ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING IS SUSPENDED MONDAY AND TUESDAY FOR COLUMBUS DAY AND IDUL-ADHA
A confusing few days for parkers next week, starting on Monday with Columbus Day. Alternate side and school parking rules by public schools and many private schools are suspended Monday. All other rules, including meters, remain in effect. Next Tuesday through Thursday A.S.P. is suspended for Idul-Adha, but all rules, including school rules (unless it’s an Islamic school) remain in effect. Traffic will be lighter than usual Monday except in Midtown where the parade is being held.
Special alert for the Brooklyn Bridge! All Manhattan-bound lanes will close for 54 consecutive hours, 12:01 a.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Monday. That will send drivers over the Manhattan Bridge and onto Delancey St., as well as down to the Hugh L. Carey (Brooklyn Battery) Tunnel and onto West St. The usual overnight closures of all inbound lanes will occur 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Monday and Tuesday nights.
The Hudson River crossings will get hit too, with the Jets taking on the Steelers at 1 p.m. Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Drivers avoiding the Lincoln Tunnel will jet down Seventh Ave. onto Varick, and into the Holland Tunnel.
The Bowling Green Association Street Fair will close Broadway between Cedar St. and Battery Pl. as well as between Morris and Stone Sts., and Whitehall St. between Stone and Water Sts. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday.
In the Battery Park Underpass, one of two westbound lanes will close from the F.D.R. to West St./Route 9A 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and one of two eastbound lanes will close from West St./Route 9A to the F.D.R. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., both closures Wednesday through Friday.
Busy Saturday in Greenwich Village: A festival will close West 4th St. between Sixth Ave. and University Pl. and Greenwich Ave. between Sixth and Seventh Aves. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Lots of closures in Tribeca this week: Washington St. will close between Laight and Hubert Sts. 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through mid-November.
Leonard St. will close between Hudson and Varick Sts. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The around-the-clock closure of Franklin St. between Hudson and Varick Sts. will continue through the end of October.
Rector St. will close intermittently between West and Greenwich Sts. through mid-November with occasional 24-hour closures.
From the mailbag:
Dear Transit Sam,
Is there a N.Y. State law about driving with pets in the front seat of a vehicle? I almost got hit head-on by a woman driving with a Chihuahua on her lap.
Sandi, New York
Dear Sandi,
There is no law explicitly barring pets from the front seat, but there is one that can be construed to fit with a little stretching.
Article 33, Section 1213 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law states: “No person shall drive a motor vehicle when it is so loaded as to obstruct the view of the driver to the front or sides of the vehicle or as to interfere with the driver’s control over the driving mechanism of the vehicle.”
Driving with pooch on lap may fit interfering with driving mechanism. But, I doubt if such a ticket is ever written except maybe in the case of a crash.
Transit Sam
Lower Manhattanites, send me your parking and traffic questions at transitsam@downtownexpress.com. Be sure to follow me on Twitter too @gridlocksam.
