The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is gearing up for an event-filled weekend June 8-9 with tens of thousands of customers expected to take the train to Belmont Stakes and 116th Street Abrazo Fraternal Festival on Saturday, and the National Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday.
With extra service being offered on the LIRR and traffic congestion anticipated, New Yorkers are encouraged to take mass transit to all the events.
As in past years, the MTA Police remind customers that they will enforce a system wide alcohol ban for the duration of the weekend.
151st Running of the Belmont Stakes
The LIRR will operate 21 eastbound trains to Belmont Park between 09:37 a.m. and 04:55 p.m., most of them direct from Penn Station. Customers traveling from Brooklyn, Woodside and stations on Long Island can connect with Belmont trains at Jamaica. Full train service details are available at this special timetable here.
Return LIRR trains depart from Belmont Park at 04:19 p.m., 05:05 p.m., 05:19 p.m., 05:45 p.m. and 06:35 p.m. Then, immediately following the Belmont Stakes and continuing until Belmont Park closes, trains will depart approximately every 15 minutes to Jamaica and Penn Station, with connections at Jamaica available to Atlantic Terminal and points east. LIRR personnel will be assigned at key locations to assist customers.
To allow for the extra train service, Hempstead Branch trains will operate every two hours, instead of hourly, in both directions between 03:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, and buses will substitute for eastbound trains at Queens Village and Hollis from 09:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Full details are in this special Hempstead Branch Timetable.
National Puerto Rican Day Parade
This year’s National Puerto Rican Day Parade will be held on Sunday, June 9 between 11:00 a.m. and 06:00 p.m. The parade route runs up Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street. The 77 Street 6 station will be exit onlyhis station will be directed to the 68 Street 6, 86 Street 456, 72 Street MQ or 86 Street MQ stations. For a list of subway stations closest to the parade route, please visit here.
The following NYC Transit and MTA Buses will take customers to the parade area, however stops along the parade route will be skipped on the: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M31, M50, M55, M57, M66, M72, M79 SBS, SIM1c, SIM3c, SIM4c, SIM33c, X27, X28, BxM2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10, BxM11, Q32, QM2, QM4, QM5 and QM6.
To help customers reach the parade, the Long Island Rail Road is adding three trains on the Ronkonkoma Branch, which has a second track between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma that was completed last summer. The special trains will depart from Ronkonkoma at 10:16 a.m., 11:16 a.m., and 12:16 p.m. to Penn Station. After the parade, the LIRR is adding three extra return trains departing Penn Station at 04:29 p.m., 05:29 p.m., and 06:29 p.m.
A special LIRR Ronkonkoma Branch timetable noting the additional service is available here. The full branch timetable with regular service is available here.
116th Street Abrazo Fraternal Festival
This weekend’s celebration of Puerto Rican heritage begins on Saturday, June 8, with the 116th Street Abrazo Fraternal Festival which will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. along 116th Street between Lexington and Second Avenues and on Third Avenue between 106th and 122nd Streets.
On Saturday, the 116 Street 6 station will be exit only from noon to 05:00 p.m. in order to prevent overcrowding on stairways and platforms. Customers wishing to enter at 116 Street will be redirected to nearby 6 line stations on Lexington Avenue at 110 Street and 125 Street. In addition, the following New York City Transit and MTA Buses will skip stops located within the festival area during the event: M101, M102, M103, BxM1, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10 and BxM11. For a list of subway stations closest to the festival, please visit here.
As a reminder, some subway lines do not run on weekends and some trains will be rerouted due to pre-scheduled maintenance and upgrade work in our efforts to maintain and upgrade tracks, signals, stations and other infrastructure throughout subway system. As a reminder, each weekend until Summer 2020, L trains will run every 20 minutes between Brooklyn and Manhattan, and every 10 minutes within Brooklyn, days and evenings. NYC Transit encourages customers to take advantage of extensive and robust options in its alternative service plan for quicker travel or to avoid crowds. Please visit here for more information on the project.
Spectators are advised to allow additional travel time and use the MYmta app or MTA.info for trip planning and real-time train and bus arrival estimates.