World Cup Matches to Cause NYC Street Closures

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has announced street closures that will change transit patterns during the upcoming World Cup, telling New Yorkers to plan to use public transit or expect traffic delays during eight local match days.

These will occur on June 13, June 16, June 22, June 25, June 27, June 30 and July 5 and July 19. The matches will be held at the New York-New Jersey Stadium (otherwise known as the Met Life Stadium) in East Rutherford, NJ. The entire tournament lasts from June 11 to July 19.

Specifically, 42nd Street will be reserved for bus and shuttle use only. In addition to the shutdown of this crosstown corridor to car traffic, the two easternmost lanes of Sixth Ave.—between W. 42nd Street and W. 59th Street—will also become bus lanes on game days.

W. 40th Street between 8th Avenue and 11th Avenue will also become bus and shuttle lanes, as will W. 41st Street between 8th Avenue and 10th Avenue.

Street closures will also take place around Penn Station six hours before matches begin, due to queuing from World Cup attendees taking NJ Transit to matches. This will include closing 33rd St. between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue, as well as 32nd Street between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue.

Fans will be paying a controversial $95 dollars—a hefty price that has already been reduced twice from an original $150—to take the approved NJ Transit route to the Meadowlands, with car service to the games prohibited.

“New York City is ready to welcome the World Cup to our backyard,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement. “But even as the eyes of the world turn to our city, our responsibility remains the same to make sure New Yorkers can still get where they need to go safely, affordably and without unnecessary disruption.”

“With increased activity on match days, we strongly encourage New Yorkers to avoid driving into Manhattan and to fully utilize mass transit to get to your favorite watch parties this summer,” DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said.

Alex Lasry, the CEO of FIFA’s NYNJ Host Committee, also made clear his consultation on the changes: “This strategy reflects the level of coordination and planning across multiple agencies and partners to minimize disruptions, keep residents and visitors moving and ensure the city is ready to deliver an exceptional experience.”

Truck-based deliveries will also be halted six hours before games begin and three hours after they finish, the DOT said, between 30th Street and 60th Street.

New Yorkers who may have some time to spare are further encouraged to take the NYC Ferry during the World Cup, which maintains routes stretching from Wall Street to E. 90th Street.

However, a plan to activate a ferry route from a preexisting pier on W. 125th St. to New Jersey before the games—which is being spearheaded by Upper West Side City Council Member Shaun Abreu and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal—has not gained meaningful traction with the EDC.

The politicians have pitched the route as a means of circumventing the sky-high prices charged by NJ Transit for transportation on match day, although it appears increasingly unlikely that such an activation will occur by the first game on June 13.