President Barack Obama is traveling to New York City today to view recovery efforts from the massive East Coast storm Sandy.
While there, Obama will meet with affected families, local officials and first responders who have been dealing with the deadly storm, which slammed into New York, New Jersey and other East Coast states late month, killing more than 100 people and leaving millions without power.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was on hard-hit Staten Island Wednesday as preparations were being made for the president’s trip, NBC New York reported.
“It’s always important to see in person whenever there’s a catastrophe because it really, really brings it home,” Kelly told NBC 4 New York. “It’s going to take a tremendous effort to recover, it’s going to take an awful lot of federal resources, so it’s important for the president to be here and see it in person.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would request $30 billion in federal aid to rebuild after Sandy. The administration will seek a supplemental appropriation to cover infrastructure, repair and emergency costs beyond those normally covered by federal emergency aid, Cuomo said.
Obama traveled to New Jersey on Oct. 31 to meet with Gov. Chris Christie and view recovery efforts in coastal communities. The president viewed flattened houses, flooded neighborhoods, sand-strewn streets and a still-burning fire along the state’s battered coastline. Parts of the New Jersey shore’s famed boardwalks were missing.
Obama pledged to those affected by the storm that “we are here for you and we will not forget.”
At the time, Mayor Bloomberg said he told Obama’s chief of staff that the city “would love to have him, but we’ve got lots of things to do.”
Last week the mayor said “we’ve made significant progress since then and we’re happy to have him.”
Obama also traveled to Louisiana in early September after the Gulf Coast was hit by Hurricane Isaac.
Thousands of people in the New York region remain without power 2½ weeks after Sandy hit, including customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties, just east of New York City, and in parts of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Source: NBC NEW YORK
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