Street closures planned near Madison Square Garden for Donald Trump rally

Parts of Midtown Manhattan around Madison Square Garden will be locked down to car and pedestrian traffic on Sunday in preparation for Donald Trump’s evening campaign rally and the protests that will accompany it, NYPD officials said.

Police will close West 32nd and West 33rd streets to vehicle and pedestrian traffic between Sixth and Seventh avenues starting at 2 a.m., going past the start of the event at 5 p.m. Sunday evening, Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a Saturday news conference.

Pedestrian traffic will be limited between West 29th and West 34th streets in that area and vehicular traffic may periodically be halted as necessitated by police for the former president.

Authorities encouraged commuters to Midtown to use public transportation. Subways will run as usual; however, riders will be directed to the Eighth Avenue exit, away from Seventh Avenue around the venue.

Madison Square Garden will open its doors for the 19,000-seat rally at noon.

Police also have cordoned off portions of the street around the venue for demonstrators who are expected to protest against the former president.

“While we will always respect and protect the right to peaceful protests, there will be zero tolerance for crime, blocking traffic, graffiti or disorderly behavior,” Mayor Eric Adams said at the news conference Saturday.

Chell said that the NYPD has provided policing for 4,300 protests so far this year.

“We'll have many of our police department assets on display,” Chell said. “Some you will see, some you won't see, including our federal partners. You will see a heavy uniform presence around the Garden. You'll see heavy weapons teams, counterterrorism, aviation, a transit footprint on Seventh Avenue and many more.”