New Yorkers heading Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony on Wednesday should plan ahead and prepare for numerous street closures and bus service changes around the Midtown Manhattan area.
The tree lighting will occur at 30 Rockefeller Plaza near Fifth Avenue at 8 p.m. on Dec. 4, but street closures have already begun.
According to the NYC Department of Transportation, the following streets will be closed from Dec. 2 to 4 at the discretion of the NYPD:
- 46th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 47th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 48th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 49th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 50th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 51st Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- 52nd Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
- Rockefeller Plaza between 48th Street and 51st Street
- 6th Avenue between 46th Street and 52nd Street
- 5th Avenue between 46th Street and 52nd Street
Street closures on Dec. 4:
- Madison Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street
- 6th Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street
- 5th Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street
Bus service changes on Dec. 4
Buses that run along Fifth Avenue will be detoured, using Lexington Avenue between 72nd and 42nd Street.
In addition to bus service, subway options include the B/D/F/M trains to the 47-50 Streets-Rockefeller Center, the 6 train to 51 Street, the 1 train to 50 Street, or the N/Q/R/W trains to 49 St.
The following buses serving Midtown will be detoured on Dec. 4:
- Manhattan: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M7 and M50
- Queens: Q32, QM2, QM4, QM5 and QM6
- Staten Island: SIM1C, SIM3, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM8, SIM8X, SIM10, SIM 23, SIM24, SIM25, SIM30, SIM31 and SIM33C
- Brooklyn: X27, X28, X37 and X38
- Bronx: BxM2(northbound only), BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10 and BxM11
About this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and lighting ceremony
This year’s tree is a Norway spruce that hails from West Stockbridge, Mass. It is the first tree from the state since 1959. At 70 years old, it weighs an impressive 11 tons and will illuminate in over 50,000 multi-colored LED lights when it is lit at the ceremony.
Tree-lighting fans can watch the ceremony in person at 30 Rockefeller Plaza or see it live on NBC TV at 8 p.m. on Dec. 4.
