City Room: Live Blog: Obama Visits New York
Doug Mills/The New York TimesPresident Obama spoke with police responders at the First Precinct station house. President Obama?s visit to the First Precinct station house en route to the wreath laying at ground zero began with the rumble of 18 police motorcyclists pulling up in front of the station house at 16 Ericsson Place, near the exit of the Holland Tunnel. The presidential limousine pulled up onto the sidewalk itself, allowing the president to walk from his car straight inside.
A burst of applause was heard from the 37 police officers standing at attention ? including members of the Police Department?s elite Emergency Service Unit, members of the First Precinct and officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police force.
Leading them was Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, who greeted the president and thanked him for taking time to come and visit the officers, according to Paul J. Browne, the Police Department?s chief spokesman.
The president said it was his pleasure to do it, according to Mr. Browne.
The men made some other small talk, and the president recalled his unannounced stop at One Police Plaza last May 13 to thank officers for their work in uncovering the Times Square bomb plot, at which visit the police commissioner gave him a black jacket with big gold block letters reading ?NYPD? on the back and POTUS on the right chest. The president thanked Mr. Kelly for the jacket saying he loves it and that he wears it all the time, Mr. Browne said.
Then it was on to the troops. The president circled the room, shaking hands with each of the 37 officers, ?and he asked each of them their name, and he said a few words to each,? said Mr. Browne.
He then walked to the main desk and to sign the patrol log.
?God Bless,? he wrote, according to Mr. Browne, before signing his name. ? AL BAKER
According to pool reports, at around 1:30 p.m. Mr. Obama was meeting with families of 9/11 victims ?inside a black, modern-looking storefront that says ?9/11 Memorial Preview Site?.?
Shortly before 1 p.m., uniformed rescue workers ?- police officers, firefighters and Port Authority police officers ?- marched into the memorial plaza and formed an honor guard in two lines.
In the middle of the longer honor guard line, a member of the Fire Department of New York in a white hat held the wreath, a large circle decorated in red, white and blue flowers. In front of a shorter honor guard line closer to the easel where the wreath would be placed, there stood a woman with three teenaged girls.
At precisely 1 p.m., President Obama walked into the plaza with a small group of officials, including Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
Then the president shook hands with the police officers, firefighters and Port Authority police officers in the longer honor guard line.
They stood at attention, wearing white gloves. The president shook hands with each one, except for the fire official holding the wreath, and had a brief conversation with each one.
Then, Mr. Obama and three members of each department -? the New York Police Department, the Fire Department of New York and the Port Authority police -? walked with the wreath to the easel underneath the Survivor Tree.
The fire official carried the wreath, which was supplied by Flowers of the World a florist with several locations, one of which had been in the ground floor of 4 World Trade Center on the day of the Sept 11 attack, according to the White House.
The officials bowed their heads in a moment of silence as they stood next to the wreath on the easel.
Mr. Obama later hugged and shook hands with the woman and the three girls. Then he shook hands with the uniformed rescue workers in the shorter honor guard line behind the woman and the three girls.
A large group of elected officials who had been standing off to the side then entered the area near the tree, and the president spoke with them. At one moment, the group applauded.
At 1:15 p.m., the president walked away, and the honor guard saluted. ? MANNY FERNANDEZ
Back at Ladder 54 Engine 4 in Midtown, where Mr. Obama had an early lunch, firefighters said they enjoyed the visit from the president, who thanked them for their service, took off his jacket and settled in for a lengthy conversation, at one point discussing the relative merits of the Mets, the Yankees, the White Sox and the Cubs.
?He was a wonderful guest,?? said Edward Kilduff, the chief of the department, who was at the firehouse for the visit. ?He put everybody at ease right away.??
The president, who was accompanied by Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano and former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, discussed serious subjects, too, describing to the firefighter the tensions he and others felt on the night of May 1st while monitoring the mission where Bin Laden was killed.
