All 21 counties now eligible for individual and public assistance from FEMA Watch video
PATERSON — After touring flood-ravaged Wayne and Paterson, President Obama assured residents this afternoon they would not be alone in facing Hurricane Irene’s devastation.
'We are going to make sure we provide the resources needed,” said Obama, just after his motorcade passed thousands of residents lined along Main Street in Paterson.
Less than an hour later, Gov. Chris Christie announced that all 21 counties in New Jersey are now eligible for individual and public assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The president’s trip to New Jersey, which is his sixth since becoming president, began just after noon when he arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport in Air Force One. He spent about three hours in the state.
Obama greeted Gov. Christie, who arrived earlier on a state police helicopter, with two claps on the shoulder and gave quick hugs to Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez (both D-NJ).
Dressed casually in a checkered, buttoned-up shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, and khaki-style pants, Obama jogged over to a crowd of about 30 New Jersey residents who greeted the president, snapping photos and cheering.
Obama, joined by Christie, Lautenberg and Menendez, then boarded the Marine One helicopter to tour flood-affected areas. Earlier, Menendez said he planned to use his time with Obama to lobby for federal money to complete a study on mitigating flooding in the Passaic River Basin.
"I never lose an opportunity when I'm in the president's company .. . to say, ‘Hey, Mr. President, here's an example of why we need this help,’" he said.
After landing at Essex County Airport, the group drove to Fayette Avenue in Wayne, a residential area hit hard by the significant flooding from the Pompton River.
With piles of furniture and carpeting lining the street, residents described how high the water had come and how long they had been out of their homes.
Francisco Alarco of 175 Fayette said the water had gone over his front deck and into the house. After Obama posed for pictures and shook hands with his family, Alarco said he felt better.
"I am very happy," he said. "When I heard he was coming to Paterson, I was hoping he'd come here, and it happened.''
The motorcade then traveled to Paterson, the state's third-largest city with a population of about 145,000. The city is surrounded on three sides by the Passaic River, which peaked on Wednesday and has forced nearly 4,000 people flee their homes. Paterson's economic situation is particularly dire during this recession: roughly a quarter live under the poverty level, and the unemployment rate — at 16.4 percent — is nearly double the state's rate of 9.7 percent.
The last time a U.S. president visited Paterson was 1976, when Gerald Ford came to commemorate the Passaic River's Great Falls as a national historic landmark. Now, more than three decades later, Obama witnessed the destructive power of the same river.
The president praised the work of FEMA, the Red Cross, and state responders and officials.
“We know it could have been worse, but we should not underestimate the heartache,” said Obama, just after viewing the still-closed Main Street Bridge in Paterson.
"As President of the United States, I want to make it very clear that we are going to meet our federal obligations -- because we're one country, and when one part of the country gets affected, whether it's a tornado in Joplin, Missouri, or a hurricane that affects the Eastern Seaboard, then we come together as one country and we make sure that everybody gets the help that they need," the president added, speaking from the Temple Street Bridge.
The president wrapped up his New Jersey trip with a stop at a Lowe’s Store in Paterson, where he shook hands with volunteers providing supplies and food through a “Road to Recovery” center.
Imani Ross, 13, and Bria Johnson and Tyshira Evans, both 14, waited excitedly as Obama and other officials worked their way up the table line.
'It shows he really cares,' Johnson said.
Obama’s visit came days after top federal officials, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate, toured the state on Wednesday.
"This is as bad as I've seen, and I've been in eight states that have been impacted by Irene," Napolitano said while visiting Paterson.
Staff writers Chris Megerian, Eunice Lee, Amy Brittain and Steve Strunsky contributed to this report. This story also contains a pool report from Herb Jackson of The Record.
Related coverage:
• President Obama arrives in New Jersey, visits Wayne and Paterson flood zones