With UN General Assembly starting, NYC makes room for heads of state and their security

Gridlock? Men with earpieces? Must be the UN

NEW YORK — Restaurants are clearing space for world leaders. The Waldorf-Astoria is fluffing the pillows in the presidential suite. And people who live on Manhattan’s East Side are just hoping to get into their buildings without a police escort.

Representatives from 192 countries will arrive next week for a United Nations anti-poverty summit and the U.N. General Assembly ministerial meeting. For New Yorkers, that will mean gridlocked traffic and a chance to spot a government leader at a local restaurant.

The owners of an Italian steakhouse near the U.N. say the tiny Asian nation of East Timor has a reservation for 35.

Last year, the prime minister of Japan went for Swedish food at Aquavit.