Dates: Thurs. Dec.15 – Wed. Dec. 21
ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE IN EFFECT ALL WEEK
Gridlock alert Thursday, Friday, and Wednesday of next week — and that means roads will be extra-extra busy with shoppers, tourists, holiday-partyers, and early-bird Christmas vacationers. On those days, Transit Sam wants YOU to take transit.
Not quite as infrequent as syzygy (look it up) but we’ve got back-to-back NFL games this weekend! The Dolphins head up to the Meadowlands to take on the Jets at noon on Saturday. On Sunday, the Giants, coming off a big win versus the Cowboys, will tackle the Lions in a 1 p.m. kickoff at MetLife.
Although official attendance for the latest Jets’ game was 78,000 I doubt if 50,000 actually showed up. Nonetheless, it’s enough to cause turbulence at the Lincoln Tunnel, sending spillover traffic to the Holland. It will be the return home that will be particularly bad on Saturday from 4–5 p.m. as fans hit the tunnels along with Jerseyites shopping, dining and touring the Big Apple.
Sunday, the Cowboys-slaying Giants are expected to draw 80,000+ fans as they face the Lions. Pre-game traffic will hit the Hudson starting at 10:30 a.m., and post-game at about 5 p.m. Sunday at the Hudson will not be pretty.
While the city declared weekday Gridlock Alert Days, I’m declaring the weekends from now until New Year’s as Pedlock Alert Days! With Christmas next week, holiday shopping will peak for the weekend. Many shoppers are giving Trumplocked Fifth Ave. stores the cold shoulder and opting for Lower Manhattan. Hordes of pedestrians will jam the streets of Soho, NoHo, Little Italy, Nolita, and Chinatown, rendering them impassable to cars — and almost as impassable to walkers.
PATH service will be suspended at 33rd, 23rd, 14th, 9th, and Christopher Sts., but free shuttles offer alternatives. This will be in effect weekends, from midnight Saturday through Monday. Between Newark and the World Trade Center, as well as Journal Square and Hoboken, PATH will be on its normal schedule, but look out for special weekend service between Hoboken and the World Trade Center!
Skip holiday tumult and the parking tickets, and gift your friends and family the 2017 Gridlock Sam calendar. It’s now available at www.gridlocksam.com. You can download for free, or get your copy in print for just shipping and handling: 1 calendar for $4, 5 for $5, and 10 for $6. You can use PayPal or write out your check to Gridlock Sam, 322 Eighth Ave., Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10001.
