Dates: Thurs., Dec. 1–Wed., Dec. 7
ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE IN EFFECT ALL WEEK
Maybe it’s Trump-lock in Midtown, maybe it’s the new Nike store, maybe it’s because so many people think Soho is so hot… Whatever the reason the crowds in Soho, especially along Broadway, Canal St. to Houston St. and north, look more like Fifth Avenue by Rockefeller Center around tree-lighting time!
I had an office at Broadway and Houston for 17 years and overlooked both streets to the south and east. I have never, ever seen crowds like this. Lower Manhattanites may want to consider the much quieter, less crowded World Trade Center shopping area in the Oculus. Until it’s discovered, it’s the easiest place to shop.
Be warned, the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting ceremony was on Wednesday, and that means crowds will flock to see it from Turnsday night on. Expect crowding on B, D, F, and M trains headed uptown to Rockefeller Plaza.
Monday night football returns to the Meadowlands this week with an 8:30 p.m. Jets-Colts battle at MetLife Stadium. Yes, I know the Jets are hapless and the Colts so-so but we can still expect 40–50,000 people or more flooding into MetLife Stadium. Football fans headed that way will encounter a rush-hour traffic surge through the Holland Tunnel beginning around 6 p.m. That means delays along Canal, Varick and Broome Sts. If you’re going to the game, do yourself — and evening commuters — a favor: take NJ Transit!
The Hetrick-Martin Institute’s Emery Awards gala will bring more than 1,100 guests (and a few VIPs) to Cipriani on Wall St. between William and Hanover Sts. 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
R trains will not stop at Whitehall St. in either direction from 11:30 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday, and again from 11:30 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday.
From the mailbag:
Dear Transit Sam,
I heard the city has an amnesty for tickets. Can you tell me how I go about getting my parking tickets through the amnesty program?
HP, Riverdale
Dear HP,
Yes, the city has an amnesty program. However, no, it does not apply to parking tickets. Tickets that are eligible for amnesty are those that are returnable to the Environmental Control Board (ECB). For more info go to www.nyc.gov/forgivingfines.
Transit Sam
