All Catholic schools in Manhattan and some private schools in the Bronx will be closed Friday in anticipation of Pope Francis' visit -- but parents at schools that are staying open near the sites of the pope's visits are nervously wondering how they'll navigate the traffic and crowds.
"It's going to be hectic and crazy," said mother Jennifer Cruz, who lives just a few blocks from Our Lady Queens of Angels School in East Harlem, where the pope will visit Friday. Daughter Jamie goes to a different school, but she's expecting a rough trek as the city shuts down a chunk of East Harlem for His Holiness.
Husband Manny Cruz, who works for the MTA, said he already knows it will be tough to get around with all the street closures and wishes the city had closed some of the schools.
The city is advising parents that Friday may be rough, travel-wise, but schools will remain open. Meanwhile, Catholic schools in Manhattan are closed, and those in central Westchester will close at noon. And in the Bronx, private schools Ethical Culture Fieldston, Horace Mann and Riverdale Country School are closed.
On Friday, the pope will move from lower Manhattan to midtown at the United Nations, uptown in East Harlem, ride through Central Park and make his Mass at Madison Square Garden just in time for the evening rush.
Parent Ann Petrov and her son Brandon live in Murray Hill, not far from the U.N.
"It'll be bad, but I don't know how bad," said Petrov. "My plan is to look out the window and see if the First Avenue bus is running. But if not, I'll take the subway and leave 30 minutes early."
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On the East Side of Manhattan, one school sent a note to parents, mincing no words about the expected traffic: Students "may spend hours on the bus in gridlocked traffic both in the morning and afternoon. As it is almost certain that the bus will not arrive in time for school, please make sure your child has something to eat before he or she gets on the bus. If you can make other arrangements for getting your child to and from school, please do."
