Gridlock alert issued for Obama’s visit

  

Update, 3:30 p.m.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A punctual President Barack Obama touched down 10 minutes early in Air Force One at Westchester County Airport Wednesday, en route to a VIP reception for the Democratic National Committee in Stamford.

Obama bounded down the stairs of the C-32 — the Air Force model of a Boeing 757 and compact version of the ubiquitous presidential livery — shortly after 3 p.m. 

The president was greeted by Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican who was handily defeated by Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo in the 2014 governor’s race.

“I said, ‘Over those trees is where Hillary lives. Do you want to say hi?’ ” Astorino said he quipped to Obama in a reference to Hillary Clinton’s adopted hometown of Chappaqua, N.Y. 

Clinton stands to be a potential beneficiary of the back-end of Obama’s latest visit to Connecticut, which began with his delivery of the commencement address at the Coast Guard Academy in New London. 

The cash raised at the DNC fundraiser is expected to give the party a lift heading into the pivotal 2016 election, which many Democrats believe is Clinton’s to lose. 

Obama was whisked away to North Stamford inside “The Beast,” the nickname for the presidential limousine. 

Update, 12:20 p.m.

Expect intermittent closures of the Merritt Parkway in Greenwich and Stamford this afternoon as police clear the way for the motorcade of President Barack Obama, law enforcement sources tell Hearst Connecticut Media.

The president is expected to arrive at Westchester County Airport aboard Air Force One — a more compact version of the ubiquitous plane — around 3 p.m. for a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in nearby Stamford.

Rolling roadblocks are anticipated at each intersection and driveway along the motorcade route, which local law enforcement officials are keeping close to the vest.

Motorists are being advised to avoid backcountry Greenwich and North Stamford until the president’s departure, which is scheduled for around 6 p.m.

“There’s going to be gridlock in North Stamford from the 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. time frame,” said Thomas Dec, a spokesman for Stamford Mayor David Martin.

Update, 10:30 a.m. 

President Barack Obama has landed in Connecticut and will make his way to New London to speak at the Coast Guard Academy’s graduation, slated to begin at 11 a.m.

Follow the president’s visit and Coast Guard Academy ceremony here:

Original post

It will be a day filled with “Pomp and Circumstance” for President Barack Obama in Connecticut.

The president will dovetail a visit to the Coast Guard Academy — where he is due to deliver the commencement address at 11 a.m. — with a fundraising foray into Stamford.

Some 30 VIPs are expected to get an audience with Obama during an afternoon fundraiser at the North Stamford home of businessman and philanthropist Michael Whittingham, according to a Democratic National Committee official.

Obama will command up to $33,400 per ticket to the event, which will help pad the DNC’s war chest going into the pivotal 2016 election.

The absentee list for the fundraiser is notable, however.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, for whom Obama campaigned in Bridgeport the Sunday before last November’s election, has a scheduling conflict. While he is slated to accompany Obama to the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Malloy will remain in the southeastern part of the state for the opening of a new outlet shopping center near Foxwoods casino.

U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Democrats, are both missing the fundraiser with Congress still in session. So is U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., who will also be in Washington.

Before Obama passes the hat for the DNC, the president will watch as this year’s crop of Coast Guard officers, known as Coasties, toss their cadet hats in the air.

Neil Vigdor