NYC Labor Parade 2018: Route, Traffic Closures, Start Time

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Labor Day has come and gone, but New York City's biggest labor unions will be celebrated during the 2018 Labor Day Parade on Saturday, Sept. 8. The Manhattan Labor Day Parade features less fun and festivity than Brooklyn's West Indian Day Parade — which actually occurs on Labor Day — but it serves as a reminder for the hard-fought rights won by the nation's labor unions.

Most of the city's big unions should show up to the parade in force, as well as city and state politicians looking to win labor support.

Here's everything you need to know about the parade, whether you want to avoid it or enjoy it.

When does the parade start?

The Labor Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Fifth Avenue and East 44th Street, according to the New York City Central Labor Council, which organized the parade.

What is the route for this year's parade and will there be street closures?

Marchers will begin on Fifth Avenue and East 44th Street and continue up the avenue toward East 66th Street.

The main parade route and several side streets will be closed to traffic for the duration of the parade. Here are the closures as announced by the Department of Transportation.

Formation:

• 44th Street between Broadway and Vanderbilt Avenue
• 45th Street between Sixth Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue
• 46th Street between Sixth Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue
• 47th Street between Sixth Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue
• 48th Street between Sixth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• Vanderbilt Avenue between 43rd Street and 47th Street
• Fifth Avenue between 43rd Street and 44th Street

Route

• Fifth Avenue between 44th Street and 72nd Street

Dispersal:

• Fifth Avenue between 67th Street and 72nd Street
• 67th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• 68th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• 69th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• 70th Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• 71st Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• 72nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue

Miscellaneous:

• 60th Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue
• 63rd Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue
• 64th Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue

What's the easiest way to get to the parade?

The easiest way to get to the parade route will be by taking public transportation, especially because most streets in the area will be closed to traffic.

The quickest way to get to the start of the parade route would be to take either the 1, 2, 7, N, Q, R or W train down to Times Square, the A, C or E train to Port Authority or the B, D, F OR M train to Bryant Park and walk from one of those stations.

Who will be honored this year?

The parade's main focus is to honor New York City's union laborers. Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers AFT Local 2, will serve as the parade's Grand Marshal this year. The parade's chair is Lester Crockett, regional president of the CSEA/AFSCME local 1000.

"Labor day is more than a holiday, more than barbecues. It is an opportunity to show the forces desperate to undermine our rights that we remain strong, and that we stand together." Mulgrew said in a statement posted to the New York City Central Labor Council's Facebook page.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images News/Getty Images