Summary: The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon runs Sunday, November 1, and street closures touch all five boroughs from early morning until late afternoon. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge shuts to traffic at 7 a.m., Central Park and the East Side close around the finish, and the Bronx section follows a new route this year. Connecticut travelers heading to JFK, LaGuardia, or Manhattan should leave earlier and route around the course rather than through it.
Key Takeaways
- The 2026 NYC Marathon is Sunday, November 1, with closures running from early morning into the late afternoon
- The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge closes to all traffic at 7 a.m. and reopens mid-afternoon
- NYC DOT publishes the exact NYC marathon road closures list street by street the week of the race
- The course changed for 2026 in the Bronx, the first adjustment in 15 years
- Central Park and the surrounding West Side streets close around the finish line
- Airport runs from Fairfield County are workable with extra time and the right approach
- Book a car service ahead of Marathon Sunday rather than relying on a rideshare
Fifty thousand runners take over the streets on Sunday, November 1. If you have a morning flight out of JFK or a table booked in the city, the route you always use may be behind a barricade.
The race closes streets across all five boroughs, and this year the course changed in the Bronx for the first time in 15 years. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge shuts to traffic at 7 a.m., Staten Island streets close before dawn for staging, and the closures roll north as the race progresses.
None of that makes travel impossible. It makes timing and routing matter more than usual, which is what an airport car service handles for you on a day like this.
In this post:
- When closures start and when streets reopen
- Which bridges and highways are affected
- What changed on the course for 2026
- How to plan an airport run, and what congestion pricing adds
When Street Closures Start and End for the NYC Marathon
The New York City Department of Transportation closes the course on race day, and the timing is not uniform. Streets open and close in sequence as runners move north.
Staten Island goes first. Closures around the Verrazzano toll plaza begin before dawn for staging, well ahead of the 8 a.m. start.
The Rough Timeline
- 5 to 7 a.m. Staten Island staging areas and the bridge approaches close
- 7 a.m. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge closes to all traffic
- 8 a.m. to noon: Streets will be closed through Brooklyn and Queens as the field passes
- 10 a.m. to mid-afternoon: Manhattan’s East Side, the Bronx, and Central Park
- 2 to 6 p.m.: Streets reopen progressively, with Central Park last
Those windows are the planning baseline, not the final word. The city publishes exact street closures the week of the race, and Jersey Street, Sand Lane, Nassau Avenue, and Steuben Street appear on that list alongside the main route.
What Reopens First
Closures lift behind the runners. Brooklyn streets open while Manhattan is still shut, so a route that worked at noon may be wrong at 10 a.m. and fine again at 3 p.m.
Marathon day traffic also spills well past the barricades. Even streets that never close carry the overflow, which people underestimate.
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the Other Crossings
The course crosses five bridges, and NYC marathon road closures hinge on their status more than on any surface street.
| Crossing or road | Status on November 1 |
| Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge | Closed to all vehicular traffic from 7 a.m. until mid-afternoon |
| Pulaski Bridge | Closed during the Queens portion, late morning |
| Queensboro Bridge | Lower roadway closed; upper level stays open |
| Willis Avenue Bridge | Closed, early to mid-afternoon |
| Madison Avenue Bridge | Closed, early to mid-afternoon |
| FDR Drive | Stays open all day |
| Brooklyn-Queens Expressway | Stays open, with heavy volume |
The FDR is the one worth circling. It never closes for the marathon, which makes it the backbone of most workable routes into and out of Manhattan that day.
What That Means on the Ground
Brooklyn takes the longest hit. The main route runs up Fourth Avenue from Bay Ridge through Park Slope, with Lafayette Avenue, Bedford Avenue, Manhattan Avenue, and Greenpoint Avenue closing as the field moves north, and Flatbush Avenue and Grand Army Plaza caught in it for hours.
Staten Island clears earlier than you would expect. Bay Street, Richmond Terrace, School Road, Fingerboard Road, West Fingerboard Road, Lily Pond Avenue, Dahlgren Place, and Fort Hamilton Parkway all reopen once the field is across the bridge.
What Changed on the TCS New York City Marathon Course
The TCS New York City Marathon adjusted its route this year, the first change in 15 years. It affects the Bronx, and only the Bronx.
Runners still enter over the Willis Avenue Bridge. From there, they now turn onto East 135th Street, then Alexander Avenue, then East 141st Street rather than East 138th, before rejoining Third Avenue and crossing back into Manhattan over the Madison Avenue Bridge.
Why It Changed
New York Road Runners made the change to restore access for Mott Haven residents and businesses cut off by the old route. Race director Ted Metellus told reporters the goal was getting people to local businesses on race morning.
The timing is deliberate. New York Road Runners is marking 50 years of the five-borough course, which replaced a four-loop format around Central Park that ran from 1970 to 1975.
Does It Affect Your Trip?
For most Connecticut travelers, no. The Bronx change runs a few blocks through Mott Haven past Alexander Avenue, Rider Avenue, Morris Avenue, and Mount Morris Park West, and the Madison Avenue Bridge Manhattan approach closes either way.
