president visits nyc

Biden, DeSantis arrive NYC for separate events; roads closed for visit

Anyone in midtown can expect some traffic back-ups for most of the day, by erica byfield • published june 29, 2023 • updated on june 30, 2023 at 12:33 am.

Manhattan got a presidential visit Thursday -- which included added security measures.

President Joe Biden flew into New York City where he had a number of engagements scheduled throughout the afternoon in midtown.

Aside from Biden, Republican presidential candidate and current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is also expected in Downtown Manhattan Thursday afternoon.

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DeSantis' New York City appearance coincides with his attempt to boost his popularity on the campaign trail, but the Florida governor continues to be behind former president Donald Trump, who is facing numerous legal cases.

DeSantis made headlines Wednesday, saying that if he is elected president, he will close four major federal agencies: education, commerce, energy and the IRS.

As for Biden, his trip in centered on what he has coined as "Bidenomics." He sat down with MSNBC's Nicole Wallace, where he spoke about everything from the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

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After that, he has some campaign receptions programmed in the city -- expect traffic to be tied up throughout the evening.

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This comes after a recent NBC News poll found that 38% of Americans surveyed approve the president's handling of the economy.

In a speech in Chicago Wednesday, the president spoke about his economic agenda.

"The economy grows from the middle out, and the bottom up, instead of just the top down," he said. "When that happens everybody does well."

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Biden to visit NYC today to discuss infrastructure investments in Hudson River rail tunnel

A White House spokesperson confirmed last week that the president plans to visit the Big Apple on Jan. 31, noting the commander-in-chief will “discuss how Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the Hudson River Tunnel project will improve reliability for the 200,000 passenger trips per weekday on Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.”

“There is no bigger advocate for our project and for transformative infrastructure projects than President Biden,” said Kolluri in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome him to see how the Gateway Hudson Tunnel will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of passengers every day.”

Construction is finally set to commence this year on the new underwater rail tunnels between New York and New Jersey, more than a decade after the existing 113-year-old tubes, carrying Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains under the Hudson River, sustained heavy damage during Hurricane Sandy. The new tunnels would also enable substantially increased service capacity on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, the nation’s busiest passenger rail line.

Often dubbed the nation’s most important rail project, progress was snagged during the Trump administration but has inched forward under Biden, who declared the tunnel a priority.

The massive project carries an appropriately massive price tag: the bi-state GDC estimated this summer that the project would cost a total of about $16 billion , and won’t be done until 2038. The cost balloons to $30 billion when including the cost of supporting infrastructure on the New Jersey side.

The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill authorized $15 billion and appropriated $8 billion  for the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant program, the primary funding vehicle for Gateway; in July of last year the governors of New York and New Jersey agreed to split the remaining costs for the tunnel down the middle.

Construction on the new tunnels themselves is not expected until 2024, but last month, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer announced a $292 million grant to fund the informal kickstarting of the project: the money will cover half the cost of concrete casing on a box tunnel under Hudson Yards, intended to connect the new underwater tunnels with Penn Station.

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Street closures: Gridlock Alert as President Biden arrives for UN General Assembly

The zone to watch out for is East 42nd Street up to 57th Street, between 1st and 5th avenues.

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- President Joe Biden arrived in New York City Tuesday, making a later-than-usual appearance at the United Nations General Assembly after attending Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in London Monday.

American presidents historically go second, following Brazil, in addressing the 193-member delegation on the opening day of the annual debate.

While the session opened Tuesday, however, Wednesday will bring the U.S. and Iran under the same roof after five months of fruitless negotiations to reinstate a 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran's president will speak second Wednesday, while Biden will speak seventh. There are presently no plans for the two to meet while there.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is also scheduled to speak Wednesday, virtually in a pre recorded video. The General Assembly gave Zelenskiy an exemption from appearing in person "due to ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine."

Russia was among seven countries to oppose, saying is is always in favor of "in-person diplomacy at the UN," and accusing Western counterparts of double standards.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss will also address the body Wednesday.

