New Yorkers should brace for major traffic disruptions and heightened security as the United Nations General Assembly returns, effectively placing parts of Manhattan under partial lockdown while antisemitic hate crimes remain elevated and tensions persist between Israel and City Hall.
Broad sections of Midtown Manhattan will be off-limits to vehicles, while a restricted airspace zone will be imposed near the United Nations as roughly 200 international leaders and dignitaries arrive for the yearly summit, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Thursday.
Law enforcement agencies will also be focused on managing demonstrations expected during the high-profile diplomatic gathering. The NYPD will work alongside the FBI, Secret Service, State Department Diplomatic Security Service and UN police across the metropolitan area, officials said.
Among the expected attendees are President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Thousands of uniformed NYPD officers will be posted at and around UN headquarters all week, supported by heavy weapons teams, our aviation and harbor units, K-9, the bomb squad, NYPD’s drone team, counterterrorism officers, and other specialized units,” Tisch said.
“As always, there will be security measures that you will see, and others that you will not see,” she said.
The city’s Department of Transportation has issued a gridlock alert beginning Monday. It includes street closures around the UN complex, rolling restrictions for pedestrians and vehicles, and flight limits within two nautical miles of the building.
Police will maintain a substantial presence at planned rallies and other events tied to the General Assembly, with officials saying permits have been approved for at least 55 related gatherings.
The UN General Assembly opens Tuesday and is set to continue through Sept. 28, arriving as New York City continues to confront an increase in antisemitic hate crimes following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing Gaza war.
Through the end of August, antisemitic incidents had risen 8% compared with the same period a year earlier and represented more than half of all confirmed hate crimes during that timeframe.
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Local Jewish leaders have blamed Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor, for anti-Israeli rhetoric, which has been a major point of contention for his critics.
He sparked outrage in July when he said he would seek to have Netanyahu arrested when he set foot in the city for the General Assembly, a threat that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar laughed off.
This week, Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, fired back by calling for Mamdani to be arrested ahead of Netanyahu’s arrival in the city next week.
Netanyahu’s presence in the Big Apple is expected to spark another rash of pro-Palestinian protests, although Tisch and Mamdani assured that there are no specific threats.
“I want to be clear: there are no known specific or credible threats against the United Nations General Assembly or our city at this time,” the mayor told reporters.
“However, our security posture will be elevated out of an abundance of caution,” he said. “This is standard procedure. New Yorkers can expect to see a visible increase in officers deployed across our city, as well as a heightened police presence surrounding the United Nations building.”
In terms of traffic, First Avenue will be closed from 41st Street to 48th Street, and 44th Street to 47th Street will be closed from First Avenue to Second Avenue daily for the duration of the assembly.
42nd Street will also close from First to Second Avenue for the duration of the assembly, and the 42nd Street exit from the FDR will be blocked off each day while the meeting is in session until around 9 p.m.
Passenger vehicles and bicycles will be permitted to use the First Avenue Tunnel to travel north through the area, and vehicles requiring access to Tudor City will be able to enter via 41st and 43rd streets.