Staten Island prepares to welcome President Biden: Police, Sanitation, Parks at the ready

STATETEN ISLAND Even though there were a lot of geese at New Dorp’s Miller Field at midday today, reporters, police, and the US president will be swarming there tonight.

Tonight, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) will meet President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York for a Friendsgiving dinner with service men and their families in Fort Wadsworth. Hours before their visit to their landing spot, however, all was silent.

Scenes from November 25, 2024, at Miller’s Field. (Jillian Delaney/Staten Island Advance)Jillian Delaney/Staten Island Advance

As per their schedule, the Bidens will arrive at Miller Field by 5:30 p.m.

According to an Advance/SILive.com writer, Miller’s Field was almost empty on Sunday and Monday, despite preparations along Capodanno Boulevard, where signs were affixed to utility poles warning locals that parking was prohibited in numerous spots.

Signage in the vicinity of Miller Field on November 25, 2024, prior to the Staten Island visit of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. (Jillian Delaney/Staten Island Advance)Jillian Delaney/Staten Island Advance

Similar signs were up on poles throughout the field, but there was no police presence other than a single cruiser and four NYPD tow trucks.

The National Park Service states that the park is closed to the public from 3 to 8:30 p.m., yet at 12:15 p.m., a Parks official told the reporter to leave the area. The park was closed to the public on Monday, according to the official.

On November 25, 2024, NYPD tow trucks are spotted close to Miller Field. (Jillian Delaney/Staten Island Advance)Jillian Delaney/Staten Island Advance

The official was seen by the reporter approaching other cars in the park and requesting that they also leave.

Conversely, Midland Beach and Capodanno Boulevard were bustling with activity. A number of NYPD personnel gathered at the turtle fountain in Midland Beach, as dozens of DSNY garbage trucks flanked the president’s expected route.

Presidential Itinerary

Before Biden’s November 25, 2024, visit to Staten Island, the NYPD convened in field eight at the turtle fountain parking lot in Midland Beach. (Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance)Somma-Hammel, Jan

President Biden is scheduled to visit Staten Island for the first time, and his itinerary is as follows:


  • The president is expected to depart Washington D.C. at 3:40 p.m. this afternoon.

  • At 4:10 p.m. the Bidens are expected to fly into John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, with an expected arrival of 5:05 p.m.

  • Next, the president and first lady plan to land in Miller Field, New Dorp by 5:30 p.m.

  • The Bidens will then proceed via motorcade to Fort Wadsworth to deliver remarks and serve food at a Friendsgiving event at U.S. Coast Guard Sector New York at the base.

  • By 7:50 p.m. the Bidens are expected to return to Miller Field to depart Staten Island and head back to Joint Base Andrews in Prince George s County, Md.

  • Arrival at the White House is estimated at 9:40 p.m.

Capodanno Blvd. in South Beach is lined with sanitation trucks before to the November 25, 2024, visit of President and Jill Biden. (Jan Somma-Hammel/Staten Island Advance)Somma-Hammel, Jan

Past Presidential Visits

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.

During their presidential campaigns, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both traveled to Staten Island on the same day in 2016. Trump’s speech at the Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Brunch at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield drew almost 1,000 attendees. Clinton hosted a voter mobilization rally at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Livingston, which drew over 500 attendees.

More on President Joe Biden’s Visit to Staten Island

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