THANKSGIVING UPDATE
Thanksgiving — or more accurately Thanksgiving eve — is the most heavily travelled day of the year. The rental agency AAA announced that they expect a .7 percent increase in traffic from last year’s Thanksgiving. That, along with damage to cars during Hurricane Sandy, makes rental cars in short supply, so get creative in your search for carpooling options to get to your turkey dinner on time.
If you are staying in the city, watch out for the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade rehearsal shuts down 34th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, beginning at 8 p.m. Wed., Nov. 21 and continuing until 10 p.m. the next day. West 77th and 81st Streets are closed for balloon inflations tied to the parade. Central Park West, between 59th and 81st Streets, closes after 10 p.m. on Wednesday until the parade.
The Thanksgiving Day Parade route on Thurs., Nov. 22, which begins on Central Park West, has been switched this year from Seventh Avenue to Sixth Avenue until its termination at Macy’s on 34th Street.
Black Friday marks not only the biggest shopping day of the year — it’s the biggest parking ticket day! Remember, all alternate parking side rules are in effect as usual except in areas that have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
Expect gridlock on planes, trains and automobiles when returning to the city on Sun., Nov. 25.
The tree-lighting at Rockefeller Center, on Wed., Nov. 28 will cause a major case of “ped-lock.” Fifth and Sixth Avenues will also be closed between 48th and 51st Streets that day.
GAS RATIONING STILL IN EFFECT
Gas rationing in New York City has been extended until Fri., Nov. 23 but has been lifted in New Jersey and Long Island.
The Battery Park Underpass currently has one lane open to all vehicles in both eastbound and westbound directions. Beginning on Tues., Nov. 27 the eastbound lane of the underpass from West Street to the F.D.R. Drive will have two lanes open from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. daily; however, it will narrow to one lane between 10:01 a.m. and 5:59 a.m.
For the truckers out there, the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is barred to all trucks. The Battery Park Underpass is open to light-duty box trucks and vans that meet the tunnel’s height restrictions. The Queens-Midtown Tunnel has been open to trucks since Fri., Nov. 16.
Some subways lines remain closed: The R train is not running between Manhattan and Brooklyn and 1 trains are not running between Rector Street and South Ferry. The A train is not running between Howard Beach and Mott Avenue, but the H train will operate with stops between Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue and Beach 90-Holland. The J and M trains are skipping stations at Hewes Street, Lorimer and Flushing Avenue, 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Mon., Nov. 19 through Fri., Nov. 23.
