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President Obama and Justin Bieber Visits Create Perfect Storm for Traffic

By DNAinfo Staff on June 23, 2011 10:48am

By Kareem Johnson

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Visits by teen idol Justin Bieber and President Barack Obama will hit Manhattan with a one-two punch Thursday, transit experts warned. 

President Obama is expected to make several stops in Midtown this evening — including a trip to the Sheraton where he'll address a gay pride conference and a fundraising visit to the Broadway play "Sister Act." Justin Bieber heads to Macy's in Herald Square to promote his new fragrance.

"I can't recall another time when I thought the President's motorcade might be upstaged. But Bieber will be at Herald Square, the crossroads, literally, of NY, where east meets west and north crosses south," traffic gurur Sam "Gridlock Sam" Schwartz said in a statement.

The president is expected to arrive at JFK at 5 p.m. Thursday, and will take a helicopter to Wall street, weather permitting. If he takes the copter, the FDR Drive will be frozen from Lower Manhattan to 63rd Street from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. while the president heads uptown.

But if the thunderstorms expected later today get in the way, Obama's commute to Midtown could mean a massive shutdown between JFK and his destination.

He's also expected to attend a $35,800-per-plate fundraising dinner at Daniel Bouloud's restaurant, Daniel, at East 65th Street.

The NYPD said it does not have any street closures currently in place for Bieber's visit to Macy's, although they say they have an "adequate detail in place" to deal with fans.

It's likely Bieber and his crew have improved their crowd control tactics since the 2009 teen riot at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, where his appearance had to be canceled after the crowd got out of control.

Bieber's manager and a Def Jam exec were reportedly arrested after they refused to send out tweets to the fans alerting them that the appearance had been cancelled.

"If things get out of hand, as they did at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island in November 2009, we will have gridlock of presidential proportions,” Schwartz added.

Traffic isn't the only thing linking Bieber and Obama — the president touted his personal connection to the pop singer when he promised a daughter of a 9/11 victim that he would arrange a meeting between her and Bieber.