President Obama in New York City to survey Hurricane Sandy damaged areas
Demands New York politicians stop turf battle over funds to pay for mammoth rebuilding task ahead

BY KENNETH LOVETT , VERA CHINESE AND JONATHAN LEMIRE / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2012, 12:46 PM
UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2012, 10:26 PM

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGESPresident Obama greets New York Governor Cuomo after landing at JFK on Thursday, watched by (from left) Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
President Obama brought kindness and hugs to storm battered New Yorkers on Thursday — and a stern warning to local pols: 

Don't start a turf war.

"We're going to have to put some of the turf battles aside," Obama said in remarks on the ravaged eastern shore of Staten Island. "We're going to have to make sure that everybody is focused on doing the job as opposed to worrying about who is getting the credit or who is getting the contracts, or all that stuff that sometimes goes into the rebuilding process."

The President's scolding came just hours after the Daily News reported that Gov. Cuomo infuriated the state's congressional delegation by unilaterally announcing plans to ask the federal government for $30 billion to recover from the storm.

JUSTIN LANE/EPA

President Obama looks over damage from Hurricane Sandy with residents in the New Dorp neighborhood of Staten Island. During his trip, the president met with a couple, Damien and Glenda Moore, who lost their two small children, Brandon and Connor, in the storm surge. "As a father, as a parent, my heart broke over what they went through," Obama said.

PHOTOS: HURRICANE SANDY THROUGH THE LENSES OF THE DAILY NEWS' PHOTOGRAPHERS

RELATED: HOW YOU CAN HELP THE VICTIMS OF SANDY

Sources told The News that Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand — who will be tasked with actually delivering the federal funds — were blindsided by Cuomo's announcement and annoyed that he floated an eye-popping dollar amount without a specific list of projects the money would pay for.

Senior Cuomo aides insist that they're working closely with Congress. Some political insiders suggested that Obama's warning was directed at Republicans in Congress who are upset with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for cozying up to the President during the storm's aftermath.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

President Obama holds a news conference on Staten Island, where he praised the city's resilience, which he said inspires pride.

In a three-hour sweep through storm-ravaged neighborhoods that included a helicopter tour of southern Brooklyn and Queens and meetings with storm victims on Staten Island, the President spoke in general terms about his commitment to help the city — but made no specific promises.

"I'm very proud of you, New York," Obama said after walking through a Staten Island neighborhood that was devastated by the historic hurricane. "You guys are tough. You bounce back."

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

President Obama boards Air Force One on his way to New York City Thursday morning.

Schumer did not comment on the President's turf-tussle warning but stressed that officials needed to "coordinate" their relief efforts.

He told the Daily News that he and Gillibrand talked "with the President about how to get New York the aid it needs."

The senator said he believes New York and New Jersey should work together to get funding for both states.

"(Obama) seeing it hands-on made a powerful impression that I think will help us get the funding," said Schumer. 

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

President Obama greets workers as he visits Cedar Grove Avenue on Staten Island. "He told us to stick with it, that he's going to see it through," said Ladrina Sheffield, 35, a mom of four who lost most of her possessions in the storm. "It means a lot to the people that we have a leader who cares."

A spokesman for Christie said the governor would consult with his state delegation before requesting funds from Washington. He said New Jersey would have a ballpark figure sometime next week.
After emerging from his aerial tour of Brooklyn and Queens, Obama met with dozens of Staten Island residents whose homes were swamped or entirely destroyed by the storm — and one couple who lost even more.

The President offered hugs to Damien and Glenda Moore, whose two small children, Brandon, 2, and Connor, 4, died after getting swept away in the storm's merciless surge. 

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The President, flanked above by Sen. Chuck Schumer and Gov. Cuomo, announced he has chosen a New Yorker to spearhead the city's rebuilding process, former Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Shaun Donovan.

"As a father, as a parent, my heart broke over what they went through," Obama said.
But Obama noted that the Moores went out of their way to laud NYPD Lt. Kevin Gallagher, who tried to help the couple in their darkest hour.

He called it the perfect example of how the storm turned strangers into family.

"That spirit, and sense of togetherness and of looking out for one another, is what is going to carry us through this tragedy," he said.

CRAIG WARGA /NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Destruction on Yetman Street in Tottenville, Staten Island, two days after Hurricane Sandy hit.

The President vowed that he would not forget what he saw.

"We are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete," Obama said after walking a devastated section of New Dorp, S.I.

"You look at this block and you know this is a community that's deeply wounded," said Obama.

He vowed to personally return to the region to check on its recovery.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

President Obama chats with Staten Island residents. "We are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete," he said during his visit. More than 18,000 city residents remain without power.

Sandy ripped through the city with savage winds and a record storm surge that flooded lower Manhattan and inundated several coastal areas in the outer boroughs. 

Some neighborhoods, including Midland Beach on Staten Island and Breezy Point on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens — which also had a swath of homes consumed by a massive fire — are likely irrevocably altered.

Flanked by Mayor Bloomberg, Cuomo and both New York senators, Obama walked through a temporary city of white tents that is being used to house those displaced by Sandy, and spoke to every person there who is seeking help from the government.

"He told us to stick with it, that he's going to see it through," said Jackie Srebrenick, whose home was flooded. "It means a lot to the people that we have a leader who cares."

MARK BONIFACIO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

President Obama surveys the damage on Cedar Grove Ave. with Rep. Michael Grimm and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. He had initially intended to visit New York sooner to see damage from Superstorm Sandy, but postponed the trip so that resources wouldn't be diverted from the recovery effort.

Obama pledged that Washington would stand by the city in its "hour of need" and announced he has enlisted a New Yorker to spearhead that cause.
He named former city Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Shaun Donovan as the federal government's point person for the rebuilding process.

Donovan, who is now head of the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, will be charged with coordinating relief efforts with the state and local governments.

The appointment of a former Bloomberg commissioner is a boon to the mayor as he makes his own list of storm recovery projects he wants funded by the federal government.

CAROLYN KASTER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Obama visits workers at the FEMA recovery center on the grounds of New Dorp High School on Staten Island. Gov. Cuomo has announced he will seek $30 billion in federal recovery funds, but his failure to consult New York's congressional delegation first has drawn criticism.

The President walked along Cedar Grove Ave. in New Dorp, pausing solemnly in front of collapsed buildings and yards strewn with debris.

Many Staten Islanders, who felt they were overlooked in the immediate aftermath of the storm, were grateful for the President's response.

"He apologized to everyone for not coming soon enough," said Anthony DiMeglio, a chef whose home was rendered uninhabitable. "Staten Island is always quiet, no one thinks about it — this shows that Staten Island is going to rise above this."

More than 18,000 people in the city are still without electricity, and thousands more lost their homes. 

"We're going to rebuild this in a better way," Bloomberg promised.

Obama originally hoped to tour the city in the days after the storm's Oct. 29 landfall, but after consulting with the mayor, decided to postpone his visit because the extensive police protection and other resources needed for a presidential visit would have diverted equipment and personnel from the immediate recovery.

Instead, Obama toured the devastated New Jersey Shore with Christie, and their bipartisan showing may have helped the President's reelection bid in the campaign's final days.

The White House also announced that Vice President Biden will visit New Jersey on Sunday, and local officials thanked the administration for its quick response to the region.

"We are New Yorkers, Mr. President," Cuomo said. "We will overcome, and we will be the better for it. We take comfort for knowing we are not alone."

jlemire@nydailynews.com

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