NYPD: How to avoid Manhattan gridlock for UN General Assembly

Drivers can save themselves some major Manhattan gridlock if they avoid midtown next week when the UN General Assembly is in session, two top NYPD officials said Thursday.

More than a dozen streets near the United Nations headquarters at 42nd Street and First Avenue will be blocked off from Sunday through Friday to handle the heavy traffic, the chiefs of transportation and patrol said.

“My advice to motorists is to simply avoid the East Side,”  NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan said at a news conference at police headquarters.

Midtown is sure to be clogged, too, with the escort convoys of nearly 200 world leaders, including President Donald Trump, who is set to address the General Assembly at midmorning Tuesday.

New York City's Transportation Department has designated Monday through Friday as gridlock alert days and is warning motorists to expect travel times in midtown to be up to three times longer than usual.

For the first time, the DOT is setting up bike lanes on First and Second avenues, NYPD Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison said.

The lane on First Avenue runs between East 40th and East 49th streets and will be open 24 hours; the lane on South Avenue runs between East 57th and East 41st streets but will be open only from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to rules laid out by the DOT.

“The NYPD will do its best to balance protection and movement of New Yorkers,” Harrison said.

Citi Bike, the bike-sharing program in the city, will run a special discount next week to encourage bike riders. Riders can enter the promo code GRIDLOCK19 in the Citi Bike mobile app to get 50% off a three-day pass.

Harrison stressed there aren't any current threats against the city during the General Assembly, though thousands of police officers as well as state and federal law enforcement officials will be out in force.

“We are very familiar with the potential issues and prepared to deal with them,” he said.