NYC DOT has confirmed that the week of September 21 to 25 is officially a Gridlock Alert period, driven by the United Nations General Assembly. 

If you have activities on the East Side between the 21st and 25th, especially the 23rd and 24th, treat it the way you'd treat a major parade day: confirm arrival times generously, favor the subway over a car service, and avoid scheduling anything with a hard deadline.

September 21 through 25

High-Level Week, the stretch when heads of state, delegations from roughly 190 countries, and their security details descend on First Avenue, is next week — September 21 through 25, per DOT, with some residual disruption likely into the following weekend as delegations depart.

• First Avenue between 42nd and 48th Streets will be closed.
• The cross streets between First and Second Avenue will be checkpoint-only.
• FDR Drive gets rolling closures for motorcades between the Brooklyn Bridge and East 63rd Street.
• Midtown traffic speeds drop below 4 mph for the duration.
• Build in an extra 30 to 45 minutes.
• The subway remains the more reliable option.

The protest picture

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address the Assembly on September 24. Israeli officials have said publicly that they expect significant protest activity around the visit, and two organized responses are already on the calendar.

On September 23, a coalition of major Jewish organizations is holding a rally focused on antisemitism, timed to coincide with world leaders being in the city. The same week, pro-Palestinian groups including the Palestinian Youth Movement and Jewish Voice for Peace have announced a march from Times Square toward UN Headquarters, organized around demands for action on Gaza.