The U.N. Enters the NY Real Estate Market

U.N. officials are blaming (who else?) the U.S. for blocking its plan to begin renovating U.N. headquarters in NY. According to the NYT, the U.S. is blocking the disbursement of $100 million in funds to launch the project, which is expected to cost $1.6 billion.



The article certainly makes it seem like the U.S. is being a bit cheap here and the U.N. certainly could use a new building (at $405 a square foot, they seem to have a decent deal in the works). But Ambassador Bolton appears to be trying to use money as leverage in the larger U.S. project of U.N. reform. The success of this strategy is yet unknown, but it certainly a sensible one. Because the U.S. pays about 1/4 of the U.N.’s budget, money is the most effective way for the U.S. to influence the U.N. bureaucracy, which is relatively independent of administrative supervision. And Bolton does not appear shy in using this weapon.