[h=3]By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL And DANNY GOLD[/h]Staten Island, often called the forgotten borough, was briefly the center of the political world on Thursday, as President Barack Obama traveled along mud-lined streets and past homes that were ripped apart during Sandy, and exchanged hugs and handshakes with New Yorkers devastated by the storm's wrath.
Mr. Obama, speaking in front of one of the wrecked homes, said he was proud of New Yorkers' efforts to recover from the storm but he stressed how much work remains to be done.
"There's still a lot of cleanup to do. People still need emergency help. They still need heat. They still need power. They still need food. They still need shelter," he said. "So there's a lot of short-term immediate stuff that has to be dealt with, and we are going to make sure that we stay here as long as people need that immediate help."
The president, who visited New Jersey in the days immediately following the storm, said people need to put aside some of their "turf battles" and focus on getting the job done. He also appointed U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, a New Yorker, to serve as the federal government's point person on the rebuilding effort.
On Cedar Grove, the first residential street up from the beach, Mr. Obama met Sheila and Dominic Traina, who were standing in front of the house, now completely demolished, where they had lived for 42 years. They gave the president a letter from their granddaughters beseeching his help.
"He wrote back, 'Maggie and Kate, thanks for the letters, I'm going to help...Barack Obama," Ms. Traina, 64 years old, said. "So we have it in writing."
Mr. Traina, 66, said, "He also told us, 'You shouldn't have to worry.' And that's good, cause we been worrying."
After arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport and exchanging greetings with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mr. Obama began his visit with a helicopter tour of wreckage in Far Rockaway, the peninsula in Queens that suffered some of the most severe fallout from the storm.
From the air, the president could see the fire-ravaged neighborhood of Breezy Point, where more than 100 buildings were destroyed. Upon landing on Staten Island, he made his way to a disaster recovery center run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, one of six in the city. The president shook hands and hugged people gathered there to get supplies.
One girl whose family lost their home on the beach expressed frustration. "We need help," she said. "He should've been here a long time ago."
Volunteers working at the recovery tent told the president they had come from Texas, West Virginia and other states. "We got the whole country represented here," Mr. Obama said. "We're proud of you guys."
During his remarks, Mr. Obama said he met with Glenda and Damien Moore, whose sons, Connor, 4, and Brendan, 2, died after they were swept from their mother's arms by Sandy's rising floodwaters.
"I expressed to them, as a father, as a parent, my heartbreak over what they went through," Mr. Obama said. "They're still obviously a little shell-shocked. But they came here, in part, because they wanted to say thank you to all the people who had been supportive of them."
"All right," the president concluded. "I'm very proud of you, New York. You guys are tough. You bounce back, just as America always bounces back. The same is going to be true this time out."
—Jared A. Favole
contributed to this article.
Mr. Obama, speaking in front of one of the wrecked homes, said he was proud of New Yorkers' efforts to recover from the storm but he stressed how much work remains to be done.
"There's still a lot of cleanup to do. People still need emergency help. They still need heat. They still need power. They still need food. They still need shelter," he said. "So there's a lot of short-term immediate stuff that has to be dealt with, and we are going to make sure that we stay here as long as people need that immediate help."
The president, who visited New Jersey in the days immediately following the storm, said people need to put aside some of their "turf battles" and focus on getting the job done. He also appointed U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, a New Yorker, to serve as the federal government's point person on the rebuilding effort.
On Cedar Grove, the first residential street up from the beach, Mr. Obama met Sheila and Dominic Traina, who were standing in front of the house, now completely demolished, where they had lived for 42 years. They gave the president a letter from their granddaughters beseeching his help.
"He wrote back, 'Maggie and Kate, thanks for the letters, I'm going to help...Barack Obama," Ms. Traina, 64 years old, said. "So we have it in writing."
Mr. Traina, 66, said, "He also told us, 'You shouldn't have to worry.' And that's good, cause we been worrying."
After arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport and exchanging greetings with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mr. Obama began his visit with a helicopter tour of wreckage in Far Rockaway, the peninsula in Queens that suffered some of the most severe fallout from the storm.
From the air, the president could see the fire-ravaged neighborhood of Breezy Point, where more than 100 buildings were destroyed. Upon landing on Staten Island, he made his way to a disaster recovery center run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, one of six in the city. The president shook hands and hugged people gathered there to get supplies.
One girl whose family lost their home on the beach expressed frustration. "We need help," she said. "He should've been here a long time ago."
Volunteers working at the recovery tent told the president they had come from Texas, West Virginia and other states. "We got the whole country represented here," Mr. Obama said. "We're proud of you guys."
During his remarks, Mr. Obama said he met with Glenda and Damien Moore, whose sons, Connor, 4, and Brendan, 2, died after they were swept from their mother's arms by Sandy's rising floodwaters.
"I expressed to them, as a father, as a parent, my heartbreak over what they went through," Mr. Obama said. "They're still obviously a little shell-shocked. But they came here, in part, because they wanted to say thank you to all the people who had been supportive of them."
"All right," the president concluded. "I'm very proud of you, New York. You guys are tough. You bounce back, just as America always bounces back. The same is going to be true this time out."
—Jared A. Favole
contributed to this article.