NEWS

Double traffic whammy in Westchester: Obama visit, Labor Day

Greg Shillinglaw
  • President Obama arrives at the Westchester County Airport around 2 p.m. Friday.
  • Obama is stopping at fundraisers in New Rochelle and Harrison.
  • AAA recommends drivers avoid areas

Your Labor Day travel plans may need to factor in a presidential visit.

"No parking" signs are visible along Route 1/Main Street in New Rochelle Wednesday. They were placed in preparation of President Obama's upcoming visit to the area.

President Barack Obama's second trip to Westchester is expected to be brief on Friday, with the leader of the free world touching down at the county's airport around 2 p.m. and leaving about three hours later after cramming in two fundraisers, officials said.

POTUS should be wheels up before dinnertime, leaving behind an afternoon of road closures and airport delays in the region.

Obama is heading to Purchase for a Democratic National Committee Labor Day barbecue hosted by one his biggest financial backers on Wall Street. Investment banker Robert Wolf and his wife Carol will entertain the president along with about 250 people.

The president is also stopping by New Rochelle, where he is scheduled to attend another DNC fundraiser, this one a small roundtable-style event with about 25 people at a home in the Premium Point area.

In both cases, the attendees will be donating up to $32,400 each to attend, according to a DNC spokesman. The amount is the maximum an individual can donate to a national political party in a two-year election cycle.

Harrison Mayor Ron Belmont declined to talk specifics about the Purchase stop but said he didn't expect the president will be in town very long.

"How long is it going to take him to eat a hot dog? Hopefully he'll stay and enjoy himself," Belmont told The Journal News. "I'm sure it's not going to happen. He's got a tight schedule."

Belmont says the president's arrival, in a town visited by Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, means a waste transfer site and town garage on Route 120 will have to close at noon so it can be swept by the U.S. Secret Service.

Beyond that, "Whatever road he's going down is going to be closed while he's going down it," Belmont said.

The mayor didn't, however, foresee any major traffic problems, noting the president's last visit to Westchester — a trip to Tarrytown in May — posed more logistical concerns because of the village's proximity to the Tappan Zee Bridge and a major highway.

In New Rochelle, police have announced "no parking" restrictions Friday in the Main Street/Boston Post Road area but officials would not give more details about where the president was headed and when.

Obama's trip also will bring delays and a flight restriction at Westchester County Airport, whree there will be a 15-minute "window" surrounding the arrival and departure of Air Force One when no one will be jetting off for a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

"Everything comes to a standstill," Westchester County Airport manager Peter Scherrer said.

Commercial airliners may see some delays. Private planes and corporate aircraft will face additional restrictions and rules as they try to fly in and out on Friday, Scherrer said.

"I've been meeting with the airport's tenants... so they can start letting their customers know to try to get out of dodge by Thursday," he said.

AAA has some advice for those thinking about hitting the roads when Obama is in town, which happens to be the start of a holiday weekend when a projected 34.7 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home.

"Avoid those area at all costs," spokesman Robert Sinclair said of the president's travel plans, before adding, "If you happen to get caught in that area, you're stuck for however long it takes."

After his Westchester stops, Obama will jet off to Rhode Island for another fundraiser – part of a larger Labor Day weekend series of "BBQ with Barack" events that included a raffle for small donors who will be allowed to attend.

Twitter: @gshilly