Picture New York City’s crowded sidewalks and still-moving traffic. As they hurry to their destinations, pedestrians scurry past street vendors. The car horns’ screams mutate as the sirens’ wail mutates.
Add to the mix a flurry of international leaders, diplomats, journalists, advocates, and security personnel, to the mix.
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The busy East Side of Midtown Manhattan gets even busier every year in September because it hosts the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
Presidents, prime ministers, and royals descend on the UN headquarters to address the opening debate of the most recent UNGA session, which briefly transforms New York into the center of international politics.
Following the death of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, there are now more security concerns in the United States. This year, the summit takes place. The horrors that Israel is inflicting on Gaza are also being brought to light as the world becomes more outcryous.
A restricted area is now available only to authorised personnel in the eight city blocks that surround the UN complex.
No one gets close to the summit without prior permission, thanks to hundreds, if not thousands, of heavily armed local and federal law enforcement agents.
Many local residents have told Al Jazeera that their reactions to the annual gathering, formally known as the World Cup of Politics, are due to the restrictions.
Leaders from all over the world may seem cool to you to have them visit your neighborhood, according to Ugur Dikici, who runs a fruit stand across from the UN. However, he claimed that it’s not fun to be stuck in traffic for two hours.
Dikici added that the event also hurts his company because locals may not be as interested in the rioting as locals do because tourists and delegates don’t buy fruits and vegetables as much as locals do.
He claimed it is still worthwhile to use New York as a global platform. Three or four days a year are manageable. It’s fine”.
International ideals:
Navigating through a maze of checkpoints is necessary to enter the UN headquarters during the general debate.
Different badges distinguish delegates, visitors, staff, and journalists from those who can access particular areas, but not others.
Some buildings and floors have their own airport-like security screenings, including those found in the UN complex.
The four main UN buildings are abutting the East River, which is also unprotected.
At any given time, only about a dozen police and US Coast Guard vessels can be seen on the water. Cruises, commercial vessels, and ferries are not permitted.
The area of the water is designated a security zone because the majority of ships are blocked during the summit.
Despite the complexity of the security arrangements, the occasion typically runs smoothly every year.
However, there are occasionally hiccups. For instance, as he attempted to reach France’s embassy on Monday evening, the motorcade of US President Donald Trump blocked Emmanuel Macron’s path.
The French leader was filmed gently negotiating with a policeman to let him and his delegates pass. What, you ask? Macron later called Trump, “I’m waiting in the street because everything is frozen for you.”
The summit has taken place in New York City for more than 70 years, and the city’s leaders take great pride in doing so.
New York Mayor Eric Adams stated last week that the “ideal UN sits close to the East River] and continues to be a symbol of not only peace but also hope.
And I’m proud to be the mayor of the city where this crucial conversation would take place.
Trump, however, disparaged the international body in his speech to the UNGA on Tuesday, describing it as merely a “empty word conveyor.”
The protesters had gathered outside the event to denounce the US president. One of the demonstrators, Paul Rabin, said he hoped to demonstrate his support for the UN’s founding principles, values that he believes Trump violates.
He compared New York to “a city of people from all over the world.”
The ideals of New York and the world align, according to the statement. And we want to speak out against those who reject the principles that the United Nations and America are based on.
I’m out of business, I think.
Harry Khan, who owns a corner store close by, was not as enthusiastic about the summit.
I lose business when a road is closed. He told Al Jazeera, “My regular customers avoid leaving.”
According to Khan, the tourist flow does not make up for the losses.
The UNGA is enormous, but its only immediate impact is on the surrounding area.
Within a few blocks of the UN complex, signs of the UNGA start to fade in the vast and densely populated city.
Some of the city’s 8.5 million residents say they are more concerned about daily struggles because the world is focused on the summit. More than 18% of the population of New York City resides below the poverty line.
A young woman discovered that her bus stop was surrounded by security barriers on Tuesday evening, and she became elated.
Source: Aljazeera
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