On Marathon Sunday, the Upper East Side Becomes an Island. Here's How to Cross It.

This Sunday, November 1, the TCS New York City Marathon closes the Upper East Side on both sides. Runners come north up First Avenue for Miles 16 through 18, loop through East Harlem and the Bronx, and come back south on Fifth Avenue from East 105th Street toward Central Park for Miles 23 and 24. For most of the day, everything between the two avenues has a racecourse on its eastern edge and another on its western edge.

New York Road Runners lists exactly four pedestrian crossing zones in Manhattan, and all four are on First Avenue between 69th and 86th Streets. If you know where those crossings are before Sunday morning, you'll spend the day watching the race. If you don't, you may spend it walking along a barricade.

Four Crossings, All Between 69th and 86th

The NYRR course page lists the Manhattan pedestrian crossing zones as:

1. First Avenue and 69th Street
2. First Avenue and 72nd Street
3. First Avenue and 83rd Street
4. First Avenue and 86th Street

Two of them, 72nd and 86th, are on wide crosstown streets that residents already use to reach the river. 69th sits in the Lenox Hill blocks near the hospital campus, and 83rd falls in the long middle stretch of Yorkville.

The list also has gaps. It names no zone between the Queensboro Bridge approach at 59th Street and 69th Street, and none from 87th Street to 96th Street. Brooklyn gets two zones, at Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street and at Bedford Avenue and Broadway. Those four First Avenue corners are the full Manhattan list. For anyone living east of First Avenue in the 60s or the low 90s, the closest listed crossing is several blocks off, and the walk there runs parallel to the course.

Here is what that means in practice. A resident on East End Avenue near 90th Street who wants brunch on Lexington, or a train at 86th Street, can plan on walking south to 86th before heading west. A resident near Sutton Place or the 60s side streets heading the same way will go north to 69th. Pick your exit corner before you leave the house.

Fifth Avenue Closes the Other Side

First Avenue is the side everyone remembers because the crowds are there. Fifth Avenue is the second boundary, and it closes on the same day, though for a shorter window. NYC DOT's 2026 marathon construction embargo names both stretches. It covers First Avenue from East 59th Street to the Willis Avenue Bridge, East 59th Street between Second and First Avenues, and Fifth Avenue from East 90th to 120th Streets, which keeps routine street work off the course in the days around the race. The embargo list shows the course boundaries but not traffic hours.

For hours, last year's city notice is the best reference so far. The 2025 street closure and no-parking notice closed First Avenue from East 59th Street to the Willis Avenue Bridge from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on race day, and Fifth Avenue from East 90th to 120th Streets from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. That was the 2025 schedule. NYRR says only that on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the NYPD will close streets along the course starting early in the morning so trucks, ambulances and volunteers can set up medical tents and water stations. Anyone who parks on these blocks should look for this year's posted signs instead of relying on last year's times.

The single route change NYRR has announced for 2026 is in the Bronx, after the Willis Avenue Bridge. The Upper East Side stretch runs where it always has.

How Long First Avenue Stays a Racecourse

The start schedule shows why First Avenue stays occupied well into the afternoon. NYRR sends the field off Staten Island in stages:

The wheelchair leaders and professional fields cross the Queensboro Bridge onto First Avenue in the morning. The mass waves come after them, and they take far longer. The final wave doesn't start until 11:30 a.m. NYRR builds its course schedule around participants who can hold a 16-minute-mile pace from that last start, and sweep buses follow the route at about that pace. At that pace, the sweep bus reaches Mile 16 at First Avenue and 59th Street about four and a quarter hours after 11:30, which is around a quarter to four. It reaches Mile 23 on Fifth Avenue around a quarter to six. Runners who finish by 10 p.m. are still counted as official finishers.

So on the Upper East Side, the elite race comes through in the morning, but the event itself fills most of the afternoon. The fastest crowd-watching runs from late morning into early afternoon on First Avenue, and later on Fifth. To catch a particular runner, NYRR points spectators to live tracking in the New York Road Runners app.

Where the Neighborhood's Cheer Stations Are

Because crossing is limited, the side of First Avenue you start on matters. Several groups have posted 2026 cheer stations on or near the Upper East Side stretch, and each one tells you which side to be on.

The New York Junior League is an NYRR charity partner for the eleventh year. Team NYJL is meeting on the southwest corner of First Avenue and 81st Street, the west side of the avenue, two blocks south of the 83rd Street crossing. The league is also hosting a runners' brunch at the Astor House on Saturday, October 31.

Farther north, Brasil Run Club is hosting a free cheer zone at 1741 First Avenue in Yorkville from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. RSVP is required through its event listing. Achilles International, whose athletes are part of the early-start field, plans a cheer station at First Avenue and 94th Street. Both are in the blocks above 86th Street with no listed crossing, so pick your side of the avenue before the course closes.

Just past the neighborhood's northern edge, rabbit and Women Make Moves are running a cheer zone at First Avenue and 106th Street, Mile 18.7, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. rabbit is closing its pop-up that day to join it. NYRR's own Charity Cheer Zone is at First Avenue and 120th Street, at Miles 19 and 20.

Away from the barricades, Dorrian's Red Hand at 1616 Second Avenue has an "NYC Marathon" event on its calendar from 11 a.m. Sunday through 7 p.m. Monday, November 2. Second Avenue sits between the two closed avenues, so you can get there from anywhere on that side of First without crossing the course.

Getting Across Fifth to the Finish

Some residents will want to see the finish, which is on West Drive at 67th Street. Most of the published spectator advice sends people through Columbus Circle and Broadway, which means a trip across the park. For the standing spectator area inside Central Park, the Time Out New York spectator guide also lists an east-side entrance on the Central Park path by Heckscher Fields, Kickball Field #3. There is no spectator access north of the grandstands, and every entrance has security screening. Grandstand seats near the finish are ticketed and sold online through NYRR.

For the train, NYRR lists the N, Q, R, 4, 5, 6 and F for the First Avenue viewing stretch, and the Q, 4, 5 and 6 for Fifth Avenue between 90th and 105th Streets. NYRR recommends the subway as the best way to get around on race day and suggests checking mta.info for planned service changes before you leave. Lexington Avenue and the Second Avenue line both run between the two closed avenues, so you can reach the 4, 5, 6 or Q from anywhere in that middle section without crossing First.

Here is a plan that works with the course. Cheer on First Avenue in the late morning from whichever side your crossing corner leaves you on. Cross at 72nd or 86th once you've seen the runners you came for. Walk west, and if you want to see the same runners again near Mile 23, be on Fifth Avenue before the middle of the afternoon.

If you're weighing a move within the neighborhood and want to talk through how particular blocks and buildings work day to day, Eileen Foy would be glad to help. Request a Private Consultation.