New York has plenty of car meets, and most of them happen in parking lots, last an hour, and end with everyone driving home before the meter runs out.
But this one takes over an actual naval shipyard for six hours, and cars are only the entry point.
Wheels of NYC returns to the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Saturday, October 17, transforming the massive Agger Fish Warehouse into a one-day festival built around more than 120 curated cars, alongside DJs, a live portrait studio, a fashion and collectibles marketplace, food, drinks, and a dedicated kids zone.
Running from 12 – 6 pm, this auto-marvel is gearing up to be one of October’s hottest events. Here are all the details and how to snag last-minute tickets.
From an Instagram account to one of NYC’s biggest car culture events
The crazy part of this event is that it didn’t start as an event at all.
Founder Oren Hod began Wheels of NYC as an Instagram page documenting parked cars around the city, spending roughly two years just spotting and photographing whatever caught his eye on the street.
It wasn’t until he started tracking down the actual owners of those cars, inspired by the storytelling format of Humans of New York, that the idea for something bigger clicked.
In 2021, Hod started organizing small weekly meetups in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop.
Especially right after the pandemic isolation, Hod has said the first meetup was packed — proof that what he’d built wasn’t just an audience of followers but an actual community of people who wanted a reason to show up in person again.
From there, Wheels evolved into full-scale warehouse takeovers, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard became its home base. The Agger Fish Warehouse previously hosted a Wheels of NYC collaboration with Nike and Hypebeast built around the Air Max DN8 sneaker launch, an event that filled the same floor with cars from the ’90s and early 2000s, including a Ferrari F50 that became the unofficial centerpiece of the night.
What’s actually inside the warehouse this fall
This year’s Fall Edition is built to feel less like a car show and more like a full cultural takeover, with automobiles as the anchor rather than the entire point.
Inside, expect:
- More than 120 curated cars spanning rare classics, ’80s and ’90s icons, and modern collectibles rarely seen together in one space
- Cars available for sale on-site, for anyone who leaves more inspired than expected
- Live DJs running sets throughout the day
- A live portrait studio capturing attendees and their cars
- A fashion and collectibles marketplace curated by Alfargo’s
- Food and drinks from some of the city’s go-to vendors
- A dedicated kids zone with hands-on activities
- Special brand activations and pop-up surprises throughout the floor
This year’s edition is supported by partners including Nissan, eBay, and Steve Madden Men, continuing the event’s pattern of pulling in brands that don’t traditionally sit inside a car show, part of what’s made Wheels feel less like a niche gearhead meetup and more like a genuine crossover between car culture, fashion, and design.
You don’t need to know anything about cars to enjoy this
That’s true even for people who couldn’t tell a Skyline from a Supra.
The event has built its identity specifically around pulling in people drawn to music, style, and design first, with the cars functioning more like art installations than a trade show floor.
Attemping to draw New Yorkers from all walks (and interests) of life together under one roof has always been the main goal for this show, and this October edition proves it.
The details
📍 Brooklyn Navy Yard, Agger Fish Warehouse (Building 269), Brooklyn, NY
🅿️ Guest parking: 141 Flushing Avenue, Building 303
🗓️ Saturday, October 17, 2026, 12 pm to 6 pm
👶 Kids 12 and under get in free
🎟️ Tickets are limited and non-refundable, available through DICE’s official events page
☔ Rain or shine, so dress for whatever mid-October decides to throw at Brooklyn that day