NEW YORK (WABC) — With New York City gearing up for the 264th St. Patrick’s Day Parade, attendees should be prepared to navigate numerous street closures.
Millions are expected to descend on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, the MTA is also expanding service operations to accommodate the large crowds.
It’s considered the largest and oldest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the world, with an average of 2 million spectators in attendance annually and another 150,000 people participating in the march every year, according to event organizers.
The first parade was held in Manhattan in 1762.
Celebrations are set to begin at 11 a.m. Monday, but event organizers suggest arriving much earlier if spectators want the best possible view of the march.
The procession will start on Fifth Avenue at 44th Street and finish at 79th Street.
You can learn more about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade at www.nycstpatricksparade.org.
ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE NYC STREET CLOSURES:
Vanderbilt Avenue between 43rd Street and 46th Street44th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue45th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue46th Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue47th Street between Park Avenue and 6th Avenue48th Street between Park Avenue and 6th AvenueRoute:
5th Avenue between 79th Street and 43rd Street
Dispersal:
5th Avenue between 84th Street and 79th Street79th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue80th Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue81st Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue82nd Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue
83rd Street between Lexington Avenue and 5th Avenue
Miscellaneous:
43rd Street between Vanderbilt Avenue and 6th Avenue49th Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza50th Street between Madison Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza51st Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue54th Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue57th Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue59th Street between Madison Avenue and 6th Avenue62nd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue63rd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue64th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue65th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue70th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue71st Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue72nd Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue78th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue84th Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue
Madison Avenue between 42nd Street and 84th Street
All listed streets will be closed and reopened at the discretion of the NYPD.
MASS TRANSIT OPTIONS
Event organizers also suggest that attendees leave their cars at home. In lieu of vehicles, opting for mass transit could be less of a hassle.
Both the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North are adding more trains to Manhattan to service parade attendees. Alcohol on both lines will be banned starting at 5 a.m. Monday through 5 a.m. Tuesday.
The LIRR will add two extra westbound trains on the Babylon Branch and two extra trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch, all of which are stopping at Grand Central Madison.
Metro-North will operate extra service to Grand Central Terminal on both the East of Hudson and West of Hudson Lines on St. Patrick’s Day, Monday, March 17.
On East of Hudson lines – the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines – Metro-North will have five extra trains available to transport participants to and from the St. Patrick’s Day festivities in Manhattan.
On the West of Hudson lines – the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines – Metro-North will operate one extra train on each line to transport parade-goers to Manhattan.
In the afternoon, Metro-North will monitor the return of parade-goers and will operate extra trains as necessary.
For those already in the city, a number of subway lines are just a short distance away from Fifth Avenue. Options include, the Lexington Avenue 4-5-6 line, which covers the entire parade route, paradegoers can also take the E and M trains to the 5 Ave-53rd Strreet station as well as the N-R-W to Lexington Avenue 59 Street Station. The B-D-F-M line to 42nd Street-Bryant Park Station will also get attendees close to the start of the action.
Due to the parade route, some New York City Buses will have their routes impacted.
Customers should expect reroutes on the following bus routes: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M31, M50, M55, M57, M66, M72, M79 SBS, Q32, and most express buses.
Customers can check mta.info throughout the duration of the parade to monitor their route.
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