It matters if you were routing through the Bronx on local streets. A map from last November will not match what closes this year.
Getting to JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark
Airport runs from Fairfield County are the easiest part of Marathon Sunday. None of the three airports sit on the course.
The trouble is the approach. A JFK run that normally crosses the Whitestone or Throgs Neck and drops onto the Van Wyck is fine, while anything routing through Manhattan or over the Queensboro Bridge is not.
By Airport
- JFK. Take I-95 to the Whitestone or Throgs Neck, then the Van Wyck. Avoid the Queensboro and anything south through Brooklyn.
- LaGuardia. Same approach via the Whitestone. The Grand Central Parkway stays open, though the field crosses Queens mid-morning and volume builds nearby.
- Newark. The cleanest of the three. Nothing on the route touches a Newark approach from Connecticut, so the George Washington Bridge and I-95 south work normally.
Queens closures are narrower than people expect. Vernon Boulevard, Crescent Street, Hunter Street, Queens Plaza South, and Queens Plaza North close for a few hours around the Pulaski and Queensboro crossings.
Add an hour to whatever you would normally allow. Add two if your flight is before noon, when the closures are widest.
The FDR Is Your Friend
If a route must touch Manhattan, the FDR Drive stays open all day, including the FDR service-road sections that run parallel to it. That is the one reliable north-south artery on marathon day.
Westbound crosstown is the problem. First Avenue is closed to runners for hours, and NYPD controls the crossings, so plan to wait at them rather than drive through.
Streets Will Be Closed Across the Five Boroughs
Midtown and downtown are reachable. The Upper East and Upper West Sides around the finish are not, at least not by car.
Central Park closes to vehicles entirely, including East Drive and the park’s transverse roads. That shuts the simplest crosstown options north of 59th Street for most of the day.
Around the Finish Line
The finish sits near Tavern on the Green, and the closures ripple outward. Central Park West closes along the park, Columbus Circle gets congested, and West 64th Street, West 63rd Street, West 62nd Street, and West 61st Street all close as the finish area sets up.
If you have a hotel or restaurant above 59th Street, expect to be dropped a few blocks away and walk. The cross streets there become a pedestrian path Manhattan drivers cannot use, and that is normal on marathon day.
Where It Stays Normal
Below 23rd Street, you would barely know the race is happening. Downtown, Tribeca, the Financial District, and most of Chelsea are unaffected.
Midtown works with patience. 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue run normally; 1st Avenue below 23rd Street is fine while 1st Avenue above 59th Street is not, and the farther south and west you go, the less the race matters.
Why a Car Service Beats Guessing on Marathon Sunday
An app-based driver from New Jersey doesn’t know which Brooklyn streets reopened at 1 p.m. A chauffeur who drives this route weekly does.
What that experience covers on a day like this:
- Flight tracking, so the pickup adjusts when your inbound slips and you are not paying for a car idling at the curb
- Route knowledge, meaning the FDR instead of the Queensboro, and the Whitestone instead of anything through Manhattan
- Departure timing, built around the closure windows rather than a generic estimate
- A confirmed car, rather than surge pricing and cancellations on one of the busiest traffic days in the city
Rideshare availability drops on marathon day in exactly the neighborhoods where street closures bite hardest. Drivers avoid the area because fares get stuck in it, and the apps price accordingly.
Booking ahead removes the variable. NYC marathon road closures hit the same neighborhoods every year, and the difference is whether someone planned around that before your trip started.
Common Questions About NYC Marathon Road Closures and Traffic
What time do streets close for the NYC Marathon?
Staten Island closures start before dawn around the staging area, and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge shuts at 7 a.m. Closures then move north through the city with the runners, reopening progressively between about 2 and 6 p.m.
Can I drive into Manhattan on Marathon Sunday?
Yes, below the course. Downtown and anything south of 23rd Street is largely unaffected, while Central Park, East Drive, and the blocks near Columbus Circle are closed for most of the day.
Does the FDR Drive close for the marathon?
No. The FDR stays open all day, which makes it the most reliable way in and out of Manhattan on November 1.
Is the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge closed the whole day?
Not the whole day. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge closes to all traffic at 7 a.m. and reopens mid-afternoon once the field has cleared, though the upper level typically closes the night before.
How do I know exactly which streets close?
NYC DOT publishes the street-by-street list, including additional parking embargo locations, the week of the race. Anything earlier than that, including this post, is a planning baseline.
Should I book a car service or take a rideshare?
Book ahead. Rideshare supply drops and pricing surges in the neighborhoods nearest the course, and a scheduled car with flight tracking removes the risk entirely.
Book Ahead for Marathon Sunday
The TCS New York City Marathon is a good day to be a spectator and a hard day to improvise a drive. Streets reopen on their own schedule, and the city moves differently across all five boroughs from the moment the first wave crosses the Verrazzano.
Teddy’s has been moving Fairfield County travelers since 1932, and our team drives these routes every week. We track your flight and build the departure time around the closures, not an average.
Contact us now or call 203-866-2231 to book your November 1 ride. Tell us the flight or the reservation, and we will work backward from there.