If you are coming into New York to attend demonstration events during the Republican National Convention, be mindful of the following street closures around Madison Square Garden: 8th Avenue, south of 31st Street, is the “designated protest area”. So consider 8th Avenue, south of 31st Street, closed to traffic and full of protesters throughout the week. Between 31st Street and 33rd Street, from 7th Avenue to 9th Avenue, only pedestrians with business-related purposes in the area will be able to gain access. 32nd Street between 6th and 7th Avenue will be closed to traffic to provide access to the 7th Avenue entrance to Penn Station under the Madison Square Garden marquee. 7th Ave will be closed to vehicular traffic during convention hours (Monday – Thursday, 8:30 – 11:00 p.m.) between 42nd and 29th Streets.
As on any other weekday, it will be inconvenient to get around Manhattan by car. If you are coming from outside of New York City by train, it may be best to avoid Penn Station. Trains will be running into and out of the station but, as a practical matter, using other train stations should save time. Only two street exits will be available – on Seventh Avenue at 32nd and 34th St., so Penn Station will be crowded. Also, trains will likely be stalled in the tunnels around Penn Station as the police conduct searches. If you are coming to New York via Amtrak or New Jersey Transit, consider getting off the train at the stop before Manhattan and switching to a PATH train or NJ Transit bus. From Newark or Hoboken, switch to PATH train service and use the PATH stations below Penn Station, such as World Trade Center, Christopher Street, 9th St. or 14th St. If you are coming to New York on the Long Island Railroad, you can make use of stations outside of Manhattan that have NYC subway stations as well. The Woodside and Hunterspoint Avenue stations provide quick access to midtown Manhattan via the 7 train. From the Flatbush Avenue station in Brooklyn, many subway lines are available to quickly get to Manhattan (2, 3, 4, 5, B, D, M, N, Q, and R trains). Travel into Grand Central Station on Metro-North trains should be unaffected. |
