Halloween in NYC tonight: Village parade route, street closures and subway changes

It's Halloween on a Saturday, and the city is busy: the 53rd annual Village Halloween Parade takes over Sixth Avenue tonight, neighborhood parades and street fairs close streets across Manhattan and Brooklyn, and the NYC Marathon follows Sunday morning. Here's what the city's Department of Transportation, the MTA and the parade organizers have posted for tonight.

The Village Halloween Parade

The parade starts at 7 p.m. and runs straight up Sixth Avenue from King Street to West 15th Street, ending around 11 p.m., according to the organizers. You can watch from either side of Sixth Avenue; the stretch between Bleecker and 14th streets is the most crowded, so the organizers suggest arriving early or picking a spot farther along the route. Watching is free. If you'd rather stay in, NY1 airs the parade live from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

Organizers also ask spectators not to drive, and suggest that groups meet somewhere away from the lineup area and walk over together.

Street closures tonight

DOT's weekly traffic advisory lists these closures for Saturday, at the NYPD's discretion:

• Parade route: Sixth Avenue between Spring Street and West 18th Street.
• Lineup: Sixth Avenue between Spring and Canal streets, plus Dominick, Sullivan, Broome and Spring streets near Varick Street.
• Dispersal: West 16th, 17th and 18th streets between Fifth and Seventh avenues, and Fifth and Seventh avenues between 14th and 19th streets.
• Also closed: West 10th Street between Sixth Avenue and Greenwich Avenue, and Van Dam Street.
• Park Slope Halloween Parade (Brooklyn): Seventh Avenue between 15th Street and 3rd Street, and 3rd Street between Seventh and Fourth avenues; lineup on 14th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues.
• Street fairs: Broadway between 8th and 14th streets (Village Fall Fair) and the northbound side of Broadway between 110th and 116th streets (Upper Broadway Fall Fair).
• Marathon weekend: DOT also lists closures for Saturday's Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K on First Avenue, 42nd Street, Sixth Avenue and Central Park drives.

Buses on Sixth Avenue are rerouted from just after 6 p.m. until the parade ends, the organizers said.

Park Slope's children's parade

In Brooklyn, the Park Slope Civic Council's children's parade starts at 6:30 p.m. at Seventh Avenue and 14th Street (marchers should line up by 6), heads down Seventh Avenue, turns onto 3rd Street and ends at the Old Stone House in Washington Park, according to the civic council. This year's theme is "The Haunted Forest of Brooklyn."

Subway changes

Several weekend service changes affect the parade area, according to the MTA's service alerts and the parade organizers:

• Spring St (C/E): downtown A and E trains skip the station this weekend. The organizers say the northbound side will be exit-only during the parade.
• C train: rerouted via the D and F in both directions between Jay St-MetroTech and 59 St-Columbus Circle.
• A train: no Inwood-bound A at High St, Fulton St, Chambers St, Canal St or Spring St; uptown A trains also stop at 23 St and 50 St, and downtown A trains run local from 125 St to Canal St.
• 14 St/6 Av (F, M, L): the 16th Street side will be exit-only, according to the organizers.
• West 4 St-Washington Sq: entrances may switch to exit-only or entry-only depending on crowds, the organizers said.

The organizers suggest the B, D, F and M to 23rd, 14th or West 4th streets, Seventh Avenue line (1, 2, 3) stations at 23rd, 18th or 14th streets, Christopher St-Sheridan Square or Houston Street, and the PATH to Ninth, 14th or 23rd streets. Check the MTA app before you leave, since weekend plans can change.

The rest of the weekend

• Weather: a dry, cool night is in the weekend forecast.
• Clocks fall back one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, so it gets dark earlier; drivers should watch for trick-or-treaters and pedestrians. See the city's Dusk and Darkness campaign.
• Sunday: the marathon closes bridges and avenues in all five boroughs; see our marathon closures guide.
• Early voting continues Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; see our early voting guide.

Looking for something else to do tonight? Browse today's Halloween listings on our events page.