New York’s Staten Island. It was the first time a sitting president has visited Staten Island in twelve years when President Joe Biden paid a visit on Monday.
Around the time of the evening rush hour, detours and road closures were implemented throughout Staten Island in preparation, and commuters and drivers were the ones who suffered the most from the visit.
At approximately 4:45 p.m., DSNY trucks blocked cross streets on Father Capodanno Boulevard, and NYPD officers rerouted all vehicles and pedestrians to avoid the area.
Cars were being turned around at Quincy on Seaview Avenue in order to return to Hylan Boulevard.
A police blockade at Oceanside Avenue on Capodanno Boulevard, nearer Fort Wadsworth on Sand Lane, necessitated u-turns. Traffic backed up behind an S52 bus carrying passengers that was idling in the center of the road.
Following the closure of Father Capodanno Boulevard for Biden’s arrival, an S52 bus sits idle on Sand Lane. Traffic behind the bus starts to back up. (Mike Matteo/Staten Island Advance)Matteo, Mike
At the time of publication, police were preventing vehicles from turning onto Fingerboard Road from Hylan Boulevard, which led to the Staten Island Expressway. Drivers were being signaled to proceed approaching a dangerous chokepoint close to Olga Place along Hylan Boulevard.
As two buses blocked an on-ramp for the bridge, traffic on Narrows Road South between Hylan Boulevard and Fingerboard Road was jam-packed and at a complete standstill. Near the Hylan Dartmouth Apartments, a few cars were observed traveling along the one-way section of Hylan Boulevard.
Two busses obstruct an on-ramp for the Verrazzano Bridge on Narrows Road South, between Hylan Boulevard and Fingerboard Road, causing bumper-to-bumper traffic. (Mike Matteo/Staten Island Advance)Matteo, Mike
However, at the time of publication, much of Hylan Boulevard seemed to be running smoothly if cars avoided the most problematic areas.
Due to the visit, Capodanno Boulevard will be closed for approximately four hours.
During the evening rush hour, the MTA reported that the SIM5, SIM6, and SIM9 express buses that typically travel down Father Capodanno were rerouted down Hylan Boulevard between the Expressway and Lincoln Avenue due to the road closures.
The president’s visit has also resulted in a diversion of the S52 and S53 along Hylan Boulevard.
The S52 will not travel via Father Capodanno Boulevard, Seaview Avenue, McClean Avenue, and Fingerboard Road as it normally does. Additionally, the S53 will not stop at McClean Avenue.
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York at Fort Wadsworth hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for service members and their families on Monday, which was attended by the president and First Lady Jill Biden.
Capodanno Boulevard was lined with metal NYPD barricades days prior to the visit. Additionally, people were informed by signs affixed to utility poles that certain locations were off-limits to parking on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
When then-President Barack Obama traveled to New Dorpo to talk to locals and assess the damage following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, it was the last time a sitting president had visited Staten Island.
A year later, as part of the closing ceremonies for Habitat for Humanity’s 30th annual Carter Work Project, former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, paid a visit. They managed the efforts of hundreds of volunteers to restore and rebuild homes in Queens and elsewhere that were devastated by Hurricane Sandy.
Additionally, on the same day in 2016, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump traveled to Staten Island for different presidential campaign events.
Trump’s speech at the Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Brunch at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield drew almost 1,000 attendees. More than 500 people showed up for Clinton’s get-out-the-vote event at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Livingston.
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