Representatives from nearly 200 countries will descend on New York City this week as leaders converge on Midtown East in Manhattan for the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly, bringing motorcades — and therefore, traffic — with them.
“I know that, for many New Yorkers, the General Assembly is more synonymous with questions around traffic,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference last week. “When the world visits New York City, our streets are inevitably impacted.”
In addition to planned street closures for the entire week, there will also be rolling closures as delegations travel across the city.
Here’s what you need to know:
Where should you avoid?
Midtown!
There are no known specific threats to this year’s General Assembly, Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, said. Still, officers will secure hundreds of motorcades as heads of state and high-ranking officials move between hotels, U.N. buildings and meetings around the city.
“This is one of the most complex security operations that we carry out,” she said. “As always, there will be security measures that you will see and others that you will not see.”
What will be closed?
A gridlock alert is in place from Sept. 21 to Sept. 25, Mr. Mamdani said. Rolling pedestrian and vehicle closures will take place around the United Nations Headquarters, spilling out across the city as delegations traverse the city. Portions of F.D.R. Drive will be closed, and ferry service will be disrupted, the mayor said.
Ms. Tisch said that from Sept. 20 through Sept. 26, First Avenue will be closed between 41st and 48th Streets, while 44th Street to 47th Street will be closed between First and Second Avenues. Each day until the end of the session, around 9 p.m., 42nd Street will close between First and Second Avenues.
The 42nd Street exit from F.D.R. Drive will also be blocked off. The Police Department said closures on parts of the F.D.R. will occur as needed.
The mayor recommended that commuters use public transportation.
“I want to thank New Yorkers in advance for their patience,” Mr. Mamdani said.
There will be protests as well.
Each year, there is an uptick in protests related to the General Assembly, Ms. Tisch said. Those protests are generally contained to Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza on East 47th Street, but can grow to affect other parts of the city.
This year, protests are planned throughout the week, including demonstrations at Bryant Park, at Union Square and in Brooklyn.
“As always, the N.Y.P.D. will facilitate First Amendment activity,” Ms. Tisch said. “At the same time, there will be no tolerance for violence or destruction of property.”
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