Cloisters: Driving Directions

Cloisters Demo: Join Us | For The Public | For Participants | By Transit | By Car

The event organizers discourage driving to the site because traffic and parking will be challenging, but if you’re bringing a significant amount of gear, or if you have limited mobility and can not climb the multiple flights of stairs from the subway station, read on for details about getting to the site by car.

The closest street address to the park entrance is 799 Fort Washington Ave.

The place within the park where we will be set up is just south of the “New Leaf” restaurant at 1 Margaret Corbin Drive.

The map attached below highlights some areas to give you a sense of where we’ll be within the overall site area, and where the parking and transit options are.

All Access Via Fort Washington Ave.

To drive a vehicle to the park, you must approach on Fort Washington Avenue, as Cabrini Boulevard will be closed. You may find police barricades directing traffic away from the site, but you can tell them that you’re a performer working at the festival and they should allow you through.

Loading And Unloading

If you want to drive into the park to drop off gear, you must arrive before 9:30, as all vehicles must be cleared from the park by 10:00.

There is ALWAYS a traffic jam of entering vehicles. We are conveniently located just inside the south entrance, which eases our loading. Please take care not to block the roadway for others who are attempting to drive further into the park.

Alternately you can stop your car outside the park, unload on the sidewalk and have passengers walk your gear to the site while the driver stays with the car.

If you arrive after 10:00, you will not be able to drive your car into the park. Instead, find parking and haul your stuff in manually. If you need unloading assistance, come to our demo location and ask for help.

Cars will be allowed back on site to load gear once the crowd clears, around 6:30 or 7:00. We must wait for the public to walk out before we start driving in. The festival ends at 6:00. It takes time for 50,000 people to exit the very large park.

Parking Passes

For a limited number of participants who contact us in advance, we might be able to arrange a pass for parking near the site. If you’re interested in a parking pass, contact the event steward ASAP.

You do NOT need a parking pass to drive your vehicle on & off site at the beginning and end of the day. The parking pass also does not guarantee you a spot. It simply allows you to look for parking in the cordoned-off parking area nearby. Folks with parking passes should arrive early to increase your chances of finding parking in this area.

Even with a parking pass, be prepared for delays getting on and off site, because it can take a long time to get vehicles into the parking area, you may have to park some distance away from our field, and when the event is over and you’re ready to leave, you will find yourself in the middle of a miniature traffic jam that takes a while to clear.

Public Parking

If you don’t have a parking pass, or if the cordoned-off parking-pass area is full when you arrive, you may need to drive ten blocks away to find free street parking, or use a paid parking lot.

Street parking nearby fills up quickly, but if you are very early you may be able to find something within walking distance.

There are a few commercial parking lots located a 10–15 minute walk from the site, but they’re on the small side and may be full during the event.

If you’re not carrying a lot of gear and you don’t want to deal with this parking hassle, you might want to stop at some distance from the event and look for parking, then take a taxi the rest of the way, or find parking near a station of the “A” train and take the subway for a few minutes to reach the site.