Down the street from my office is the world's living room, where nations can come together to talk through issues, problems and concerns. It's far from perfect, but the United Nations is a great concept that encourages dialogue. Many times over the past 60+ years, those diplomatic conversations have helped avoid war and tragedy all around the world.
We're at the start of UN Week here in New York, when the General Assembly is in session and dignitaries from every corner of the globe converge on Manhattan's East Side. For those of us who live and work here, UN Week is a real headache – causing snarled traffic, closed streets, constant wailing of sirens as one dignitary-transporting motorcade after another whizzes by.
My office is a block from the UN, so we really feel it here. My friend Sam who has the coffee cart on the corner is out of business this week. The police commandeered his spot as a checkpoint. Down the block, there's a roadblock where every car or truck passing through gets inspected by cops, agents and bomb-sniffing dogs. The mailbox where I usually drop my letters has disappeared for the week, to have one less place where a bomb can be hidden. Crossing some streets can take a while.
On all other weeks, unless you work at or visit the UN, it's easy for most New Yorkers to almost forget the UN is there, tucked away along the East River. But come UN Week, you can't help but feel its presence if you're anywhere in midtown. You can't miss it when there are crowds of cops on almost every corner, seemingly limitless numbers of black SUVs with darkened windows carrying Secret Service agents in black suits and little earpieces with curly wires running down their collars. Entire streets are sealed off for hours or even days at a time.
Yes, UN Week is a real inconvenience for many New Yorkers. But it's part of the price we pay to have our city serve as the world's conversation place. It's a small price to pay for the prestige, employment and tourism that the United Nations brings to this City that I love.
Note: This post is adapted from a post I wrote a year ago during UN Week in New York.



Recent Comments