Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026, with the 100th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. If you’re driving anywhere near the Macy’s parade on Thursday, the short version is this: from before dawn to mid-afternoon, you can’t drive in, around, or across a huge swath of the midtown area. Central Park West, Central Park South, and Sixth Avenue will be closed to cars the entire morning. Instead of driving to the parade, get dropped off on a block that’s open to cars, and walk in.
2025 Closures
A reported 3.5 million people come to watch the parade in person. The parade route turns East at Central Park South, and heads down Sixth Avenue from 59th Street to 34th Street. The city hasn’t posted the 2026 closures yet. The list of 2025 closures is below, as a general guide.
At the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, Central Park West from 86th to 59th Street was shut down, along with Central Park South, Sixth Avenue from 23rd up to 58th Street, 34th Street from Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue, Broadway between 34th Street and 42nd Street, and Seventh Avenue from 32nd Street to 42nd Street.
On Wednesday, parts of the Upper West Side closed in the morning for the balloon inflation. And streets in Midtown were closed from before dawn until mid-afternoon. They reopened around three on Thursday. But after the parade, Seventh Avenue near Penn Station was closed until around eight. Pickup and dropoff is usually normal during Thanksgiving dinner.
The Car Can Drop You Off
You just need to find a street near the parade route that’s still open to cars. On the Upper West Side, the drivers will drop you on Columbus or Amsterdam and you walk east on a side street. In Midtown, you’ll be left on either Eighth Avenue or Madison.
Pick one side of the parade route. If you’re watching the parade with a group, decide which side of the route you’ll enter from, and set a meetup spot in case you get separated. You can’t get too early. Consider being dropped off early, because popular viewing spots fill up fast.
You can see the balloons being inflated on the Upper West Side, the night before the parade. Dropoff is easy on Amsterdam or Columbus, and when you’re ready to go, walk a couple blocks away from the crowds. Plan for slow traffic all evening.
If you’re staying in Midtown, several hotels have entrances on two different streets. And since many streets are closed off, having a second entrance can come in handy. And have the concierge tell you what entrances will be open.
If you have lunch east of Fifth Avenue or west of Eighth Avenue, the car can drop you off no problem. If you’ll be eating somewhere in the 40s or 50s on Sixth Avenue, walk there or book it after three o’clock.
Make a mental note: meters and alternate side are suspended on Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, and Christmas, Dec. 25, both major legal holidays. If the parking sign runs seven days a week - e.g. NO STANDING ANYTIME - then it still applies on Thanksgiving.
The city suspends alternate side but not meters on some lesser holidays. Veterans Day on November 11 and Immaculate Conception on December 8. So pay the meters. The calendars are only for holidays set in advance. So keep an eye on the weather and the city’s traffic alerts for last-minute changes.
Pickup and dropoff is normal at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark. The hard part is the last mile. If the hotel is on Central Park South, Sixth Avenue or Herald Square, it may be off limits until mid-afternoon. The bigger risk is the days around the Macy’s parade. In 2025 the Sunday after Thanksgiving set a record for TSA screenings.
NYC DOT’s Gridlock Alert Days are for high-volume days of traffic. The department advises of twenty gridlock alert days: from September 21 to the end of the year. The city will have a Gridlock Alert Day on Tuesday Nov. 24, two days before Thanksgiving.
It’s been reported that Seventh and Broadway were closed off on New Year’s Eve 2025 from 38th Street to 59th Street, and the closures start at 11 a.m., so plan accordingly for early drop-off.
When you book the car, tell the dispatcher that you’ll be going to a major event. Mention the number of passengers, where to drop off, whether there will be strollers or wheelchairs. In the week leading up to the parade, go over the Thanksgiving traffic advisory bulletin from last year, and search for this year’s version. Read the city’s weekly traffic advisory, the MTA service changes, and ask the doorman what streets will be open by your hotel. Pick a backup meeting corner in case a last-minute closure leads to disarray.