As the president savored the conversation, he also savored his meal, said Firefighter Joe Ceravolo, who is known as the chef of the firehouse. The president, Mr. Ceravolo said, loved the eggplant Parmesan. ?He was a really down to earth guy.?
The firefighters said they appreciated the symbolism of the visit and thanked the president for keeping a promise to capture or kill Bin Laden.
?A lot of us didn?t know if that time would ever come but it did,?? said Firefighter John Fila. ?It?s good to see a politician follow through on something.?? ? COLIN MOYNIHAN
Here is the raw feed from pool reports of Mr. Obama?s visit to the First Precinct station house in TriBeCa, where he stopped en route to ground zero:
POTUS worked the room of police officers, signed a guest book (pool was unable to view what he wrote) and was given a gift by one woman who was not in a uniform but poolers couldn?t tell what it was. He seemed flattered.
POTUS again gave brief remarks, echoing much of what he said at the firehouse. Check quotes against transcript.
?I am here basically to shake your hand and say how proud I am of all of you.?
Sunday ?sent a signal that we have never forgotten the extraordinary sacrifices that were made on 9/11.?
?We did what we said we were going to do.?
America will always come together over years and differences to ensure justice is done. (Not a direct quote.)
?What we did on Sunday is directly connected to what you do every day.?
Thanked former Mayor Giuliani, says they have their political differences most days but that we?re all Americans first.
Whole thing lasted around 15 minutes.
Said ?Go Bulls!? to one officer as he took pictures with them. At 12:52 we?re rolling to Ground Zero for the wreath laying.
Mr. Obama arrived at ground zero around 1 p.m. and laid a wreath on a wooden easel. He went down a line of firefighters, shaking hands with then, then stopped to chat with civilians.
At 12:35, according to pool reports, the president arrived at the First Precinct police station house in TriBeCa, which covers the ground zero area and was first on the scene on Sept. 11. He was to meet with Commanding Officer Captain Edward J. Winski and address about 20 officers.
A few blocks away, at the memorial plaza at ground zero where he is to lay a wreath this afternoon, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey toured the area with officials shortly before noon. Other dignitaries had also arrived, including Senator Charles E. Schumer and Representative Peter T. King.
The area where Mr. Obama will place the wreath is part of the eight-acre memorial plaza that is still under construction. The tower of 1 World Trade Center rises above in the background. When Mr. Obama visited ground zero during the presidential campaign in 2008, 1 World Trade Center, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, was still below street level. Today it is a 64-story skeleton of a building some 771 feet above street level. When completed, it will rise 1,776 feet.
Earlier, outside a security gate, Mr. Schumer spoke with people as he walked inside. ?Not a happy day, but a good day,? he told one man.
Mr. Obama will place the wreath on a wooden easel next to the tree that has become known as the Survivor Tree. It is a callery pear that survived the attacks on the World Trade Center, though it had its crown blown off and its branches reduced to stumps. The tree was nursed back to a health at a nursery in the Bronx, and then was replanted at the memorial plaza in December 2010. ? MANNY FERNANDEZ
Here is the text of the president?s remarks to the firefighters, as released by the White House:
Well, listen, the main reason I came here is because I heard the food is pretty good. (Laughter.)
But to the Commissioner, to Mayor Giuliani ? who obviously performed heroic acts almost 10 years ago ? but most of all, to all of you, I wanted to just come up here to thank you.
This is a symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day almost 10 years ago. Obviously we can?t bring back your friends that were lost, and I know that each and every one of you not only grieve for them, but have also over the last 10 years dealt with their family, their children, trying to give them comfort, trying to give them support.
What happened on Sunday, because of the courage of our military and the outstanding work of our intelligence, sent a message around the world, but also sent a message here back home that when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say; that our commitment to making sure that justice is done is something that transcended politics, transcended party; it didn?t matter which administration was in, it didn?t matter who was in charge, we were going to make sure that the perpetrators of that horrible act ? that they received justice.
