The U.S.S. New York reached New York City Monday morning, sweeping under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, pausing at the World Trade Center site and traveling along the Upper West Side before circling around, like a candidate in a beauty pageant, to dock in Midtown Manhattan.
The ship, an amphibious assault dock, has 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center in its bow. It left Norfolk, Va., on Thursday, and it will spend the week here before being officially commissioned on Saturday. The sailors that lined the rails arrived early, well before 7 a.m., despite the brisk wind and occasional drizzle that left many hopping from foot to foot in their dress uniforms.
“They wanted to stake out a good spot,” said Cmdr. Erich Schmidt, the executive officer. As the ship rounded Battery Park, Commander Schmidt offered a few words of encouragement to the crew over the loudspeaker. “You’ve done a great job getting us here. Enjoy it. That’s all.”
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