NYC Columbus Day Parade Triggers Manhattan Street Closures

Thousands of marchers are expected to travel along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for New York City's 82nd Columbus Day Parade on Monday, October 12, 2026, as extensive street closures affect surrounding blocks. The event is scheduled to run from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., according to FOX 5 New York.

The parade returns after a one-year interruption caused by severe weather that forced the cancellation of the 2025 event. According to FOX 5 New York, the festivities are taking place for the first time since 2024.

The New York City Department of Transportation provided the street closure information cited in the report. The main parade route follows Fifth Avenue from 42nd Street to 72nd Street, while additional restrictions cover staging, dispersal and nearby streets.

For parade formation, closures include East 43rd Street between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue, as well as East 44th through East 47th streets between Madison Avenue and Sixth Avenue. Fifth Avenue is also closed between 42nd Street and 72nd Street.

Dispersal restrictions extend along Fifth Avenue between 72nd Street and 79th Street. East 72nd, East 73rd and East 74th streets are affected between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, while East 75th through East 78th streets are closed between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue.

Additional closures affect East 51st Street between Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza, East 58th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, and East 60th, East 62nd, East 63rd and East 64th streets between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue.

East 68th, East 69th and East 70th streets are also affected between Park Avenue and Fifth Avenue. Madison Avenue is closed between East 68th Street and East 76th Street, according to the transportation department information cited by FOX 5 New York.

Beyond Manhattan's main parade corridor, Broadway between Liberty Street and Battery Place may also close for the Columbus Day Festival at the discretion of the New York City Police Department.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is not attending the parade, FOX 5 New York reported. Mamdani has opposed celebrating Christopher Columbus, describing the 15th-century explorer as a colonizer who abused and displaced Indigenous people.

Despite his absence, Mamdani released a video statement lasting nearly three minutes to mark Italian Heritage Month. The report also cited a New York Post account in which some Italian American community leaders characterized the mayor's decision not to attend as a snub toward their community.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is scheduled to march in the parade. The event celebrates Italian American heritage and brings thousands of participants to Fifth Avenue amid traffic restrictions across the surrounding neighborhoods.