At Penn Station, the festive spirit of Thanksgiving is in the air, with thousands of people arriving and leaving the city.
In the middle of the crowd, we met Christina Turcios, a third-year literature student at SUNY Albany, who undertook a more than four-hour train and bus journey from Albany to reunite with her family.
“I feel good because sometimes when I’m at school I feel bad that I don’t have my family nearby and that I’m not with my parents or my sister,” she says.
For Christina, this trip has become an annual tradition.
“It’s nothing strange, it’s nothing like I don’t know where to go.”
This couple from Guanajuato, Mexico, is visiting the city, highlighting the Macy’s stop as the main reason for their trip.
“I think that is the most wonderful thing we can enjoy after seeing it on the screen, now enjoying the atmosphere and feeling it. I think it is the best of all, it is an impressive event, I imagine,” he adds.
“It’s worth it, it’s worth being here, the party atmosphere here is very, very nice from now on.”
Meanwhile, those traveling for work face the typical stress of crowds this season.
“The shrink, it’s a little bit crazy, but I’m on a bus, well I’m fine,” says another transportation user.
This year, more people are expected to travel by plane, representing an increase of 6% compared to last year, reaching around 4.7 million travelers.
However, the majority, 49 million, will choose to drive, an increase of less than 2% from last year, despite lower gas prices this year.
Meanwhile, approximately 1.5 million people will choose to travel by bus, train or cruise.
But Thanksgiving travel in New York could be complicated by forecast storms.
The New York City Directorate of Emergency Management issued a travel warning for November 21-22 due to wet and windy weather conditions.
1-2 inches of rain, possible minor flooding and wind gusts up to 45 mph are forecast.
2023-11-22 13:02:00
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