NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce鈥檚 will begin at 5 p.m. Friday and stretch until the early hours of Saturday morning, closing several blocks in the heart of Manhattan during the , according to a copy of a city permit obtained by The Associated Press and new details provided by police.
The application 鈥� for a 鈥淪pecial Event at MSG鈥� 鈥� was approved Wednesday night by New York City鈥檚 permitting office, according to a spokesperson for Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The permit shows 100 guests will begin arriving at Madison Square Garden at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday for a 鈥減re party celebration,鈥� which officials described as an intimate rehearsal dinner. Thursday evening, black sport utility vehicles were seen driving into a tented area, shielding views of who was going into MSG.
A full street closure will then go into effect overnight, allowing crews to erect a 鈥渄rive through tent鈥� next to a separate 鈥渆ntrance tent,鈥� according to the permit.
The 鈥渕ain event鈥� will begin at 5 p.m. Friday, per the application, with the option to continue until 4 a.m. the next morning. That party can host up to 1,000 people, records show.
Beginning on Friday afternoon, several blocks surrounding the arena will be off-limits to vehicles and partially closed to pedestrians, according to information shared by police on Thursday afternoon.
Access to Penn Station 鈥� the busiest rail hub in the U.S., sitting directly below the arena 鈥� will be heavily restricted, with transit users urged to use a separate entrance further from the venue.
The approval of the permit comes as city officials and Swift鈥檚 representatives have continued to stay silent about the festivities 鈥� angering some business owners and residents, who have called for more transparency around a private event that will soak up public resources.
A spokesperson for the NYPD did not respond to a question Thursday about the purpose of the street closures.
Behind the scenes, emails obtained by the AP show city officials have been aware of the wedding 鈥� and its impact on city streets 鈥� for nearly a month.
On June 8, the director of the city鈥檚 street permitting office, Dawn Tolson, emailed several City Hall staffers to discuss a permit application 鈥渋n association with the T&T wedding,鈥� an apparent reference to Taylor and Travis.
The application included a request for 鈥渇ull street closures鈥� on July 3 and 4, under the subject line: 鈥淲edding Bells Are Ringing.鈥�
Mamdani, who previously said the city would have to this summer due to the , has declined to discuss the city鈥檚 role in the wedding event.
鈥淭he NYPD will of course have a detail in place, but I鈥檓 not going to go into more specifics at this time,鈥� New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Michael O鈥橞rien, who co-owns O鈥橞riens Bar and Grill across from the arena, said the city should do more to publicize the impact on local businesses 鈥� and that the newlyweds-to-be should foot the bill for any lost revenue.
鈥淭his is, in my opinion, ridiculous,鈥� O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淚f they can afford to buy the permits, they can afford this big lavish ceremony, why don鈥檛 they just buy out the local businesses instead of having us adversely affected?鈥�
But others seemed unbothered by the secrecy and precautions around the much-anticipated nuptials.
鈥淪he鈥檚 just so important in everyone鈥檚 life,鈥� said Alyssa Heinen, one of on Thursday afternoon. 鈥淲e grew up with Taylor Swift, and just seeing her now find love 鈥� I feel like it鈥檚 inspiring to so many women. It鈥檚 so nice to see her so happy.鈥�
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Associated Press video journalist Joseph B. Frederick in New York contributed to this report.
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