Cold alert and street closures: today they light the famous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center; road changes per week in New York
Wind, cold and rain: for now those are the uninvited attendees but already confirmed for tonight, when the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be lit in a national television ceremony, considered by many the most famous and photographed in the world.
Several artists are announced, some live and others deferred, as often happens: Jimmie Allen, Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, Virginia Bocelli, Brett Eldredge, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Mickey Guyton, Alicia Keys, Amy Poehler, Radio City Rockettes, Maya Rudolph, the Muppets of Sesame Street, Dan + Shay, Blake Shelton, The Shindellas, Gwen Stefani, Louis York, informó NBC, station that broadcasts the ceremony from 8 to 10 p.m.
This year the chosen tree is between 85 and 90 years old, it was donated by the Lebotitz family in Glen Falls (NY). Measure 82 feet tall and 50 feet wide, and weighs 14 tons. It will be decorated with more than 50,000 LED lights, and will be crowned with a Swarovski crystal star with millions of crystals. At the end of the season it will be torn down and turned into wood that will be donated to the organization “Habitat for Humanity”.
In anticipation of the “Christmas at Rockefeller Center” show and the massive traditional presence of the public, the surrounding streets have already been closed to traffic from today at 11 am, alerted NYPD. Then, through early January, the roads around Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall will place movable barriers to partially or completely close them to cars and ease foot traffic on the sidewalks.
Once the rain stops probably around 7 p.m., “temperatures will drop rapidly, so the weather will be very different for viewers as the tree lighting approaches compared to what those waiting early will experience. With drier air and windy conditions, the thermometer is likely to drop to around 30F (1C), with a much lower wind chill, alerted NBC News.
This year, for the first time, the famous 5th Avenue in New York will be closed to all vehicular traffic for three Sundays in December. With the program “Fifth Avenue for all”, On Sundays, December 4, 11 and 18 between 12 and 6 pm, this road will be for pedestrians only, from 57th street to 48th street. In addition, the city has planned musical shows and food sales there.
Throughout December, MTA buses will bypass stops between 52nd and 48th Streets on 5th Avenue, and on Sundays they will completely reroute to parallel southbound lanes.
Normally at this time of year the traffic in that area is more chaotic than usual, also because of the visitors of the Saint Patrick’s Cathedralthe ice rink at the foot of the large Christmas tree, and the surrounding display cases and decorations, including projections made by the store Scissors 5th Av on its facade. And on that same block the famous show is presented Radio City Rockettes, with several functions a day.
Weather updates can be found here and on the website of the National Weather Service (NWS-NY). More details here about the forecast in counties of New York and Jersey.
