President Obama played the role of comforter-in-chief yesterday during his tour of New York City’s most storm-ravaged areas.
Air Force 1 touched down at JFK at around 11:35 a.m., and the president took a quick helicopter flight over devastated neighborhoods in the Rockaways before landing on Staten Island’s Miller Field.
In the hard-hit New Dorp section, the president was warmly greeted by local residents as he visited a Small Business Administration assistance tent and a supply tent distributing canned food, blankets, and gloves.
When he stepped outside, hundreds of people screamed for his attention.
He then saw NYPD Commisioner Ray Kelly, and told the top cop, “You’ve been busy.”
One fan had Obama’s image on a winter cap. Another screamed, “We love you!” — to which he responded, “God bless you.”
The president then spoke in front of several destroyed homes, promising, “We are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete.”
And he vowed to return to make sure everything possible has been done to help residents.
“We’ve got some work to do, and I want you to know I’m here to do it,” Obama said.
The president also brought White House ornaments to Joseph Ingenito’s family, whose plight was featured in the Post.
Ingenito’s 7-foot Christmas tree is all that’s left of a once-towering blue spruce that toppled in his yard.
Obama, who was accompanied by Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo and other politicians, announced that HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan — a native New Yorker — would direct the recovery effort.
He also met with the family of little Connor and Brandon Moore, who died when they were swept from their mother’s arms by Sandy’s surge.
“They lost two young sons during the course of this tragedy,” Obama said.
“And obviously, I expressed to them — as a father, as a parent — my heartbreak over what they went through. And they’re still obviously a little shell-shocked.”
Obama also saluted police Lt. Kevin Gallagher, who assisted parents Glenda and Damien Moore after the boys were lost.
“That’s not in the job description of Lieutenant Gallagher. He did that because that’s what so many of our first responders do,” the president said.
Obama spent 2 1/2 hours in the city, yet infuriated some who thought the visit was too brief and wondered why he merely flew over the Rockaways.
“How far is Staten Island from here? Twenty minutes?” said Frank Glasso, 65, a retired cop who lives in the Rockaways. “He should have stopped by to show his face and say, ‘Hey, I’m here for you.’ We’re eating sand out here.”
And Mary Bunyan, whose house on Beach 129th Street in Belle Harbor burned to rubble, thought Obama should have inspected her neighborhood.
“I think it’s a shame; he should be here,” she said. “This is where his supporters are, not Staten Island. We are literally left with nothing.”
Obama quickly jetted back to Washington for a White House screening of the new Steven Spielberg film, “Lincoln.” Guests included the cast and makers of the flick, including Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.