A number of protest teams blocked site visitors on Tuesday to forestall dignitaries, together with President Trump, from getting into the United Nations Common Meeting on the primary day of the eightieth assembly of worldwide heads of state.
Picture by Dean Moses
For one week each fall, New York performs host to the United Nations Common Meeting, an annual summit that brings collectively dozens of world leaders, together with the president of the US, on the East Aspect of Manhattan.
It’s a privilege for New York, typically thought-about the unofficial capital of the world, to host the United Nations and its Common Meeting. Concurrently, nevertheless, the proceedings are a curse for New Yorkers who wish to get round city throughout that hellacious week.
Visitors is bumper-to-bumper because of the quite a few streets closed for safety causes. Gridlock will get worse when protesters take to the streets to reveal for his or her causes, as they did Tuesday morning when President Trump arrived for his UN speech. The subways are log-jammed with folks making an attempt to keep away from all of it.
In the meantime, the NYPD spends hundreds of thousands of {dollars} on safety particulars above and beneath floor to make sure the Common Meeting is peaceable and incident-free. The MTA provides further subway service to maintain the town shifting as greatest it will possibly.
And whereas the common New Yorker driving into Manhattan pays a $9 congestion pricing payment to go south of sixtieth Avenue, the diplomatic entourages on the town for the UN Common Meeting don’t should pay a dime.
When the congestion pricing toll system was turned on in January, the US State Division issued an edict exempting diplomats from paying the payment to get round — an extension of diplomatic immunity, in a way.
It’s simply not proper, in our view, particularly contemplating all of the inconveniences New York suffers this time of 12 months when the Common Meeting is in session.
How can this drawback be resolved?
The MTA may contemplate instituting a congestion pricing vacation in the course of the Common Meeting week. That may exempt drivers who must journey into Manhattan and should endure the infinite gridlock. Nonetheless, this resolution would price the MTA the income it covets, and it’d encourage extra drivers to go into Manhattan, nevertheless questionable that call is likely to be.
However, the State Division ought to raise its toll exemption from diplomats for the week of the Common Meeting. Take into account it a approach of giving again to New York — a small token of gratitude for supporting the additional bills and aggravation incurred. The toll is inexpensive to each nation, and there’s no excuse for them to not pay.
The congestion pricing enjoying area in the course of the UN Common Meeting should be leveled. To do this, the diplomats should be informed to pay up, similar to each different New Yorker.