While in New York City, Biden will also participate in a bilateral meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, host a bilateral meeting with Truss, and host and deliver remarks at the Global Fund's Seventh Replenishment Conference.

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will also host a reception at the American Museum of Natural History.

On Thursday, the president will participate in a Democratic National Committee reception before returning to the White House.

A Gridlock Alert remains in effect for the largest United Nations General Assembly in years, with detours, road closures, and checkpoints across Manhattan's East Side all week long.

Everyone is urged to take public transportation if possible.

Despite there being no credible threats, police are monitoring worldwide events, and thousands of officers will be spread out throughout the city, including traffic officers.

"There will be hundreds of motorcades moving around the city, sometimes simultaneously," NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said. "There will be security checkpoints. There'll be street closures, detours and other driving restrictions, including unannounced traffic freezes. It's a balance we strike each year because our plans are focused on minimizing, as much as possible, the impact all of this will have on New Yorkers, on the city's vehicular and pedestrian traffic."

Here are the announced street closures:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

The following streets in the vicinity of the United Nations will continued to be closed to vehicular traffic:

--1st Avenue from 42nd Street to 48th Street. The tunnel underpass from 41st Street to 48th Street will remain open for passenger cars. Trucks and other large vehicles will not be able to access until the end of each day's session.

--44th Street from 1st Avenue to 2nd Avenue

--45th Street from 1st Avenue to 2nd Avenue

--46th Street from 1st Avenue to 2nd Avenue

--49th Street from 3rd Avenue to Lexington Avenue

The following streets will have one traffic lane dedicated to emergency vehicles for the duration of the General Assembly:

--42nd Street from 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue

--57th Street from 2nd Avenue to 5th Avenue

--2nd Avenue from 41st Street to 57th Street

The following will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning at approximately 5 a.m.:

--42nd Street from the FDR Drive to 2nd Avenue

--42nd Street Exit and Entrance Ramps of the FDR Drive

Please note: These areas will reopen each evening after the day's session.

The FDR DRIVE will be subject to intermittent closures:

--Southbound at 63rd Street

--Northbound at South Ferry

The following streets will have managed access and no vehicle parking permitted:

--48th Street from Lexington Avenue to Park Avenue

--49th Street from 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue

--50th Street from Park Avenue to Madison Avenue

--51st Street from Park Avenue to Madison Avenue

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th, 2022

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STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT BIDEN’S VISIT TO NYC ON THURSDAY

The Fortune Society (Fortune) today issued the following statement about President Joe Biden’s visit to New York City to meet with Mayor Eric Adams to discuss how to address gun violence.

“In advance of President Biden’s visit to New York City to meet with Mayor Eric Adams Thursday, we urge the President to consider how we should effectively move forward – and not take steps back.

The President should support a comprehensive community safety plan that includes significant investments in mental and behavioral health, employment and training, supportive reentry housing, alternatives to incarceration and a host of other services provided by community partners like the Fortune Society.

We urge him not to return to the national response we had in the 1994 Crime Bill where the emphasis and investment mostly went to increasing policing, expanding jails and prisons, and increasing mandatory sentences.

We urge the President and Mayor Adams to visit our supportive Housing Program and invest in services and resources for New York City’s hardest-hit communities.

We must not go back in time and only lean on enforcement and punishment as our collective response and to demonizing youth and in particular those of color. The nation and the world are watching. We must reduce and address gun violence, poverty, homelessness, mental illness, and hopelessness, and improve education by investing in people and not in jails and prisons.

Seize the moment to show the world that our country can address the public health crisis of gun violence without leading the world in incarceration and leaving communities void of resources and hope.

