What Time Is It in New York Right Now?

New York runs on Eastern Time. EST in winter (UTC-5), EDT in summer (UTC-4).

That's the simple answer. The complicated part is remembering whether it's currently EST or EDT, and how that affects calls with London, Tokyo, or San Francisco.

I schedule calls with New York constantly. Half the time I have to double-check whether DST is active before confirming a meeting time.

Here's what you actually need to know about New York time.

EST vs EDT: Winter vs Summer

EST (Eastern Standard Time) = UTC-5, used November through early March

EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) = UTC-4, used mid-March through early November

New York springs forward on the second Sunday in March (March 8, 2026). Clocks jump from 2 AM to 3 AM.

New York falls back on the first Sunday in November (November 1, 2026). Clocks drop from 2 AM to 1 AM.

That means roughly 8 months on EDT, 4 months on EST.

When it's noon in New York during winter (EST):

• London: 5 PM
• Paris: 6 PM
• LA: 9 AM
• Tokyo: 2 AM next day

When it's noon in New York during summer (EDT):

• London: 4 PM (if UK is on BST)
• Paris: 5 PM (if France is on CEST)
• LA: 9 AM
• Tokyo: 1 AM next day

The summer gaps are smaller because New York jumps an hour closer to Europe and Asia.

NYC Business Hours Depend on Industry

Finance (Wall Street): NYSE runs 9:30 AM to 4 PM ET. Traders and analysts often start by 7 AM. I know people at Goldman who hit their desk at 6:30 AM.

Pre-market trading starts at 4 AM ET. After-hours runs until 8 PM ET. Financial district people work longer hours than most.

Tech startups: Usually 10 AM to 7 PM ET or later. Flexible schedules are common. Peak meeting hours are 11 AM to 4 PM ET when both coasts are online.

Corporate offices: Standard 9 AM to 6 PM ET. Some people arrive at 8 AM, some leave at 5 PM. Lunch is usually noon to 1 PM.

Law firms: Notorious for long hours. 9 AM to 8 PM (or later) is normal. Junior associates work even longer.

Scheduling from Europe

Best window: 2 PM to 6 PM London time hits 9 AM to 1 PM New York time.

From Paris or Berlin, that's 3 PM to 7 PM CET hitting 9 AM to 1 PM ET. Both sides are working. Nobody's taking calls at weird hours.

I've worked with UK-New York teams for years. The 3-4 PM London slot (10-11 AM New York) gets the most use. Brits are mid-afternoon, Americans are caffeinated.

Don't schedule regular 8 AM New York calls. That's 1 PM London — right at lunch.

Scheduling from West Coast US

LA is 3 hours behind New York. Always. The gap never changes because both coasts observe DST on the same dates.

9 AM Pacific = noon Eastern

noon Pacific = 3 PM Eastern

3 PM Pacific = 6 PM Eastern

Best overlap: noon to 5 PM ET (9 AM to 2 PM PT). That's when both coasts are working.

I've been on West Coast teams that scheduled 9 AM ET calls without thinking. That's 6 AM Pacific. People hated it.

Scheduling from Asia

Tokyo is 14 hours ahead during EST, 13 hours ahead during EDT.

When New Yorkers start work at 9 AM, Tokyo's at 11 PM (EST) or midnight (EDT). When New Yorkers wrap at 6 PM, Tokyo's at 8 AM next day.

There's basically no good overlap. Someone's always taking a call at a weird hour.

Most US-Japan calls happen either very early US morning (7 AM ET = 9 PM Tokyo) or late US evening (6 PM ET = 8 AM Tokyo next day).

From India (UTC+5:30), the gap is 10.5 hours in winter, 9.5 hours in summer. Evening India time (7-10 PM IST) hits morning New York (8:30-11:30 AM ET during DST). That's the standard window.

Tourist Hours: What's Open When

If you're visiting New York, here's what matters:

Empire State Building: 10 AM to midnight ET. Open every day. Last elevator up at 11:15 PM.

Statue of Liberty: Ferries start at 8:30 AM. Last ferry around 5 PM depending on season. Crown access needs advance booking — sometimes months ahead.

Times Square: Always open. It's a public plaza. Best at night when the billboards light up.

Broadway shows: Evening shows typically start 7 PM or 8 PM ET. Matinees at 2 PM, usually Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday. Arrive 30 minutes early.

Central Park: 6 AM to 1 AM ET officially, but realistically it's open all the time. Best photos at golden hour (sunrise/sunset).

The Met: 10 AM to 5 PM Sunday-Thursday, until 9 PM Friday-Saturday. Closed Wednesdays.

Avoid Early Morning Calls

Many New Yorkers commute. Subway, train, bus. If you schedule a 9 AM ET call, half your attendees will be on their commute.

9:30 AM ET is safer. By then people are at their desk.

I once had a client insist on 8:30 AM ET calls every week. Attendance was terrible. We moved to 10 AM and suddenly everyone showed up.

Respect Lunch Hour

Noon to 1 PM ET is lunch. Some people eat at their desk, some step out.

Scheduling important calls during lunch hour annoys people. They'll show up but won't be fully engaged because they're eating or thinking about food.

1 PM to 4 PM ET is the sweet spot for afternoon meetings.

Friday Afternoons Are Risky

New York offices wind down on Friday afternoons, especially in summer.

A 4 PM ET Friday meeting won't get good attendance. People leave early, mentally check out, or skip to start their weekend.

If you must schedule on Friday, aim for morning (10 AM-noon ET).

Watch for Holidays

NYC observes all federal US holidays: New Year's, MLK Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas.

Plus some local ones depending on industry. Jewish holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur) shut down many businesses because of NYC's large Jewish population.

Don't schedule important meetings the day before Thanksgiving. Half the city leaves early for the long weekend.

Use Tools for Conversions

Don't do timezone math in your head. You'll mess it up.

Our meeting planner handles EST/EDT automatically and accounts for DST transitions.

WorldTimeBuddy works too. So does TimeandDate.com.

I've used all of them. They save you from scheduling disasters during March and November when clocks change.

The Bottom Line

New York is EST (UTC-5) in winter, EDT (UTC-4) in summer.

Clocks change March 8 (spring forward) and November 1 (fall back) in 2026.

Best meeting times:

• From Europe: 2-6 PM your time hits 9 AM-1 PM New York
• From West Coast: noon-5 PM ET hits 9 AM-2 PM Pacific
• From Asia: Evening Asia time hits morning New York, or morning Asia hits evening New York

Avoid early morning calls (before 9:30 AM ET), lunch hour (noon-1 PM), and Friday afternoons.

Use our meeting planner for automatic conversions. For detailed UK-US scheduling, check the London to New York time difference guide. To understand UTC vs GMT, read the GMT vs UTC difference article.