YES — THE UN’S WORTH THE TRAFFIC

FOR 70 years, the United Nations has been seen as humanity’s best hope for building peace and fighting poverty. But let’s face it: For New Yorkers during the month of September, it also means traffic jams, security barricades and crowded subways.

With visits from Pope Francis, 180 heads of state and thousands of diplomats for the ongoing UN General Assembly, city officials have been working tirelessly to ensure security while minimizing commuting disruptions.

But the gridlock on FDR Drive isn’t the only kind of traffic the United Nations creates for New York. In September and throughout the year, it’s also responsible for a decidedly desirable kind of traffic: thousands of customers for restaurants, daycares, dry cleaners, barbershops and bodegas throughout the city. It keeps businesses buzzing and creates jobs with good wages.

Past estimates have put the UN headquarters’ economic contributions to our city at $3.3 billion — slightly more than the estimated total value of the Yankees. Next month, the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs will unveil an updated report on the economic impact of the United Nations for New York, and we anticipate that the figure will be even higher. It’s not only the diplomats and visitors you’ll see providing business to bars and taxi drivers during the General Assembly this month, but also the thousands of New Yorkers employed in jobs from secretarial services to catering to construction at the UN complex every single day of the year.

Beyond the economic impact, the UN complex is a cultural attraction and a draw for intellectual and political leaders from around the world. It’s also becoming an important educational asset for our kids.

The Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, in partnership with other city agencies and the United Nations, is launching a program to enable sixth through eighthgrade classrooms in all five boroughs to get a firsthand understanding of global politics. There are few other places in the world where middleschool students can get a handle on international diplomacy in real life rather than from a textbook.

New York isn’t only benefiting from the presence of the UN HQ — the city’s actually living out the UN’s vision. Our city is taking the lead in working to achieve the UN’s new Sustainable Development Goals — a set of global targets for fighting poverty, promoting health and protecting the environment between now and 2030.

Mayor de Blasio’s OneNYC — a pathbreaking plan to lift 800,000 people out of poverty, boost access to nutrition and healthy foods and significantly expand affordable housing — is being showcased at the UN General Assembly.

Seventy years ago, New York beat out cities from London to San Francisco to be selected as the official headquarters of humanity’s great postwar hope. Today, New Yorkers are still reaping the rewards of that victory — even if it sometimes means some extra traffic.