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Mayor Adams' Statement on President Biden's Visit to New York City Next Week

January 26, 2022

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams released the following statement in anticipation of President Joseph Biden’s visit to New York City next week:

“I look forward to welcoming President Biden to New York City next week and sitting down to discuss how we can work collaboratively to end the scourge of gun violence we are seeing on New York City streets. The sea of violence comes from many rivers, and that’s why my Blueprint to End Gun Violence in New York City seeks to dam every river that feeds this greater crisis. Public safety is my administration’s highest priority, and we welcome the opportunity to display to President Biden how federal and local governments can coordinate and support each other in this fight to keep New Yorkers safe.”

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Watch CBS News

President Joe Biden to visit New York and New Jersey on Thursday

By CBS New York Team

Updated on: October 5, 2022 / 11:23 PM EDT / CBS New York

NEW YORK -- President Joe Biden will be in New York and New Jersey on Thursday.

The White House announced Tuesday afternoon that the president will visit IBM's facility in Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County to talk about creating jobs in the Hudson Valley.

Mr. Biden will also attend a reception in Manhattan for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

He will also stop in Red Bank , New Jersey, for a reception for the Democratic National Committee.

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Biden NYC visit: President's visit causes traffic nightmare

President's visit causes traffic nightmare.

FOX 5 NY's Teresa Priolo reports from the Upper West Side.

NEW YORK CITY - New Yorkers are experiencing traffic nightmares after President Joe Biden arrived in New York City to attend three campaign receptions this afternoon. 

Biden arrived earlier Wednesday at the Wall Street heliport. 

His first event was around 2:30 p.m. on 76th and Riverside Blvd.

Biden was on the move shortly after that and headed south toward Columbus circle, and he’s expected to attend his third and final fundraising event around 5:45 p.m. on the East Side. 

He is due to be out of the city before 8 p.m., but before that drivers across NYC will mostly likely face road closures and traffic delays in the surrounding areas. 

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As one NYPD officer told FOX 5 NY's Teresa Priolo , the entire West Side was locked down.

While the White House didn't disclose the exact locations, barricades were seen going up on the Upper East Side, as well as the Upper West Side. 

March NY fundraiser

Meanwhile, the president is teaming up with predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton next month for a New York fundraiser aimed at powering up donations for his reelection campaign. The threesome traded social media posts to reveal their plans.

The event is set for March 28, and though the Biden campaign says it hasn't settled on a venue, it is considering larger sites that would maximize attendance. That would be a break from Biden’s usual campaign stops, which have tended to feature smaller groups of supporters and donors.

US President Joe Biden in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (Annabelle Gordon/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Folks – I’ll be in NYC on March 28th to support @JoeBiden . Who’s coming with me? Chip in for your chance to join," Obama posted on X , formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, over a picture of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the hand-written message "Let's finish the job" next to Biden's signature.

Clinton responded ironically, "Count me in. Who else is going to be there?" and Biden answered jokingly "You guys know you can just call me next time, right?"

The president has intensified fundraising efforts since December. His campaign said Tuesday that January produced its highest monthly donation total since launching in April 2023, breaking monthly records previously set in December and November of last year.

The campaign said that last month’s haul was buoyed by a write-in campaign that won Biden New Hampshire’s unsanctioned Democratic primary on Jan. 23. New Hampshire Democrats violated a new primary calendar championed by Biden, and he responded by refusing to campaign there or have his name appear on the ballot, and yet still won via write-in.

WILL WEISSERT, with the Associated Press, helped contribute to this report.

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Top Biden Aide Visits China to Reinforce U.S. Strategy

The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will raise thorny issues like Taiwan and Russia with only months left before a new administration takes office.

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By David Pierson

Reporting from Hong Kong

Making another heavy push to work with China in the waning months of the Biden administration, Jake Sullivan arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for talks aimed at showing that the United States and China can manage their differences.

The U.S. national security adviser began his fifth meeting in less than 18 months with China’s top foreign policy official, Wang Yi, as the Biden administration seeks to reinforce its strategy on China despite uncertainty over the future of American foreign policy.

There is much to talk about — but probably little on which they will agree.

