DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg
MIDTOWN — The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which is set to start at 7 p.m. Wednesday, will bring an evening of traffic headaches to Midtown.
West 48th, 49th, 50th and 51st streets between Fifth and Sixth avenues will be closed to traffic from 3 p.m. until the end of the event. Officials urged spectators to take mass transit, as heavy traffic is expected near Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.
Backpacks and large bags are prohibited at the ceremony, police said.
The Christmas tree, an 85-foot-tall Norway Spruce that is decorated with 45,000 multi-colored lights and a 9.5-foot-wide Swarovski Star, will remain lit and open to the public until 8 p.m. on Jan. 7.
