Crushing crowds. Traffic at a standstill. Airport lines that never seem to move. Escaping from New York City for Memorial Day weekend can bring to mind scenes from a 1970s disaster movie.
According to the latest projections from AAA, 39.3 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from their home for the holiday weekend. That’s 1 million more than 2016 and the highest number since 2005.
“Given what we are seeing with all the things happening on planes, people are still traveling,” said Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for AAA Northeast. “The economy is better and people have more money in their pockets.”
While many New Yorkers will opt for staycations — either because they can’t afford to or don’t want to travel — others are planning in advance to beat the crowds.
Kayla Geier of Forest Hills is heading home to Texas to be with family for the weekend, and she’s leaving herself plenty of time to get to nearby LaGuardia Airport.
“I’m giving myself two hours — maybe more,” said Geier, who works in external affairs at the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness. “You never know with that airport.”
Even though conditions are far from certain, Geier insisted she is not stressed.
“Traveling in New York City during the holidays is absolutely exhausting, it’s awful,” she said. “To me, Memorial Day travel is a cakewalk.”
David Worthington, an information technology director from the Upper West Side, was mulling taking a train to Philadelphia or driving to Canada for the weekend. A frequent flyer, Worthington has his own secrets to surviving a trip to the airport.
“I try to get to LaGuardia via Uber at off times and have the flight booked weeks in advance,” he said. “I don’t ever take the ‘last flight out’ because mechanical issues do happen.”
Despite calling Penn Station a “dreary train dungeon,” Worthington said he would not skip traveling to avoid the lines.
“That’s part of living on an island where there are only so many ways in and out,” he said.
But why leave at all? Some say Memorial Day is the best time to enjoy the city.
“You’re free from the stress of daily city life,” said Lisa Hamilton, a jewelry designer from Windsor Terrace and mother of three. “I never drive on drinking holidays. It’s great to stay in the city and take public transportation and walk around.”
Christopher Heywood, senior vice president for Global Communications at NYC and Company – the city’s marketing organization – said public holidays are a “hidden secret” for people who want to stay in the city or come visit.
“It’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy New York City more affordably,” he said. “You have access to better restaurant reservations and there are shorter lines at museums.”
Heywood said hotel rates actually drop a bit during the Memorial Day weekend. Plus there’s no fee to visit some of the city’s top destinations, such as the High Line, Central Park and Rockaway Beach, or to take a trip on the Staten Island Ferry.
“I’m actually pretty content to be in the city for the weekend,” said Tweeps Phillips Woods, who lives in Gowanus and works in business development.
“When I was younger, I would go to the Hamptons, but then as you get older, you realize a three-day weekend isn’t that long,” she said. “My husband and I will stay close to home, barbecue, play with our dog and relax. It will be nice to not have an agenda.”
An estimated 34.6 million Americans, the majority of people who travel over the holiday weekend, will use a car, according to AAA. Sinclair has some simple but important advice: check your battery and your tires.
“We probably get a call every 10 seconds over the holidays,” he said. “Most of those are dead batteries, flat tires and lock outs.”
Rhea Wong, a nonprofit executive from Boerum Hill, is heading out to the Hamptons for the weekend with her cousin, though she would have been happy spending time in the city.
“I would just as soon stay home and enjoy Brooklyn without as many people,” she said. “The real luxury in New York City is space.”
