NYC Puerto Rican Day Parade Guide: Street Closures, Honorees

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — New York City's annual Puerto Rican Day Parade will be held on Sunday, June 10. The parade, which will celebrate its 61st year in 2018, is a celebration of the 3.5 million citizens of Puerto Rico and the more than 5 million people of Puerto Rican descent living in the United States, according to parade organizers.

Among those honored during this year's parade will be the first responders who served Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria and those who are still working to alleviate the island's humanitarian crisis, Louis Maldonado, the chair of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, said Friday. This year's parade will "have an important and serious tone" as the Puerto Rican community mourns the lives of the more than 4,000 people who died during the hurricane and its aftermath.

"A beautiful consequence of Hurricane Maria is a reinforced sense of unity and collective purpose between Puerto Ricans on the island and those of us in the diaspora, and this year’s Parade will be a physical manifestation of this," Maldonado said Friday in a statement.

The official theme of this year's parade is “One People, Many Voices." Award-winning actor Esaí Morales, known from roles in "La Bamba" and "My Family/Mi Familia" will serve as this year's Grand Marshal.

Here's everything you need to know about this year's Puerto Rican Day Parade should you chose to attend, or avoid, the event.

What time does the parade start and end?

The parade will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. and end around 6 p.m.

What is the route for this year's parade? Will streets be closed?

The parade will again be held in on Fifth Avenue in Midtown and the Upper East Side. The march will begin on Fifth Avenue at 44th Street and will continue in a straight line up the avenue until 79th Street.

Large-scale parades such as the Puerto Rican Day Parade always call for traffic shutdowns not only along the parade route, but also on nearby streets. Here are the street closures that will be in effect during the parade, according to the NYPD.

Formation:

• 44th Street between Madison Avenue and Broadway
• 45th Street between Madison Avenue and Broadway
• 46th Street between Madison Avenue and Sixth Avenue
• 47th Street between Madison Avenue and Sixth Avenue
• 48th Street between Madison Avenue and Sixth Avenue

Route:

• Fifth Avenue between 42nd Street and 79th Street

Dispersal:

• Fifth Avenue between 79th Street and 86th Street
• 79th Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue
• 80th Street between Fifth Avenue and Lexington Avenue
• 81st Street between Fifth Avenue and Lexington Avenue
• 82nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Lexington Avenue
• 83rd Street between Fifth Avenue and Lexington Avenue
• 84th Street between Fifth Avenue and Lexington Avenue
• 85th Street between Fifth Avenue and Lexington Avenue

Miscellaneous:

• 43rd Street between Sixth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• 60th Street between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue
• 80th Street between Park Avenue and Third Avenue
• Madison Avenue between East 43rd Street and East 79th Street
• Sixth Avenue between West 44th Street and West 49th Street

How should one get to the parade?

The easiest way to get to the parade from anywhere in the city is by public transportation. With the amount of street closures and the mass of pedestrians in the vicinity of the parade route, driving is a bad idea. Add on that finding parking in Midtown — without resorting to an overpriced parking garage — is nearly impossible, and taking your car to the parade is just not worth it.

The MTA will increase service on trains heading in the direction of the parade route to accommodate spectators. The E, F, N, R and 7 lines all make stops along Fifth Avenue. Additionally, spectators can take a 4, 5 or 6 train to Lexington Avenue and walk over to the parade.

The following bus lines also provide service to the parade area, but will be skipping some stops on Sunday: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M31, M50, M57, M66, M72, Q32, BxM2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10, BxM11, QM2, QM4, QM5, QM6, X1, X10 and X17.

For those trying to leave the area on Sunday morning, don't try going to the East 77th Street 6 train station. Because the MTA anticipate a lot of people coming to the parade to get off at that station it will be exit only from 7-9 a.m., according to an MTA press release.

Who's being honored?

Each year the Puerto Rican Day Parade honors people and groups from Puerto Rico and the diaspora who make significant contributions to society. This year the parade will honor first responders from Hurricane Maria and those contributed to the recovery efforts in Puerto Rico

These individuals will also be honored:

• Esaí Morales: Grand Marshal
• Zuleyka Rivera: Parade Queen
• Ismael Miranda: Lifetime Achievement
• Lucecita Benítez : Lifetime Achievement
• Laura and Jorge Posada: Madrina and Padrino (Godmother and Godfather)
• Carlos Beltrán: Althete of the year
• And many more.

Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images News/Getty Images