Transiting NYC During a UN Session

The (exaggerated) alert came from a guy we met in Newport on September 10. “The UN is in session from September 9 through the end of the month. They close the whole East River to traffic. Don’t plan on going south through New York.” This was a problem for us for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was that was our timing and we really didn’t fancy an offshore jaunt from Montauk in the fall.

I’d heard echoes of this before, that the East River was closed to navigation while the UN was in session. It’s not the whole time, and, it turns out, it’s not the whole East River - though there are indeed times when the entire East River is closed to navigation. So how do you actually go south (or north, if that’s your thing) past New York while the UN is in session?

*My favorite place. I love the United Nations!*

First of all ,you need to figure out if you even need to worry about a closure. Finding the details of this is ridiculously impossible. Calling the Coast Guard (sector New York) netted a “We have no idea. Google it.” Contacting the New York Department of Transportation resulted in a “we think there will be gridlock around the United Nations while it’s in session.” Jeremy left (unanswered) messages with the Port Authority. A friend spent a good part of her (good internet) morning trying unsuccessfully to track this down for us. There was nothing in the Coast Guard Local Notice to Mariners, edition September 15-22. As we got closer to the western end of Long Island Sound and started hearing Coast Guard Sector New York on the radio, there was no information shared about closure. Wouldn’t you think that if you’re going to close a major river around a major city to navigation you’d be telling the world about it, loudly and repeatedly? It felt like this information was a state secret.

Finally, in Block Island, on September 18, cruising friends offhandedly mentioned that they’d found the information. We pounced. “How? Where?” “Can you share?”

And at first glance, it looked indeed like in essence, the East River from just south of Hell Gate to the southern tip of Roosevelt Island was closed entirely to navigation during daytime for the entire week of September 20-24. But was it really? The notice was confusing. The zones were pretty clear - Zone 1 is right next to the western bank, with Zone 2 the remainder of the west passage around Roosevelt Island. Zone 3 is the east side of Roosevelt Island. Add to this the area next to the Wall Street heliport, all the way across the river, would also be closed.

Close reading gave us hope. Sure, Zone 1 was closed all the time. 24 hours a day all the time. Zone 2 was closed from 7am -7pm all days that week. Zone 3? Hmm. Definitely closed from 9-12 on September 21. But the rest of the time? Looked like maybe it was open. All we needed to do was get the 40’ clearance bridge on Roosevelt Island to open. Which it looked like, maybe, it does.

Watching on AIS showed us that sailboats were, in fact, going through that bridge. New York City, here we come!

If you’re thinking about transiting New York City by boat when the United Nations General Assembly is in session, here is how we found the information in 2021.

Google “Coast Guard Advisory Notice 2021” (or whatever year). Local Notice to Mariners was of absolutely no assistance - but these advisory notices had it all. The first notice was dated September 9, about a week before we first called the Coast Guard about closures and were told “no idea, Google it” AND a full week before the Notice to Mariners had zero information published.
Call the Roosevelt Island Bridge to see if they’re opening. That number, which goes directly to the bridge, is (646) 899-0441. If Zone 3 is closed, they’re not allowed to open; they will know.

The United Nations publishes the dates of their General Assembly sessions reasonably promptly. Figure on closure, at least of the west channel next to Roosevelt Island, for much of that time. Sleuthing on what, exactly triggers a full closure, has me thinking that it’s when the President of the United States is addressing the General Assembly - and this is also when the heliport area is closed, but that’s an observation of one year and may be just a fluke.

There were Coast Guard cutters and NYPD boats stationed at either end of the passage to the west side of Roosevelt Island; I have no idea how you’d manage to sneak past the relative barricade but if you did, one of the 2 choppers circling the area might shoot you down. Or else there’s a possible $95,000 fine. The Roosevelt Island east side passage was painless, with the bridge tender quite accommodating. Call them 15 minutes ahead of time on VHF 13 - and for goodness sake monitor 13 so you hear about other boats also wanting an opening. You can always break in and let them know you’re coming along and will speed up to make an opening. Courtesy is advised.

It’s worth being aware of when the UN is in session and that it might affect transit plans, particularly if your heart is set on sliding by the west side of the East River. Otherwise, a few hour closure is fairly easy to work around.

Transiting NYC via boat? It’s pretty amazing, boat traffic and currents and all.

*Ticking off a bucket list item. Passing the Statue of Liberty on our own boat.*