It takes a lot to faze New Yorkers. This week is doing its darnedest.
Leaders from all over the world have descended on New York City for the weeklong United Nations General Assembly. The hot topics will include Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza, and President Trump and Greenland.
But outside the General Assembly building on the East Side of Manhattan, New Yorkers’ thoughts are more on the horror-show traffic.
Yes, the annual chaos ushered in by the General Assembly has arrived.
Black cars and S.U.V.s are everywhere. And they always seem to drive in packs with two or three of their buddies. Bodyguards and security officials from various agencies are ever present. Traffic cops yell at drivers or passers-by who violate the rules.
If you make the mistake of bringing your car into the area, know that First Avenue is closed from 41st to 48th Streets. Numerous side streets in the 40s are also off limits. It’s not the day to drive to your bridge game in Tudor City.
On the other hand, a lot of notable people have come to the neighborhood. Hey, is that a head of state grabbing a bacon, egg and cheese? (I guess you never know, but it’s probably their assistant.)
“When the world visits New York City,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference last week, “our streets are inevitably impacted.”
Things weren’t easy for pedestrians either, and more than one stood forlornly on the sidewalk contemplating the seemingly impossible task of getting to their destination only a block or two away.
Meanwhile, inside the U.N., delegates and dignitaries heard a lot of long speeches and went to a lot of long meetings. So, who really drew the short straw?
Kidding. It’s the New Yorkers outside. Just ask them.
Some were angry less about traffic and more about geopolitical issues. About a dozen were peacefully protesting on Tuesday. One held a sign saying, “Stop the genocide and ecocide in West Papua.” Dave Robinson, 65, was protesting Mr. Trump. He was holding up a sign that read, “Sorry, world. We hate him too.”
A store owner on Second Avenue between 43rd and 44th declined to give her name but said the blocked roads were deterring customers from coming into her business. And she found it “kind of annoying,” she said, to show proof of residency to get into her apartment above.
A contrarian dry cleaner said that he was actually happy about the General Assembly because it had brought in business from suit-wearing attendees. Still, delivery trucks have had to park a few blocks away.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of which side of the street you are on. You can walk Second Avenue on its west side more or less freely.
The east side is trickier. Navigating between 42nd and 43rd is almost impossible. (Unless you tell officers you want to go to the bagel shop, then they might let you past. Don’t say we told you.) Bicycles are in the same pickle. And forget about getting to First Avenue.
New York City has declared a gridlock alert for all five days of this workweek. But then it will be over, and the city should return to normal, at least until the three gridlock alert days in November and 12 more in December.
And by normal, of course, we mean, streets choked with traffic, subways packed to bursting, buses that never turn up, and every other person having an attitude. So, New York.
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