Sept. 19, 1963 - President Kennedy arrived in New York City tonight to deliver a major address to the U.N. General Assembly at 11:30 tomorrow morning. He was greeted by cheers and the noticable absence of Mayor Robert Wagner. When the President’s plane touched down at Idlewild Airport at 6:57 p.m., Mr. Kennedy strode down the ramp and shook hands with emissaries of City Hall, including Police Commissioner Michael J. Murphy — but no Mayor Wagner. Where was His Honor? You have a choice. Mrs. Jane Kalmus, who heads the Mayor’s radio and T.V. affairs, said he was in his Islip, L.I., summer home with his son, Robert, whom the Mayor plans to drive up to Harvard today. It seemed Wagner had to pick up “some things,” including a chair for the boy. On the other hand, Debs Myers, Wagner’s executive secretary, said Wagner “got jammed up on city business.” Myers could not say what business, only that it was “important.” The Mayor’s schedule for today, as announced yesterday by City Hall, consisted of only one item: “7:15 p.m. — meets President Kennedy at Idlewild Airport.” In any event, after greeting those present at Idlewild, President Kennedy stepped into his bubble-top limousine for the 16-car motorcade into Manhattan. Escorted by 35 motorcycle cops, the motorcade moved up Third Ave. to the Carlyle Hotel, where Mr. Kennedy will spend the night. A police contingent of 50 men was strung out around the Carlyle, 76th St. and Madison Ave. Mr. Kennedy waved and smiled to a score of hotel guests in the lobby, then took an elevator to his suite. After his appearance at the U.N. tomorrow, President Kennedy is expected to return to the Carlyle about 2:45 p.m., and leave Idlewild between 4 and 5 p.m.
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