NYC sanitation crews prepare to clear streets between Halloween parade and marathon
New York City has just eight hours between the end of its Halloween parade and the start of the marathon, and the Department of Sanitation is preparing hundreds of workers and trucks to handle both events.
New York City has only about eight hours between the end of its Halloween parade and the start of the marathon this weekend, and the Department of Sanitation is preparing an extensive operation to handle both. Organizers of the parade expect 80,000 costumed participants and 2 million spectators, while the marathon will host 60,000 runners and 2.5 million fans lining the course. The two routes do not intersect, but the streets will be unusually busy, and the city will rely on hundreds of sanitation trucks and workers to keep them safe and clean.
Department of Sanitation Commissioner Gregory Anderson said the back-to-back schedule is unusual, particularly with Halloween falling on a Saturday followed by the marathon on Sunday. He noted that the city has grown used to overlapping events. This summer, the July Fourth holiday weekend coincided with World Cup watch parties, Knicks NBA Finals games, and the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. "So we're used to it, we're ready for it, and we're just excited to be there alongside New Yorkers as they're celebrating whatever it is they're celebrating," Anderson said.
The weekend's work has two parts: public safety and cleanup. Preparation began about a week earlier, when sanitation crews worked with the city Department of Transportation to sweep the marathon route, which starts on Staten Island, crosses into Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx, and returns to Manhattan. That sweep will continue through Saturday night. Just before each event, workers will position sanitation vehicles along the routes to act as blockades, with 40 placed at key intersections around the Halloween parade and 158 along the 26.2-mile marathon course. Salt spreaders filled with sand will also be parked to add weight. "Our trucks, they're big, they're heavy, they don't move," Anderson said.
The heaviest cleanup begins once the events end. Anderson said every event presents its own challenges, from confetti at ticker-tape parades to food and beverage litter after the Halloween parade, and water cups, banana peels, and gel packs after the marathon. Once the Police Department clears costumed revelers from the Halloween route, 189 sanitation workers and 17 supervisors will move in to clean up. Because police must first move people safely off the parade route before heavy equipment enters, Anderson said crews may not start until after midnight, possibly as late as 1 or 2 a.m. He contrasted this with weekday parades, when crews sometimes begin before midnight.
Workers will use a mix of tools, including brooms, large leaf blowers, and mechanical street sweepers, which Anderson called the agency's most effective equipment. For the marathon, 480 sanitation workers will handle cleanup, and another 370 will staff the blockades. The starting line requires significant effort, as runners who wait for hours before the race often discard layers of clothing. Sanitation works with donation partners to keep reusable garments out of the trash. The 25 water stations generate the most waste, and crews aim to finish work in those areas within two to three hours after the last runner passes.
Anderson said the agency's staff are central to the operation and take pride in the work. "It's not like people see cleaning up after a parade as a chore or a drudgery," he said. "It's really something that sanitation workers look forward to."
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