Blocks of Midtown Manhattan are being shut Friday for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s star-studded wedding at Madison Square Garden — adding to the hellish conditions commuters already face as the city sizzles under record heat.
Pedestrians and drivers were already seeing streets blocked off early Friday, even though the official closures were not due to start until 1 p.m.
The celebrity bride and groom and their A-list pals will leave regular New Yorkers and tourists struggling to get around MSG and hence Penn Station, which is set to be stricken for another day with horrendous delays and cancellations as the train network struggles to cope with potential triple-digit heat.
Police set up barriers around Madison Square Garden on Friday morning for Taylor Swift’s wedding. Matthew McDermott for NY Post
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced their engagement in April 2025. AI image generated by Adobe Firefly
“All these barricades left and right, nowhere to go, all this traffic — it’s way too much,” complained Spencer Luell, 24, who was repeatedly redirected while trying to grab a train to be with family in New Jersey hours before the street closures were due to start.
“They sent me around in circles just to be right back here” where he started, he said. “I’m like, what the f—k.”
“[Taylor] needs to take that whole thing somewhere else. Manhattan is not the place for it. She needs to take it far away — on an island or Dubai or on a yacht. This is not the place for it.”
The full street closures are due to start at 1 p.m., with around 13 cops patrolling the area.
Tthe following streets will be closed to vehicular traffic, according to the New York City Police Department:
7th Avenue between 30th and 34th Streets
West 33rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
West 32nd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
West 31st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
West 31st Street between 7th and 8th Avenues
The West side of 7th Avenue between 31st and 34th Streets and West 33rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues will be closed to all pedestrian traffic, also starting at 1 p.m.
There will also be security-controlled access in the following areas, per police:
East side of 8th Avenue between 30th and 34th Streets
West 33rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
West 32nd Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
West 31st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
To enter Penn Station and Moynihan Trail Hall for NJ Transit, LIRR, Amtrak and subway trains, travelers have been told to use the entrance to Moynihan Station on the west side of 8th Avenue at 31st and 33rd Streets.
Temperatures in New York City could hit triple digits again on Friday. AP Photo/Ryan Murphy
There will also be access to Penn Station on the northeast corner of 8th Avenue and 31st Street, police said.
The traffic situation was already causing chaos on Friday morning — and New Yorkers were feeling some “Bad Blood” toward the big day.
Judy biked to Midtown to meet a friend from her home downtown but said it was still a nightmare trying to get to the train station.
“This is a metropolitan area with over 8 million people — and a pop singer can orchestrate this whole thing.? You don’t think that’s insane?” the public relations worker seethed.
“For a pop singer’s wedding? I don’t understand it. I mean, it’s just unreal.”
Swift kicked off her two-day wedding bonanza with a rehearsal dinner yesterday when temperatures topped 100 degrees in the Big Apple for the first time since 2012.
The extreme heat caused equipment issues for NJ Transit, sparking a commuting nightmare at Penn Station amid a slew of cancellations and hours-long delays. Those delays and cancellations will continue on Friday, the rail line said.
“Due to extreme temperatures, rail service will continue to operate with expected delays and cancellations of select trains through the end of the service day today, Friday, July 3, 2026,” NJ Transit said in a statement.
“NJ TRANSIT recommends customers avoid all non-essential travel.”
New Yorkers use a fire hydrant to cool off from the record-setting heat in New York City. AFP via Getty Images
Long Island Railroad will be operating on a regular schedule, but access will be limited. Passengers are asked to use the 34th Street and 7th Avenue entrance, and the rail line said travelers should consider traveling from Grand Central Terminal or Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.
The city’s accommodations for Swift’s wedding at the public’s expense also frustrated users online.
“I’m sorry it’s f–king crazy that that billionaire lady is disrupting the busiest rail station in the Western Hemisphere the day before a holiday on a whim,” one person posted on X. “We live in the tackiest second gilded age imaginable.”
“How is Taylor Swift allowed to shut down NYC?” wondered another.
A man sits outside Madison Square Garden on Friday, July 3, 2026. Matthew McDermott for NY Post
“At least the Empire State Building lovebirds only closed down one block,” one user quipped, referring to the couple that scaled the skyscraper’s spire for a smooch and proposal in a wild stunt.
Friday’s travel woes also come on the eve of New York City’s massive Fourth of July celebration for the country’s 250th birthday as well as the Brazil vs. Norway World Cup match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday.