It’s a holiday weekend in New York City, with a few unique twists thrown in this year — a pop star’s wedding celebration, a country’s birthday party — and a heat wave.
On Friday, the main event will be whatever spectacle Taylor Swift, the singer-songwriter, and Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, are cooking up at Madison Square Garden, expected to be the site of a wedding celebration.
For those not lucky enough to have made the star-studded invite list, here is how the wedding might affect your plans, with street closures and access to train stations set to potentially pose some logistical challenges.
Here’s what to know.
The Swift-Kelce festivities kick off on Friday evening.
As many as 1,000 guests are expected to arrive at the Garden for some kind of party on Friday — including some who may even perform, according to an internal police planning memo. Doors to the arena will open at around 4 p.m. for a cocktail hour on its sixth floor, followed by “a wedding and reception in the arena” beginning at around 5:30 p.m., the memo says. Guests will need to prepare for a long night — the event is slated to run until 2 a.m.
Few know better than Swifties, the name for Ms. Swift’s fan base, about how secretive the pop star can be — a trait that has fueled so much speculation about the mysterious happening at the Garden. Because of street closures, gathering outside Madison Square Garden will be close to impossible. Just ask Knicks fans, who dealt with a similar security perimeter last month.
Roads will be shut down around the Garden.
On Friday, starting at 1 p.m., streets around Madison Square Garden will close to traffic ahead of the anticipated wedding extravaganza at the famous arena. Seventh Avenue on the city’s west side will close between West 30th and 34th Streets, and there will be additional closures between Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue around the vicinity of the Garden, according to the New York City Police Department.
Pedestrians will not be able to walk on the west side of Seventh Avenue between West 31st and 34th Streets or on West 33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.
Also beginning at 1 p.m., access to the east side of Eighth Avenue between 30th and 34th Streets will be managed by police, as well as West 33rd Street, West 32nd Street and West 31st Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.
Access to Penn Station will be limited.
On Friday, the police will control access to Pennsylvania Station on the northeast corner of Eighth Avenue and West 31st Street. People looking to get to the subway, the Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit and Amtrak will need to use the entrances to Moynihan Train Hall on the west side of Eighth Avenue.
There will also be more fanfare across town on Friday, as a majestic procession of tall ships from around the world begins making its way down the East River ahead of a larger procession on July 4. Because of the tall ships parade on the East River on Friday, New York City’s ferry service on the river will be suspended between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Add to the mix the city’s heat wave, which brought temperatures of over 100 degrees on Thursday and could again on Friday. The heat also snarled NJ Transit service on Thursday, leading to suspensions and long delays of over 60 to 90 minutes. NJ Transit warned travelers ahead of the weekend that problems could persist through Saturday.
Maria Cramer, Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Chelsia Rose Marcius and Maia Coleman contributed reporting.