New York City has been celebrating Pride all month long, and the grand finale arrives this weekend: The NYC Pride March! The massive march draws millions of rainbow-clad activists and allies who will take to the streets in support of global LGBTQ+ rights. 

To accommodate the march, which is on Sunday, June 30, 2024, starting at noon, several streets will be closed. Here’s what you need to know. 

RECOMMENDED: Pride March 2024 NYC: guide to the parade, street closures and best places to watch

All the Pride March street closures to know in NYC

Here’s the full list of street closures on Sunday, June 30, for the march, according to the city’s Department of Transportation:

Formation:

• 5th Avenue between 33rd Street and 25th Street
• West/East 33rd Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 32nd Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 31st Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 30th Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 29th Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 28th Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 27th Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West/East 26th Street between 6th Avenue and Madison Avenue
• West 25th Street between 6th Avenue and 5th Avenue

Route:

• 5th Avenue between 25th Street and 8th Street
• West 8th Street between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• Greenwich Avenue between 6th Avenue and Christopher Street
• Christopher Street between Greenwich Avenue and 7th Avenue South
• 7th Avenue between Christopher Street and 16th Street

Dispersal:

• 7th Avenue between 15th Street and 19th Street
• 16th Street between 8th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 17th Street between 9th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 18th Street between 8th Avenue and 6th Avenue
• 19th Street between 9th Avenue and 6th Avenue

Miscellaneous:

• Christopher Street between West Street and 7th Avenue South
• Greenwich Avenue between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue

* This article was originally published here

It’s official: the city will reverse the $58.3 million in funding cuts to libraries that were announced back in November of last year, a move that will likely restore seven-day service across the institutions, including Sundays.

The news was first broken by Gothamist, followed by an official statement by Mayor Eric Adams and Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

In addition to the libraries’ budget, the city will also restore funding to cultural institutions around town.

“Since day one, our administration has been laser focused on delivering for working-class New Yorkers and by working side-by-side with our partners across the hall, we are proud to announce a full restoration of funds to both our libraries and cultural institutions in the upcoming budget,” the Mayor said in an official statement. “These institutions are a critical part of New York City’s social fabric, which New Yorkers depend on for their children’s growth and the vibrancy of our city. The budget will ensure these essential institutions will have what they need to serve New Yorkers and attract visitors every day of the week.”

I In a joint statement, the public libraries noted that Sunday service will likely be restored in the “coming weeks,” offering the same hours of operation prior to the November cuts.

“The funding also allows us to continue universal six-day service, which New Yorkers have enjoyed for nearly a decade,” reads the statement.

The news has been met with lots of excitement all around: both the City Council and regular New Yorkers have been complaining about the cuts for months, mounting pressure campaigns that Mayor Adams couldn’t ignore. 

A couple of weeks ago, while New Yorkers were facing a 90-degree heat wave, critics also pointed out that forcing libraries to close on Sundays negatively impacted the health of locals as the institutions serve as much-needed cooling centers.

Clearly, there is more than one reason to keep libraries open throughout the weekends. 

* This article was originally published here

Being the best city in the world comes at a price: for the second year in a row, transportation analytics firm INRIX’s Global Traffic Scorecard has ranked NYC as the world’s most congested town, with drivers spending an average of four full days stuck in traffic annually. How lovely. 

To come up with its report, which you can read through in full right here, the firm looks at data collected from 947 different urban areas across 37 countries, taking into account factors like commuting trends, travel delays, costs and more.

Lest you think the survey to be a fun case study, think again: Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst at INRIX, told Bloomberg that traffic congestion can function as “a barometer of economic health.” As a result, officials may want to start thinking about ways to solve the problem—especially now that the much talked about NYC congestion pricing plan, a project that was supposed to alleviate traffic all around town, has been put on hold indefinitely.

“The surge in traffic congestion in urban areas indicated a revival of economic hubbub post-COVID, but it also led to billions of dollars in lost time for drivers,” Pishue said to the outlet.

In terms of New York in specific, the study identified the busiest local road as the four-mile area on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from the Long Island Expressway to Tillary Street—a stretch of road that will only get worse in terms of traffic when the city kicks off its much-needed repair project (albeit not until 2029).

The top 10 list of most congested cities across the world is rounded out by Mexico City, London, Paris, Chicago, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Boston, Cape Town and Jakarta. Clearly, things need to change in the U.S.

How congested is New York City?

According to INRIX’s Global Traffic Scorecard, motorists driving through NYC last year lost about 101 hours of their time.

Downtown Manhattan in particular saw a 13% increase in area trips, with cars driving at an average speed of 11 miles per hour during peak morning hours. That’s actually an 11% drop from the same time back in 2023. 

Things are likely only going to get worse, though, given the indefinite pause on the congestion pricing plan.

Why is there so much traffic in NYC?

The survey has identified a very big problem, but why is is there so much traffic in NYC?

Clearly a hub for all industries, the city is home to a ton of businesses that employ folks from all over the state.

As Pishue’s statement indicates, a post-COVID lifestyle may have also influenced the data: some folks have moved out of the city but now work on a hybrid schedule that may require them to come in every so often.

Basically: New York is popular and people want to spend time here

* This article was originally published here