How to avoid NYC SantaCon 2022

December 8, 2022

Photo courtesy of Anthony Quintano on Flickr

Manhattan residents may be pleasantly surprised or significantly perturbed when a horde of red-and-white-clad SantaCon 2022 participants flood the streets of Midtown, Murray Hill, and the East Village this Saturday. The annual cosplay event draws thousands of festively-dressed participants into the borough for a day of drunken shenanigans all in the name of charity. The pub crawl is a blast for all of those involved, and not so fun for residents of the neighborhoods and people who need to travel through these areas. Ahead are a few suggestions for those looking to avoid the action during this year’s SantaCon.

Map via Santacon NYC

As 6sqft previously noted, if you want to avoid the endless stream of St. Nicks, make sure to:

  • Stay away from Midtown, Murray Hill, and East Village. In Midtown, the area west of 11th Avenue and south of W 42nd Street should be Santa-free territory. In the East Village, it would be wise to stay east of Avenue C.
  • If you live in these areas or are required to be there for whatever reason, try to avoid bars that have the word “ugly” in their name, bars with Irish guys’ names, bars named after alcohol, and bars with names similar to The Keg Room.
  • The day-long drinking event starts at 10 a.m. and runs until 8 p.m., but expect festive-clad participants to linger in these areas late into the night.

For those that would like to take part in the event, there is a lengthy list of rules you must follow, including the 5 core Fs of Santacon. More information can be found here, and an interactive map of participating locations can be found here.

In anticipation of the event, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week banned alcohol consumption on the Long Island Rail Road and in Metro-North trains and stations for 32 hours. The restriction is effective from 4 a.m. on Saturday, December 10 through 12 p.m. on Sunday, December 11.

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