Dates: Thurs., Nov. 3–Wed., Nov. 9
ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES SUSPENDED TUESDAY FOR ELECTION DAY
Marathon gridlock alert! The NYC Marathon — the biggest in the world — will see more than 50,000 athletes stampede through our streets on Sunday from roughly 7 a.m. to noon. And let’s hope they run fast, because the long list of closures means traffic jams will build up throughout the city.
Although the race doesn’t include any streets below Central Park, lower Manhattan will still get a solid dose of the impact, because street closures for the marathon have a kind of ripple effect. Since all streets north of 59th St. will be closed at either First or Fifth Aves., crosstown traffic will shift, toppling domino style, as far south as 14th St. and Houston St. Expect heavier-than-usual Holland Tunnel traffic into Manhattan as drivers avoid the Verrazano Bridge to get to Brooklyn and Queens. Also Staten Islanders will drive through NJ to get to Manhattan.
Although runners will keep out of Downtown Manhattan, their path in Brooklyn takes them only a few blocks away from both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. So if you’re thinking of taking that route into Brooklyn, fuhgeddaboudit. To avoid marathon delays, be sure to check out the full list of street closures here: https://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/race-day/course
Also Sunday, football comes back to town as the Giants battle the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium for a 1 p.m. showdown. Traffic heading to the Meadowlands will be a challenge for most. Lower Manhattan Giants fans shouldn’t find the outbound Holland Tunnel to be a problem. Best bet for all: take NJ Transit to Secaucus, and hop on the Meadowlands rail service.
Election day on Tuesday is a big day for obvious reasons, not least is that this election cycle will finally come to an end [sighs with relief]. But in case you haven’t heard, it’s an especially big day in New York because both candidates have announced they’ll be coming to town. Hillary’s victory rally will await the results at the Javits Center, which may cause hefty delays on West St. Trump has not yet announced his venue, only that it will be in the Big Apple.
That day, I’m willing to bet, will also drive many of us to drink — but be sure not to drink and drive. Also keep in mind, with all the viewing parties taking place, we’ll be seeing election action all over the city, even in the streets. Look out all over Lower Manhattan, because bars around the area are advertising discounted drinks for an Election Day special.
On Sunday, Daylight Savings comes to an end — on the bright side, we gain an hour of sleep. But the end of daylight savings also means more people will be headed home after work in the dark. Drive, walk and bike more carefully than usual this first week of standard time.
