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NYC traffic guide for New Year’s Eve: Times Square, street closures, subway changes

New Year’s Eve revelry in Times Square will disrupt traffic beginning early Thursday morning and into the wee hours of 2016. 

The police said Times Square will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning at 4 a.m. Thursday. Parking will also not be permitted on dozens of streets from 12:01 a.m. Thursday to 1 a.m. Friday, Jan. 1, 2016 — basically making it a bad idea to drive into midtown. 

Here’s a rundown of street closures and subway changes that will disrupt commuters: 

Street closures beginning Thursday

The following streets will be closed to traffic beginning at 4 a.m.: Seventh Avenue, from 43rd to 48th streets; Broadway, from 47th to 48th streets; and 46th and 47th streets, from Sixth to Eighth avenues. 

At 1:30 p.m., Seventh Avenue from 41st to 59th streets; Broadway from 47th to 59th streets; and 43rd to 47th streets between Sixth and Eighth avenues will close. 

At 5 p.m., 42nd Street from Sixth to Eighth avenues will close. 

After 6:30 p.m., police will close streets as the crowds grow, including crosstown streets from 37th to 41st streets, between Sixth and Eighth avenues; crosstown streets from 49th to 59th streets, between Sixth to Eighth avenues; and 48th Street, from Fifth to Ninth avenues.

Subway changes beginning Thursday

Some subway access points around Times Square will also be closed beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, the police said. The N/R/W lines will bypass the 49th Street station beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, until 12:15 a.m., Jan. 1, 2016. Northbound No. 1 trains will bypass the 50th Street station beginning 7 p.m. Thursday, until 12:15 a.m., Jan. 1, 2016. 

For more on how buses and subway commutes will be affected by the holiday, go to our New Year’s Eve transit primer.