New York in security gridlock

NEW YORK, Tuesday (AFP) New York has gone into security gridlock with 170 world leaders descending on the city for this week's UN summit and general assembly which marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the world body.

"This is a general assembly like no other," said New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who is deploying 4,000 officers for what will be the city's largest security operation since last year's Republican National Convention.

The massive police contingent will complement the Secret Service details assigned as personal security to each of the heads of state and government attending the September 14-16 summit and the General Assembly which lasts through September 28.

Specialised counter-terrorist units are also being deployed, with memories still fresh of the attacks on the London transport system ahead of the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Scotland.

"We have put in additional security programs throughout the city because we can't just focus all of our resources in Manhattan around the UN," Kelly said.

"We have to be concerned about something happening of an untoward nature on a large scale in other parts of the city," he added.

Street closures were already in force on Monday around some landmark hotels in midtown Manhattan as early presidential arrivals held bilateral meetings ahead of the summit opening.

The tightest security was within a perimeter thrown around the UN's riverside headquarters in eastern Manhattan.

Special air space restrictions, including a seven-mile (11-kilometer) no-fly zone will also be in force during the duration of the summit. Military officials at the US Northern Command, which is responsible for defending against a terrorist attack on US soil, said they were prepared to respond to any threat, even though thousands of troops are involved in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi.