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Sorry, NYC drivers. Traffic is about to get even worse than usual.

By

Louis C. Hochman

Published Sep 20, 2026

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Heavy traffic in Midtown New York City

Alexander Spatari / Gothamist

By

Louis C. Hochman

Published Sep 20, 2026

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Its. Going. To. Be. Very. Slow.

Gridlock season is upon us. The U.N. General Assembly is in town this week — which always means some of the slowest days of the year for traffic in and around Midtown. But you can expect it to be even slower than normal, with large protests planned every day of the assembly, including but not limited to when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes his address Thursday.

A heavy police presence and rolling street closures won’t make things any easier if you’re behind the wheel.

But this is just the start. The city Department of Transportation has identified 20 so-called gridlock days throughout the end of the year, beginning on Monday. More than half are in December, but some of the days leading up to Thanksgiving will be extra-congested as well.

The DOT estimates that during the U.N. General Assembly, traffic around Midtown crawls to less than 4 mph (as opposed to the zippy 4-6 mph Midtown sees the rest of the year). The department will use variable message board systems around the city to warn drivers of expected delays.

The city advises — in general, but especially on gridlock days — to use public transport, bicycle or walk, whenever practical. The DOT says the First Avenue Tunnel protected bike lane, made permanent in 2024, should be helpful, providing a jersey barrier-protected express lane that bypasses many of the busy intersections around the U.N.’s 45th Street headquarters. The DOT said it’s the first tunnel in the United States to be repurposed to allow bike traffic while still maintaining vehicle travel.

The 2026 gridlock days are:

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new york city

transportation

Louis C. Hochman

After about two decades in (mostly) New Jersey-focused commercial print, digital and digital-but-radio-adjacent news, Lou stumbled into member-supported news in early 2021, as the editor and CEO of Montclair Local. There, he (hopes he) expanded enterprise, brought more sophistication to digital storytelling and moved the nonprofit newsroom closer to long-term financial sustainability. He helped lead the Local to its fourth consecutive General Excellence award from the New Jersey Press Association — the NJPA's highest honor with judges noting the paper's work to strip away layers of government opacity, to hold power to account, to make news accessible for more members of the community, to share the stories and concerns of more facets of the community and to tell compelling stories across multiple media. He's excited to continue the same ethic — news as a public service — at NYPR as the New Jersey and suburbs editor, drawing on the extraordinary talents of reporters including Karen Yi and Nancy Solomon. Lou lives in Philly (that commute!) with his partner and their two cats, about whom and about which he speaks incessantly.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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