Election Day Changes the City on Tuesday: Schools Go Remote and Street Cleaning Is Off
Tuesday, November 3 is a voting day and a schedule change at once: public school students learn from home, alternate side parking is suspended, meters stay on, and polls run 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Election Day in New York City rearranges more than the ballot box. On Tuesday, November 3, the city's public school students will learn from home on a remote day, and alternate side parking rules are suspended for the holiday — while parking meters remain in effect, according to the city Department of Transportation's 2026 alternate side parking calendar.
The parking rule is the one most likely to catch drivers out in both directions: the Tuesday street-cleaning suspension means cars on a Tuesday-side street do not have to move for the sweeper, but a meter is still a meter, and an expired one is still a ticket. The suspension lasts for Election Day itself; the regular calendar resumes after.
For families, the remote school day lands on top of the voting itself — many city schools serve as poll sites, one reason the school calendar clears the buildings. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and every city voter will find the statewide races — governor, attorney general and state comptroller — on the ballot, along with five proposed City Charter amendments on the back of it.
Monday, by contrast, is an ordinary working day with one election deadline inside it: it is the last day to apply in person for a mail ballot. The city's holiday is Tuesday, and it belongs to the voters.
