It’s that time of year again for Roosevelt Island.

Mid September is the the opening of the United Nations General Assembly Session and 2021 is no different than previous years in terms of its impact on Roosevelt Island residents. The opening of the UN General Assembly means the diversion of East River boat traffic to the Roosevelt Island East Channel Queens side for security precautions due to our proximity to the United Nations resulting in the intermittent closings of the Roosevelt Island Bridge.
According to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp ( RIOC ):

The United Nations General Assembly will take place from Monday, 9/20 to Saturday, 9/25. During this time, the Roosevelt Island bridge will open on demand from 7 AM to 7 PM. Please be advised that each opening should take anywhere from 8 to 12 minutes to be completed.

As a reminder, during the opening and lowering of the Roosevelt Island bridge, some delays may occur.

This afternoon, the Roosevelt Island Bridge got stuck during opening and closing causing lines and delays on both sides of the Bridge for about a half hour.

Have not heard of any similar incidents earlier this week.

Residents have expressed concern about the Roosevelt Island Bridge being closed preventing emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks from getting on and off Roosevelt Island. There was no mention by RIOC about precautions being taken for emergency vehicles but an ambulance is stationed on the Island during UN General Assembly Week.

Even British PM Boris Johnson had to make alternative travel arrangements during 2021 UN General Assembly Week. UPDATE 9/24 – View of raised Roosevelt Island Bridge from passing sailboat on East River east channel. During last night’s Roosevelt Island Emergency Preparedness workshop , RIOC Public Safety Chief Kevin Brown and Deputy Chief Anthony Amoroso discussed some of the security and safety preparations undertaken during UN General Assembly Week for the Roosevelt Island Bridge.

Roosevelt Islander