So it?s some comfort, I hope, to all of you to know that when those guys took those extraordinary risks going into Pakistan, that they were doing it in part because of the sacrifices that were made in the States. They were doing it in the name of your brothers that were lost.
And finally, let me just say that, although 9/11 obviously was a high water mark of courage for the New York Fire Department and a symbol of the sacrifice, you guys are making sacrifices every single day. It doesn?t get as much notoriety, it doesn?t get as much attention, but every time you run into a burning building, every time that you are saving lives, you?re making a difference. And that?s part of what makes this city great and that?s part of what makes this country great.
So I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the American people for the sacrifices that you make every single day. And I just want to let you know that you?re always going to have a President and an administration who?s got your back the way you?ve got the backs of the people of New York over these last many years.
So God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
And with that, I?m going to try some of that food. All right? Appreciate you. Thank you.
After about 50 minutes in the firehouse, Mr. Obama walked out into the sunshine at about 12:14 p.m. to cheering throng, got back in his limo and headed east on 48th Street. ? COLIN MOYNIHAN
Here is the account of Mr. Obama?s firehouse speech from pool reports:
The fire station was airy and rather dark, with lockers and firecoats lining the walls. One big firetruck was inside and members of the station lined up in a square to meet Mr. Obama, who greeted each with a handshake. He then spoke for a few minutes, standing in front of a firetruck and addressing the blue-uniformed meno were in blue uniforms.?This is a symbolic site of the extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day almost 10 years ago,? Mr. Obama said. ?Obviously you can?t bring back the friends you lost.?
What happened Sunday in Pakistan, Mr. Obama said, sent a message: ?When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say.?
He praised the firefighters for the sacrifices they make each and every day and compared them to American troops.
?You?re always going to have a president and an administration who?s got your back,? he said.
After his remarks a fire chief showed Mr. Obama a wall of plaques commemorating those who died on 9/11 from the firehouse, nicknamed ?the Pride of Midtown.?
In Midtown, hundreds of people stood behind metal police barricades surrounding the intersection of 48th Street and Eighth Avenue, where a squat brown brick building houses the Fire Department?s Engine 54 and Ladder 4 and Battalion 9. The firehouse lost 15 men on Sept. 11
At 11:23, cheers erupted as the presidential motorcade pulled up. Mr. Obama emerged from a black Cadillac limousine in a dark suit, white shirt and dark tie, briefly raised a hand in acknowledgment of those gathered on the corners and entered the firehouse for lunch.
The firefighters and the president were to dine on eggplant Parmesan, scallops, shrimp, pasta with a cream sauce and a spring mix salad with dijon balsamic vinaigrette, all prepared by firefighters, said James Long, a Fire Department spokesman. ? COLIN MOYNIHAN
One of the first spectators to arrive at ground zero was Michael Bilyk, 30, a former Marine Corps lieutenant and volunteer firefighter whose half brother died on 9/11. He had left Cairo, N.Y., south of Albany, at 1:03 a.m. and arrived in the city at 4:38, he said.
?I ain?t leaving until this is over,? Mr. Bilyk said.
On Sunday, Mr. Bilyk, a tow-truck company owner who is also a tattoo artist, was in his kitchen tattooing his own forearm with images of the twin towers when news of Bin Laden?s death broke.
?I jumped up, spilled the beer and knocked the tattoo ink everywhere,? he said. ?I didn?t believe it.?
His next tattoo will be an image of Bin Laden?s head with crosshairs over it and a bullet hole above his eye.
?It was nice to get some vengeance,? Mr. Bilyk said. ?I knew this day would come.? ? TIM STELLOH
Air Force One touched down at Kennedy Airport at 10:39 a.m. Mr. Obama was greeted by a throng of well-wishers on the tarmac, with whom he shook hands. His helicopter left for Manhattan at 10:51.
