Mayor Bill de Blasio was back in Chelsea today, meeting with neighborhood residents on 23rd street where a bomb exploded Saturday night. And as political Reporter Zack Fink notes, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson also passed through for a quick tour.
Trying to reassure residents in a jittery Chelsea, Mayor de Blasio visited a diner on West 23rd street around lunchtime. After chatting briefly with customers, he sat down with one couple for roughly 15 minutes to discuss schools and Pre-Kindergarten, among other topics. He was joined by his Commissioner for the Office of Emergency Management.
"There is no city in this country that is more prepared to prevent or react to a terrorist attack," said OEM Commissioner Joe Esposito. "I think we showed that here on 23rd street. The quick response. The way this street is back to normal two days later is just unbelievable."
Before the diner stop, the Mayor was at Visions just down the street, an assisted living facility for the blind and visually impaired. Some there told us they were worried they would have to evacuate Saturday night.
"Evacuation is very hard," said resident Barbara Police. "Because people are in wheelchairs and everything, it's hard to get them up and down."
De Blasio was also joined by local elected officials.
"It was very, very scary for the folks here on Saturday night to witness a sizable explosion," said Chelsea City Councilman Corey Johnson. "They felt it and then they heard all of the sirens."
Mayor de Blasio's counterpart — and sometimes rival — Governor Cuomo was not in the neighborhood Tuesday. He did a morning TV interview on CNN where his brother is an anchor.
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez called on Cuomo to designate 23rd Street eligible for federal loans to help local businesses that were damaged. A spokesperson for the Governor says that process is already underway.
Federal Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson also made an unannounced visit to the neighborhood.
"This was terrific police and investigative work," Johnson said. "It's a testament to the level of sophistication that our law enforcement today brings to our investigations."
If there were any anecdotal indicators that things are returning to normal, when I was standing on 6th Avenue and 23rd Street a truck driver was screaming at a taxi driver for blocking his path, and a woman from the neighborhood turned to me and said, 'yup, things are back to normal.'