Where to Find Luggage Storage in Times Square (From a New Yorker Who Avoids It on Principle)

Every New Yorker has a Times Square rule. Mine is simple: I go only when someone I love is visiting, and I never go with a suitcase. I have watched too many travelers try to roll a 28-inch bag through the crowd at 7th Avenue and 45th Street on a Saturday night. The suitcase always loses. Sometimes the traveler does too.

If you have a few hours between checkout and your flight, or you arrived early on a bus into Port Authority, you need somewhere to put your bags before you take on the crossroads of the world. This guide covers exactly that: why there are no lockers, where to find luggage storage near Times Square, what it costs, and how to time it around a Broadway show so you are not stranded at 11 p.m. with a closed shop holding your passport.

Times Square Luggage Storage: Quick Facts

• Public lockers in Times Square: none. There are no public luggage lockers in the Times Square subway station or at nearby Port Authority.
• Best option: a bookable storage spot at a local shop or hotel through an app such as Stasher.
• Typical cost: Stasher lists Manhattan storage from about $2.49 per bag per day. The price at a specific spot can be higher.
• Nearest subway: Times Sq-42 St (1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W and the S shuttle) or 42 St-Port Authority Bus Terminal (A, C, E).
• Biggest mistake: booking a spot that closes before your show ends.

Why There Are No Lockers in Times Square

Visitors from Europe and Asia are always surprised by this. In plenty of cities you can drop a bag in a coin locker at the train station and forget about it. New York removed public lockers from its major stations years ago for security reasons, and they never came back. That goes for Penn Station, Grand Central, Port Authority and the subway system, which is the Times Square transit hub you will be standing in.

What filled the gap is a network of ordinary businesses that rent out space in their back rooms. You book online, walk your bags to a gift shop, café, hotel desk or smart locker, and they hold them until you come back. It sounds informal. In my experience it works far better than any locker I ever used as a kid.

How Stasher Works

Stasher is the service I recommend to friends, so let me walk you through it.

1. Search the area. Type in Times Square or the street you will be on. You will see storage spots on a map with their opening hours and prices.
2. Book and pay online. You pay per bag, per day. Book before you arrive, especially on weekends and holidays when spots near Times Square fill up.
3. Drop off. Walk in, show your booking, and hand over your bags. The whole thing takes about two minutes if you have the confirmation ready on your phone.
4. Pick up. Come back within the opening hours, show your booking again, and collect your bags.

Every booking is covered by the Stasher Guarantee. Check the current coverage limit on the booking page, and keep your passport, laptop and medication with you anyway. That is my advice for any storage service in any city.

Where to Look for Storage Around Times Square

Times Square covers a lot of ground, roughly from 42nd Street to 47th Street between 6th and 8th Avenues, and the crowds make a three-block walk feel much longer. So pick your storage spot by direction, based on where you are coming from and where you are going next.

Coming from Port Authority (the west side)

If you arrived on a bus from Newark, the airports or anywhere up and down the East Coast, look for a spot between 8th and 9th Avenues in the low 40s. You drop your bags on your way east and never fight the crowd with them. Our guide to luggage storage at Port Authority covers that neighborhood in detail.

Heading to Grand Central or Bryant Park (the east side)

If your trip ends with a train out of Grand Central, store your bags east of 6th Avenue near Bryant Park. You walk Times Square empty-handed, then collect your bags a few minutes from your train. Our Grand Central luggage storage guide has more on that side of Midtown.

Seeing a show in the Theater District

Most Broadway theaters sit on the side streets between 44th and 49th Streets. If you are going straight from a show to the airport, choose a spot within a block or two of your theater, and look closely at its closing time. This is the single most important tip in this guide, so I will say it plainly in the next section too.

Timing It Around a Broadway Show

Evening shows usually start around 7 or 8 p.m. and many run past 10 p.m. Plenty of storage partners close earlier than that. If yours closes at 9 p.m., your bags are spending the night there and you are spending it explaining things to an airline.

• Filter for late hours when you search, and choose a spot that closes at least an hour after your show is scheduled to end.
• Matinee days are easier. A 2 p.m. show leaves you plenty of time to pick up bags before most shops close.
• Ask the theater about small bags only. Theaters screen bags at the door and seats have almost no legroom. A small backpack under your seat is usually fine. A rolling suitcase is a problem for you and everyone in your row. Check your theater’s own policy before you go.

What to Do in Times Square With Free Hands

Once the bags are gone, Times Square becomes almost pleasant. Almost. Here is what I would actually do.

• Sit on the red steps above the TKTS booth at Duffy Square and look at the lights for ten minutes. That is the whole Times Square experience in its best form.
• Buy discount theater tickets at TKTS for same-day shows, then go store your bags near that theater.
• Walk to Bryant Park on 42nd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. It has chairs, trees, clean public restrooms and, depending on the season, a winter market and skating rink.
• Eat on 9th Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, two blocks west, where the food is better and cheaper than anything facing the giant screens.

For a longer list, see our guide to things to do in Times Square, and if crowds make you nervous, read whether Midtown Manhattan is safe first.

Other Ways to Deal With Your Bags

• Ask your hotel. Most hotels hold bags for guests on the day they check in or out, often for free or for a tip. Ask at the front desk. This is the best option if your hotel is nearby.
• Carry less. If all you have is a small backpack, you may be fine carrying it. Anything with wheels is not worth it.
• Avoid random unattended options. Never leave a bag with a stranger or at a business that is not part of a bookable service. If something goes wrong, you have nothing to show.

What I’d Skip

• Rolling a suitcase through Times Square at night. You will hit every ankle in Midtown.
• The costumed characters. They want a tip for the photo. You were warned.
• Chain restaurants facing the square. You can eat the same meal in any mall in America. Walk west to 9th Avenue instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there lockers in Times Square?

No. There are no public luggage lockers in Times Square, in the Times Square subway station or at Port Authority. Your best options are a bookable storage spot nearby or your hotel’s bag hold.

How much does luggage storage near Times Square cost?

Stasher lists Manhattan luggage storage from about $2.49 per bag per day. Prices vary by location and bag size, so check the price shown for the spot you book.

Can I bring a suitcase into a Broadway theater?

Generally you should not plan on it. Theaters screen bags at the door and have very little space. Store large bags nearby before the show and check your theater’s policy for smaller bags.

Is it safe to store luggage with a shop near Times Square?

Using a bookable service is the safe way to do it. Stasher partners are vetted businesses and bookings are covered by the Stasher Guarantee. Keep valuables and documents with you.

That’s my Times Square plan: drop the bags, see the lights, eat on 9th Avenue, and get out before the Elmos find you. Hours and prices change, so check the details in the app before you go.