Culture
The UN, the FDR, and the day our neighborhood became international territory
October 17, 2025 · 5 min read
A Rockefeller check
In December 1946, John D. Rockefeller Jr. offered $8.5 million to buy a strip of East River waterfront that was then home to slaughterhouses and tenements. The City sold it to the United Nations for a dollar.
What "international territory" actually means
The UN Headquarters site, opened in 1952, is technically extraterritorial — NYC police can't enter without permission, and it has its own post office that issues UN stamps you can only mail from inside the complex.
Walking it with kids
- The row of 193 member-state flags along 1st Avenue is the easiest geography lesson in town. Try to find a flag from every continent.
- Ralph Bunche Park across from the UN has the famous "Isaiah Wall" with the *swords into plowshares* quotation.
- Robert Moses Playground (1st Ave & 41st) is right next door and rarely crowded.
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