Verrazzano Bridge to Close Sunday for Marathon

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge will close to all vehicular traffic Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., for the TCS New York City Marathon.

The upper level of the bridge will be closed to traffic in both directions beginning at 11 p.m. Saturday to allow for roadway preparation. Over-dimensional vehicles and vehicles containing hazardous materials will not be permitted to cross the bridge in either direction once that closure takes place. The Bay Street and Lily Pond Avenue exits in Staten Island will close at 3 a.m. on Sunday and reopen at 4 p.m.

Motorists can call the Verrazzano-Narrows Marathon Traffic Hotline at (718) 692-5656 to hear information about the closures.

Additionally, the Central Park Transverse Roads at 65th, 79th and 96th Streets will be closed for most of the day and buses will not be permitted to cross Fifth Avenue during the race. Numerous other bus diversions will take place along the marathon route across the city. New bus diversion details as the race progresses will be available on the MTA’s website.

A limited field of 33,000 runners — down from the usual 55,000 — will jog off the Verrazzano Bridge and wind its way toward Central Park on Sunday as the 26.2-mile race returns after being wiped out in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic.

Runners must be vaccinated or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of the race. Spectators will be encouraged to maintain social distancing, and some race-adjacent entertainment elements will be scaled back to accommodate that.

The starting format was altered, too, with a fifth wave added to space out runners as they bus or ferry to the starting line in Staten Island and at the finish near 67th Street on the west side of Central Park.

The last group won’t take off until noon, four hours after the professional wheelchair division is the first to hit the streets.