Obama to Tour Sandy-Ravaged Long Island, NYC

President Barack Obama meets with a local resident at the Brigantine Beach Community Center in Brigantine, NJ., Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012.  (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama’s tour of New York two weeks after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the area will include a helicopter tour over Long Island, Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office confirmed Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the senator’s office couldn’t say what parts of the Island Obama would see on the aerial tour due to security reasons.

As part of the president’s visit, he is expected to tour some of New York’s hardest hit areas, including Staten Island. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will join Obama on the tour.

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This will be the president’s second post-Sandy visit to the tri-state area. Two days after Sandy pummeled New Jersey, Obama joined New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, to view Sandy’s destruction.

Sandy barreled into Long Island on Oct. 29, bringing relentless winds that lasted for hours and spawned a dangerous storm surge that flooded many low-lying areas. It took several days for the flooding to recede and some homes are still without power because they have yet to be inspected following the storm.

Two days after Sandy, Obama met with American Red Cross volunteers at their headquarters in Washington D.C. and vowed that the federal government would “Do everything we can to get resources to you.”

“I want you to cut through red tape, I want you to cut through bureaucracy,” Obama said at the time. “There’s no excuse for inaction at this point. I want every agency to lean forward to make sure that we are getting the resources where they’re needed as quickly as possible.”

Seventeen days after Sandy struck, more than 2,000 Long Island Power Authority customers remain without power. An untold number of Long Islanders had their homes ripped apart by the storm and have been living with friends or staying in shelters.