locked up tight as a drum

That's what the United Nations is when the General
Assembly is in session (as it was recently—I saw both
Obama and Quaddafi drive by). There are police
everywhere, and they actually remove the mailboxes
for several blocks around the UN. These trucks were
stationed at 2nd Ave. and 42nd Street. You couldn't
go east of here on foot or in a vehicle unless
you had UN ID. I did manage to get through, so I
must be special (or invisible).