The United Nations General Assembly is back — and with it, bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Bus routes will be disrupted, roads will be closed — sometimes without notice — and Midtown will generally be a gridlock nightmare for drivers all week as the leaders of the world convene on First Avenue between 42nd Street and 48th Street.
Average speed for cars drops to 4 mph during General Assembly week — or 20 minutes to drive a mile, city transportation officials said. The NYPD urges New Yorkers and visitors to take mass transit or bike, as the streets of Midtown are expected to grind to a halt.
The bottleneck bonanza gets off to an inauspicious start with President Biden’s arrival at 5 p.m. Monday — just in time for the first evening rush of the week.
According to transit and transportation officials, this is what you can expect through Sept. 27:
Vehicle traffic:
The days from Sept. 20 to 24 and Sept. 27 have all been designated “Gridlock Alert Days” by the city Department of Transportation.
Numerous roadways will be closed for the UN gathering, including First Avenue between 42nd and 48th streets, and 44th Street to 46th Street between First and Second avenues. The FDR Drive will also be subject to “intermittent,” unplanned closures.
The best suggestion is to avoid driving in Midtown entirely. Wise drivers also know to avoid being anywhere near Biden, who is likely to come with a large entourage.
The president lands at JFK Airport around 5:10 p.m., where he’ll be greeted by Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife, Chirlaine McCray. He’ll travel to Manhattan for a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at 6:30.
Biden’s General Assembly speech is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Bus service:
Expect delays on all buses operating in Manhattan, with detours on a number of routes:
- Northbound M15-SBS buses will not make stops on First Avenue from 39th Street to 50th Street.
- M50 buses will begin and end at 50th Street and Second Avenue.
- Express bus stops will be closed throughout Midtown. Check the MTA’s planned service changes page for your route.
Bike lanes:
The city will stage temporary bike lanes on First and Second avenues for the week, as it did in 2019. Neither route requires a detour.
Cyclists northbound on First Avenue will pass a security checkpoint at 39th Street, and will be able to pedal up to East 49th Street on a temporary bike lane. The lane will remain open around the clock.
A temporary bike lane will also run southbound on Second Avenue between East 57th Street and East 41st Street from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The existing bike lane is being set aside for dignitaries and emergency vehicles.
Both streets are “subject to security checkpoints & traffic freezes,” the DOT said.