Mr. Sullivan plans to discuss working with China on limiting the spread of fentanyl and expanding high-level military contacts. He will also stress the United States’ position on Taiwan and its concerns about China’s support of Russia.

China indicated it would raise its own objections during the talks — including over America’s support for Taiwan, the island democracy Beijing claims, and U.S. controls on exports of technology to China.

Beijing wants the United States to ease its pressure on China, in the hope that it would set the tone for smoother relations with the next U.S. administration, analysts said.

“China’s priority is to maintain the stability of China-U.S. relations in the last several months of Biden’s presidency,” said Zhao Minghao, an expert on U.S.-China relations at Fudan University in Shanghai.

The prospect of a potential meeting between President Biden and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, before Mr. Biden’s term ends, is likely to come up. (It was unclear if Mr. Sullivan would meet with Mr. Xi during his three-day visit.)

Here are some of the issues Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Wang are expected to broach:

Taiwan and Ukraine

Perhaps the biggest flash points in relations between China and the United States are Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s increasing aggression toward Taiwan.

Mr. Sullivan is likely to urge China to reduce its support to Russia, which the United States and NATO say has helped sustain Russia’s war effort, now in its third year. China buys huge quantities of Russian oil and supplies Russia with dual-use technology that can be applied to the battlefield, U.S. officials say.

Beijing is unlikely to turn its back on Moscow, its only major-power partner in counterbalancing the United States.

Chinese officials will seek to criticize U.S. support for Taiwan, which Mr. Xi has threatened to take by force, if necessary. Beijing accuses Washington of promoting “Taiwan independence” by supplying the island with arms and allowing for exchanges between American and Taiwanese officials.

China said in a statement on Sunday that the United States needed to do more to repair relations. “The United States has kept containing and suppressing China,” a foreign ministry statement said. The relationship, it said, is “still at a critical juncture of being stabilized.”

Taiwan was “the first and foremost red line that must not be crossed,” the statement read.

Technology Controls

Mr. Sullivan has championed the Biden administration’s export controls designed to prevent China from getting its hands on advanced American semiconductors, or microchips, that can be used to develop weapons or computing power that could threaten U.S. national security.

That has frustrated China, which has struggled to catch up with the United States in designing advanced chips despite investing billions of dollars in research. Beijing says the export controls are aimed at stunting China’s rightful development.

The restrictions, which were first introduced in October 2022, have had far-reaching consequences by forcing countries to shift, or consider shifting, some production of semiconductors out of Asia back to North America and Europe.

It is unclear what the long-term implications of U.S. export controls will be. China has seized on the restrictions to redouble efforts to become more technologically self-sufficient. Brokers have also used proxies to smuggle banned chips into China.

Will Xi and Biden Meet Again?

Mr. Sullivan’s visit could lay the groundwork for one last summit between Mr. Xi and Mr. Biden. Discussions between Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Wang were key to organizing last November’s meeting.

Though he will only serve one term, and one that was disrupted by the Covid pandemic, Mr. Biden could be the first president not to travel to China since President Carter.

Mr. Biden has visited China before, when he was vice president in 2011, a trip remembered for his stop at a local Beijing restaurant for noodles and dumplings. If a state visit is not possible, Mr. Xi and Mr. Biden could potentially meet at the APEC summit in Peru in November.

Of course, China may not be interested in Mr. Biden’s lame duck presidency and could be focused on how best to approach the next administration. Writing in Foreign Affairs magazine this month, the Chinese international relations scholars Wang Jisi, Hu Ran and Zhao Jianwei said Beijing sees little difference between a Trump or Harris administration; they will both be driven by domestic pressure to be tough on China.

“Beijing is preparing itself for the outcome of the U.S. elections with great caution and limited hope,” they wrote.

Olivia Wang contributed reporting.

David Pierson covers Chinese foreign policy and China’s economic and cultural engagement with the world. He has been a journalist for more than two decades. More about David Pierson