New Yorkers yesterday flocked to Washington to celebrate the second swearing in of President Obama, refusing to let distance, cost or even car trouble keep them away.
“It’s been a chaotic trip, but it’s worth it,” said Alex Luque, 15, of Wantagh, LI, whose grandparents first got lost in Delaware, then had to rent another vehicle after their car broke down.
“We could have turned back,” said Luque, as he stood on the Mall. “We thought about it, but we know this was going to be a historic moment.”
History — and the future — were on the minds of others from the area as they watched Obama take the oath of office for the second time.
“I was here four years ago,” said Michelle Burgess, 59, a retired teacher from Westbury, LI. “I wanted to be here again for this historic occasion.”
Burgess said Obama’s re-election means “he has time now to make some changes” that will make the country a better place.
Vanessa Grant of The Bronx said Obama’s speech “was inspirational” to her.
“It was hope, togetherness . . . He laid it all out,” said Grant, who was with her husband and his aunt, Willen McRay.
McRay, 75, had been on the Mall in 1963 for Martin Luther King Jr.’s legendary “I Have a Dream” speech.
“We’ve come a long way from King’s March on Washington to President Obama,” McRay said. “Martin must be smiling down on us.”
Yonkers resident Randy Byrd, 44, also traveled to DC yesterday, but to trade off Obama’s glow, not bask in it.
“I’m out here to make a hot buck,” said Byrd as he set up a table to sell Obama postcards, Obama calendars and small rubber busts of Obama.