With only last-minute notice, Bush is coming to New York today, to visit a charter school in Harlem and then go on to an RNC fundraiser at the Park Avenue home of Stephen Schwartzman, Blackstone CEO.
Details below.
From the New York Daily News today:
> President Bush is heading uptown today to showcase a flourishing Harlem
> school, thrilling the school's students, but not its neighbors. . . . > The neighborhood is also preparing for Bush's visit, as garbage cans
> are
> removed and no-parking signs are posted on surrounding streets.
>
> Nellie Bailey, founder of the Harlem Tenants Council, felt it's
> galling for
> Bush to visit Harlem, because so many residents are opposed to the
> Iraq war
> and feel he's done very little for them. . . .
> Bush will also stop at a fund-raiser for the Republican National > Committee
> at the Park Ave. home of Steve Schwartzman, CEO of the Blackstone Group
> equity firm, GOP sources said.
>
This item also lead the morning tv news today - as a traffic alert report, advising of street closures and delays from uptown to midtown.
How much of NYC will be locked down today while the leader of the free world visits?
If anyone is curious to come up to Harlem on a beautiful spring day, here are the directions:
The school address is 242 W 144th St between 7th and 8th Aves.
The best way to get there is to take the #3 train to 149th, walk back four blocks to 144th and turn right. OR
Take the ABCD to 145th, walk down the hill to 8th Ave,
go right, then left.
144th at this point is only two blocks long and is a one way street. Snipers will be on top of surrounding buildings aimed at the classroom where Bush will be with students. No one yet knows how much of the area will be cordoned off. There are going to be tons of media in the school.
Bush