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The NYC Pride March has long been about visibility for the LGBTQ community. And this year, it’s going to be visible along a brand-new route.
The march’s new path, which you can see below, effectively reverses the flow of the event from previous years with the annual demonstration now beginning in the West Village before making its way uptown via Fifth Ave and finally ending in the Flatiron District.
We reached out to NYC Pride to explained that the change was made for a few big reasons. “We’re getting ready for World Pride in 2019, so we’re expecting two-to-three times the level of attendance and had to change the route to accommodate,” explained media director James Fallarino. “In past years, the overall timing of the event itself has gone way over. It’s supposed to be five hours, and last year it was over nine hours with people at the end marching in the dark… The march’s new dispersal point is now in an area with wider avenues and wider streets which should create less of a bottleneck and speed up the entire march.”
Fallarino also noted that the march’s new end point on 29th Street and Fifth Ave was near many transportation options, which should make it easier for participants to then head to events in Hell’s Kitchen, Jackson Heights, Williamsburg and across the city.
“The march never ended directly at Stonewall before. [The landmark] is now just a little earlier in the march, and we wanted to keep it a centerpiece,” said Fallarino. “On top of that, we’re now also able to include the new AIDS Memorial along the route on 12th St and Seventh Ave.”
To catch this year's reversed march for yourself, head to any points along the new route on Sunday, June 24 beginning at noon.
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