop for the chance to see the city spectacle.

After that, the tradition organically grew bigger and bolder every year.With the help of his children, Pigott started seeking not only larger pumpkins, but ones that had the perfect orange hue and thick stem — which helps prevent early rotting.The pumpkins have grown so heavy that Pigott has relieved the team of local teenagers who once helped him lift the gourds out of his car, and now relies on a forklift to get the job done.The Park Slope Pumpkin made him a legend of the neighborhood, but it was abou...