New York

MTA Reminds of St. Patrick's Day Alcohol Ban, Announces Service Changes

What to Know

  • Live coverage of the parade begins March 17 at 11 a.m. online and on air
  • It's the 256th St. Patrick's Day parade in the city
  • Limerick native Michael Dowling, president & CEO of Northwell Health, is the first hospital head to serve as Grand Marshal of the NY parade

As thousands of revelers plan to descend on New York City for the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue Friday, the MTA wants to remind people to keep the bubbly at home -- or at least off the trains. 

MTA police will enforce a ban on alcoholic beverages on Metro-North and LIRR trains on Friday through 5 a.m. Saturday, the agency said. (On the LIRR, alcohol is always banned between midnight and 5 a.m. on Saturday mornings.) 

Any alcoholic beverages found by the MTA police will be confiscated.

Service changes are also in effect. See details below.

LIRR and Metro-North

The LIRR will operate six extra westbound trains on Friday morning, arriving at Penn Station between 9:27 a.m. and 11:19 a.m. Train departure times are listed in special timetables for the Babylon, Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma branches. Visit mta.info for details. The information will also be available through the LIRR Train Time app. 

The LIRR will operate 10 extra eastbound trains departing Penn Station between 1:50 p.m. and 3:49 p.m. Train departure times listed in current timetables as specials marked in black as “Holiday Eve” trains on the Babylon Branch (four extra trains), Port Jefferson Branch (three extra trains), Port Washington Branch (one extra train), Far Rockaway Branch (one extra train), and Ronkonkoma Branch (one extra train). 

Metro-North will operate an extra train that will depart from Poughkeepsie at 7:52 a.m. and stop at New Hamburg at 8:02 a.m. and Beacon at 8:10 a.m. before running express to Harlem-125th Street and arriving at Grand Central Terminal at 9:32 a.m.

New York City Subway 

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, some staircases at the 77 St 6 line station may be designated as entry/exit only on both the uptown and downtown platforms due to crowd control. 

New York City Buses 

The following NYC Transit and MTA Bus routes will be detoured in the area along the parade route between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M31, M42, M50, M55, M57, M66, M72, M79, BxM2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10, BxM11, Q32 and most Staten Island Express buses. 

MTA Bridges and Tunnels 

MTA Bridges and Tunnels urges parade-goers to take mass transit. As always, motorists should never get behind the wheel of a car if they’ve been drinking, the MTA says. Throughout the day, there will be increased vigilance at all MTA crossings to combat drunk driving. 

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