It’s gearing up to be a big week in NYC. With Pope Francis’s visit scheduled from Thursday to Saturday, and the UN General Assembly coinciding on Thursday and Friday, a number of traffic closures and security measures will be put in effect.
Don’t get caught in the madness! The NYPD has announced a full list of street closures, which you can find below. The thick of the mess will be at 1PM on Friday, September 25th, when a whopping 83 blocks of Manhattan will be closed. Sam Schwartz, former New York City traffic commissioner, sums it up well: “This is closures of biblical proportions. Get ready for gridlock city.”
So what’s the best action to take? Obviously for us working folks avoiding Manhattan all together is not an option. So, if you must be in the city here are some survival tips:
Do : Take the subway
Don’t : Take an Uber
Do : Postpone any non urgent meetings or schedule a skype call
Don’t : Have a new client pitch that takes you crosstown
Do : Allow for extra time
Don’t : Leave 15 minutes before each meeting and text “in a cab, be right there”
Do : Check the MTA schedules for additional trains during this time
Don’t : Assume your commute will be unaffected if you’re not in those areas
Source:NYPost
General Areas to Avoid
Avoid St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown on Thursday morning
Avoid United Nations Headquarters in Midtown East on Friday morning
Avoid the 9/11 memorial in the Financial District and Our Lady Queen of Angels Schoolin East Harlem on Friday afternoon
Avoid Central Park and Madison Square Garden on Friday night
Avoid the FDR Drive on Saturday morning
Avoid Papal Nuncio’s Residence ( 71st and 72nd streets from Madison Avenue to Fifth Avenue) on the Upper East Side every night and every morning.
Source: NY Post
NYPD’s full list of street closures:
Thursday, Sept. 24
Starting about 12 a.m., these streets near St. Patrick’s Cathedral will be closed to vehicular traffic until about 9 p.m.:
● 50th Street from Madison Avenue to Fifth Avenue
● 51st Street from Madison Avenue to Fifth Avenue
These streets will be closed from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m.:
● Fifth Avenue from 47th Street to 55th Street
● 48th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 49th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 50th Street from Fifth Avenue to Sixth Avenue (will remained closed until approx. 9 p.m.)
● 51st Street from Fifth Avenue to Sixth Avenue (will remained closed until approx. 9 p.m.)
● 52nd Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 53rd Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 54th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 55th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
These streets will be reopened to vehicular traffic from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., but crosstown traffic will be reduced to one lane:
● Fifth Avenue from 47th Street to 55th Street
● 48th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 49th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 52nd Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 53rd Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 54th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 55th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
Starting at 10 a.m., these streets will be closed to vehicular traffic until about 9 p.m.:
● Fifth Avenue from 47th Street to 55th Street.
● 48th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 49th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 50th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 51st Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 52nd Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 53rd Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 54th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
● 55th Street from Madison Avenue to Sixth Avenue
Starting at 2 p.m., these streets will be closed to vehicular traffic until about 9 p.m.:
● Madison Avenue from 47th Street to 57th Street
On Thursday, the FDR Drive will be subject to intermittent closures:
● Southbound at 63rd Street
● Northbound at South Ferry
Beginning at about 8 a.m., the following street near the Papal Nuncio’s Residence will be closed
to vehicular traffic until about 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26:
● 72nd Street from Madison Avenue to Fifth Avenue
Beginning at 3 p.m., the following street near the residence will be closed to vehicular traffic until
10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26:
● 71st Street from Madison Avenue to Fifth Avenue
Trucks and other large vehicles will not be able to access:
● Madison Avenue from 69th Street to 74th Street while Pope Francis is in residence
Other intermittent closures and managed access to vehicular traffic in the vicinity of the Papal
Nuncio’s Residence include:
● Fifth Avenue to from 74th Street to 71st Street
● 70th Street from Park Avenue to Fifth Avenue
● 71st Street from Park Avenue to Madison Avenue
● 72nd Street from Park Avenue to Madison Avenue
● 73rd Street from Madison Avenue to Fifth Avenue
● Madison Avenue from 69th Street to 73rd Street: Two western lanes closed
Beginning at about 10 p.m., the following streets will be closed to vehicular traffic until
approximately 6 a.m.:
● 71st Street from Park Avenue to Fifth Avenue
● 72nd Street from Park Avenue to Fifth Avenue
● 73rd Street from Park Avenue to Fifth Avenue
● Madison Avenue from 70th Street to 73rd Street
Trucks and other large vehicles will not be able to access:
● Fifth Avenue from 74th Street to 71st Street
● Madison Avenue from 69th Street to 74th Street
Friday, Sept. 25
The following streets near the United Nations will continued to be closed to vehicular traffic for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA):
● First Avenue from 42nd Street to 48th Street: The tunnel underpass from 41st Street to 48th Street will remain open for passenger cars. Trucks and other large vehicles will not be able to access until the end of the day’s session.
