Westchester County officials closed about a 2-mile-long stretch of Route 9, from Tarrytown to Irvington, ahead of the 81-year-old president’s appearance at the high-dollar fundraiser.
Other road closures were not announced because of security concerns.
Streets in Irvington were “full of new signage” Thursday, one X user reported, sharing images of barricades limiting roads to “local traffic” and “residents only.”
Government offices in Irvington, including the town court and library, closed at 1 p.m.
Five school districts in the area sent children home early in anticipation of the traffic congestion Biden’s visit would cause.
All after-school programs in the districts – Irvington, Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown and Hastings-on-Hudson – were canceled as well.
“Thanks to Joe Biden, Michael Douglas and Debra Winger for snarling traffic in the Rivertowns today,” one enraged New Yorker wrote on X. “Obviously, your celebrity fundraiser is more important than kids having a full day of school, or me getting milk on Main St.”
The president was in Syracuse prior to the fundraiser, touting $6 billion in subsidies given to semiconductor manufacturer Micron through the CHIPS Act.
After the event, he traveled aboard Air Force One to John F. Kennedy Airport, then helicoptered over to Westchester County Airport before his motorcade rolled during rush hour to Douglas’ and Zeta-Jones’ $4.5 million estate in Irvington.
The fundraiser was held in the backyard of A-listers’ riverfront home, where about 100 people sat under a tent to listen to Douglas and Biden speak, according to a pool report.
Douglas noted that his wife couldn’t attend the fundraiser because she was filming a new television series in Dublin, Ireland.
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“Number 46 must become number 47,” the “Wall Street” actor said, referring to Biden as an “extraordinary, seasoned veteran.”
Biden joked that he had something in common with the Academy-Award winning actor.
“We both married way above our stations,” he said.
Biden told the crowd that he hasn’t been watching former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan hush money trial because he’s been busy “campaigning,” before rattling off a joke that he’s frequently deployed at his 2024 opponents’ expense.
“Just the other day, a defeated looking guy came up to me and said ‘Mr. President, I’m being crushed by debt. I’m completely wiped out.’ I had to tell him ‘Donald, I’m sorry I can’t help you,’” Biden quipped.