The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is taking over the Manhattan streets once again with parade-goers, floats, giant balloons, music and more.
The 97th annual parade will kick off at 8:30 a.m. on West 77th Street and Central Park West. It then heads down towards Columbus Circle, where the procession turns onto Central Park South.
When the parade hits Sixth Avenue, it will continue to 34th Street. The route concludes with its final turn before stopping in front of Macy’s Herald Square.
The parade will end at approximately noon and will end with Santa Claus to kick off the holiday season in the city. The float preparations for Thursday are already underway.
With many streets in the area expected to be closed because of the parade, mass transit will be the best way to reach the parade route if you are planning on watching. Here’s what to expect for your commute.
Getting to the parade using public transportation
On Thanksgiving Day, subways and buses across the city will operate on a Sunday schedule, and the Staten Island Railway will operate on a Saturday schedule, according to the MTA.
Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road will offer additional trains for commuters before and after the parade, the MTA said.
The closest subway stations to the parade are the 1/2/3 train station at 72nd Street; the 1 train station at 79th Street; the C train at 81st Street; and the 1/A/C/D train station at 59th Street-Columbus Circle.
According to the MTA, there will be additional service on the 42nd Street Shuttle, and increased morning service on the 1 train. The C train will bypass the 72nd Street station between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., the MTA said.
To prevent overcrowding on platforms, the MTA said some subway entrances will be closed at 59th St-Columbus Circle and at Penn Station. Some entrances will also be closed at other stations along Sixth Avenue, the MTA said.
For bus service in Manhattan, riders may deal with delays, and service will be affected by reroutes, detours and/or frozen zones, especially those routes operating near the parade route. Check new.mta.info for additional info.
Street closures
Below are the streets that will be closed for the parade at the discretion of the NYPD, according to the city’s Department of Transportation.
Formation:
• Columbus Avenue between 72nd Street and 83rd Street
• Central Park West between 81st Street and 86th Street
• 82nd Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 81st Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
• 77th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
• 76th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
• 75th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
• 74th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
• 72nd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
• 71st Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
• 68th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue
• 62nd Street between Central Park West and Broadway
• 61st Street between Central Park West and Broadway
• 59th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
Route:
• Central Park West between 81st Street and East Side of Columbus Circle/59th Street
• Columbus Circle between 59th Street and Broadway
• 59th Street between Columbus Circle and 6th Avenue
• Sixth Avenue between 59th Street and 34th Street
• 34th Street between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue
Dispersal:
• 33rd Street between Sixth Avenue and Tenth Avenue
• 34th Street between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue
• 34th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 35th Street between Fifth Avenue and Eighth Avenue
• 36th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue
• 37th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue
• 38th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue
• 39th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue
• 40th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue
• 41st Street between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue
• Seventh Avenue between 31st Street and 41st Street
• Broadway between 45th Street and 34th Street
Miscellaneous (formation and dispersal):
• 58th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 43rd Street between Sixth Avenue and Broadway
• 40th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue
• 39th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue
• 38th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue
• 37th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue
• 36th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue
• 32nd Street between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue
• Sixth Avenue between 32nd Street and 34th Street
• Eighth Avenue between 40th Street and 33rd Street
• Broadway between 33rd Street and 34th Street
• Grand Army Plaza between 59th Street and Plaza Street
Additional locations:
• 86th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 85th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 84th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 83rd Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 73rd Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 70th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 69th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 67th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 66th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 65th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 64th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 63rd Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• 62nd Street between Columbus Avenue and Broadway
• 61st Street between Columbus Avenue and Broadway
• 60th Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West
• Grand Army Plaza between 59th Street and 58th Street
• 58th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 57th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 56th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 55th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 54th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 53rd Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 52nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 51st Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 50th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 49th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 48th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• Rockefeller Plaza between 51st Street and 48th Street
• 47th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 46th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 45th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 44th Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 43rd Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 42nd Street between Seventh Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 40th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 39th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 38th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 37th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 36th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 35th Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 33rd Street between Sixth Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• Sixth Avenue between 33rd Street and 32nd Street
• Columbus Avenue between 72nd Street and 58th Street
• Columbus Avenue between 86th Street and 83rd Street