● 43rd Street from First Avenue to Second Avenue
● 44th Street from First Avenue to Second Avenue
● 45th Street from First Avenue to Second Avenue
● 46th Street from First Avenue to Second Avenue
The following will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning at approximately 5 a.m.:
42nd Street from the FDR Drive to Second Avenue
42nd Street Exit and Entrance Ramps of the FDR Drive
These areas will reopen each evening after the day’s session.
Beginning at midnight, these streets near the 9-11 Memorial will be closed to vehicular traffic until about 1 p.m.:
● Liberty Street from Trinity Place to Greenwich Street
● Cedar Street from Trinity Place to Greenwich Street
Beginning at about 11 a.m., the following streets will be closed to vehicular traffic until about 1
p.m.:
● Northbound on West Street from Battery Place to Murray Street
Additional intermittent closures and managed access to vehicular traffic in the vicinity of the 9-11 Memorial includes:
● South bound on West Street from Chambers Street to Albany Street
Trucks and other large vehicles will not be able to access:
● South bound on West Street from Chambers Street to Albany Street
Beginning about midnight, the following streets in the vicinity of the Our Lady Queen of Angels
School will be closed to vehicular traffic until about 6 p.m.:
● 112th Street from Second Avenue to Third Avenue
● 113th Street Cul-de-sac
Starting at about 3 p.m., trucks and other large vehicles will not be able to access:
● Second Avenue between 106th Street to 116th Street
● Third Avenue between 106th Street to 116th Street
Beginning at about midnight, the following streets near Central Park will be closed to vehicular
traffic until about 7 p.m.:
● Central Park West between Columbus Circle and West 81st Street
● W 61st Street between Central Park West and Broadway
● W 62nd Street between Central Park West and Broadway
● W 63rd Street between Central Park West and Broadway
● W 64th Street between Central Park West and Broadway
● W 65th Street between Central Park West and Broadway
● W 66th Street between Central Park West and Broadway
● W 67th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 68th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 69th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 70th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 71st Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 72nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 73rd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 74th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 75th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 76th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
● W 77th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
Beginning at about 12 a.m., these streets near Madison Square Garden will be closed to
vehicular traffic until the following midnight:
● 31st Street from Seventh Avenue to Ninth Avenue
● 33rd Street from Seventh Avenue to Ninth Avenue
Beginning about 12 p.m., these streets will have intermittent closures and managed access to
vehicular traffic:
● 31st Street from Sixth Avenue to Seventh Avenue: Managed access
● 32nd Street from Sixth Avenue to Seventh Avenue: Managed access
● 33rd Street from Sixth Avenue to Seventh Avenue: Managed access
● Seventh Avenue from 30th Street to 34th Street: Two western lanes closed
● Eighth Avenue from 31st Street to 33rd Street: One lane only/intermittent closures
Starting at about noon, trucks and other vehicles will not be allowed to travel on these roads:
● Seventh Avenue from 30th Street to 34th Street
● Eighth Avenue from 30th Street to 34th Street
Saturday, Sept. 26
The FDR Drive will be subject to intermittent closures at the following exits:
● Southbound at 63rd Street
● Northbound at South Ferry