Mr. Obama?s press secretary, Jay Carney, spoke briefly to the press and said there were no new updates on the morphing account of Sunday?s raid on Bin Laden?s compound. He said he had no information on whether 9/11 families who wanted to see the photo of Bin Laden dead would be able to, and added that he was not aware of anyone bringing such a photo to New York.
Mr. Obama?s helicopter landed in Manhattan, not far from ground zero, at 11:06. Two firetrucks and two presidential limos were parked there. Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was on the tarmac to greet him. ? FROM POOL REPORTS
At Kennedy International Airport, on a morning so clear, so blue and so sunny that it recalled Sept. 11 itself, a small group of chilly reporters and photographers, Secret Service agents, friends and family of airport and city agency employees and one bomb-sniffing dog gathered at Hangar 19 on the outskirts of the airport ? once the old Pan Am Overhaul hanger ? to await Mr. Obama?s arrival.
Two green Marine One helicopters ? one a decoy, and one that will actually spirit the president to Lower Manhattan ? idled in a line like oversized beetles.
A New York Police Department helicopter made a brief pass overhead, but otherwise, the morning proved low on action and high on wind chill. Still, a radio reporter made a noble attempt to keep listeners informed, going live every 20 minutes to report that, yes, the president was still coming to the city.
He should be here any moment now. And she would keep you posted. ? ASHLEY PARKER
Hours before President Obama?s scheduled 1:25 p.m. appearance at ground zero, a man stood nearby under a tree, waving an American flag. The flag had the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of 9/11 printed in the red and white stripes. The man, Germano Riviera, a retired jeweler who lives in Borough Park, Brooklyn, wore a suit and a smile.
?I?m rejoicing the death of an evil man,? said Mr. Riviera, 59.
Reporters and cameramen hovered around him as he stood atop a planter at the corner of Liberty Street and Trinity Place. Between interviews, he saw a soldier in army fatigues preparing to cross the street. ?Soldier!? he yelled out. ?Hoo-ah!?
Mr. Riviera, who said he used to work in the South Tower of the World Trade Center in the 1990s, was standing in the same spot with his flag on Monday, the day after President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in a raid in northern Pakistan. On Thursday, Mr. Riviera had trouble even uttering Bin Laden?s name. ?We should just call him O.B.L.,? he said. ?We should erase his name from history.?
Hollywood Houghton, 35, had been on the corner of Church and Vesey Streets since 5:30 a.m. He was dressed in an American flag robe, a T-shirt featuring President Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr., and an American-flag-patterned Dr. Seuss-style hat that he said was ?the hat Apollo Creed wore? in the ?Rocky? films. Mr. Houghton, of Jersey City, also waved an American flag.
?It?s a very emotional day,? he said. ?I just came here to show support ? show support for our troops, police officers, first responders and everything.?
?If I don?t do nothing else,? he added, ?I just want to show my support so they can say, ?Wow. This is why we do it. Look at his love. He cheers us on.?
Mr. Houghton, an actor who also runs a travel website, was all praise for Mr. Obama and his successful operation to kill Bin Laden.
?I look at it as Obama is a man of action,? he said. ?He means what he says. He?s not perfect, but he tries to do the best he can.?
Mr. Houghton was joined by Bill Steyert, 67, a Vietnam War veteran wearing an Obama baseball cap and a posterboard hanging from his neck with newspaper clippings containing the names of the 9/11 dead and a recent headline proclaiming Osama bin Laden?s death.
Mr. Steyert, of Forest Hills, Queens, also wore a ?Grandpa for Peace? button.
?When I got out, I protested the war,? Mr Steyert said, referred to his military service. ?I thought we had learned our lesson.? He said he opposed the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
?So I?m not totally happy with Obama, but I?m proud of him today,? he said. ?It took a lot of guts for him to do what he did.? ? MANNY FERNANDEZ and NOAH ROSENBERG
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c90da11e8e4cd3f88d7cb81add5702b5
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