Biden's NYC Arrival To Snarl Traffic As He Heads To Murdoch Mansion

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Get ready for traffic and squadrons of SUVs: President Joe Biden is coming to the Upper East Side Thursday evening.

Biden is attending a fundraiser at the home of James Murdoch — son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch — and his wife, Kathryn, who live in an East 69th Street townhouse, according to public records.

While Biden's public schedule says he will arrive around 8 p.m., a police officer told Patch that the president's motorcade could proceed up First Avenue as early as 6 p.m.

Surrounding blocks were already lined with barricades, patrolled by police and clogged with traffic by early afternoon Thursday.

Biden's visit will come hours after he announced he would pardon all Americans convicted of federal misdemeanor marijuana crimes — delivering on a campaign promise to reform drug policies he said disproportionately affect people of color.

The fundraiser will benefit the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to news reports. Earlier in the day, Biden toured an IBM facility in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and was scheduled to attend another fundraiser at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

In contrast to his famously conservative father, James Murdoch has been a major Biden donor, while his wife, Kathryn, is a vocal climate change activist.

Their East 69th Street home was purchased by Murdoch in 2011. Media outlets have referred to it as the "Muppet Mansion," since Jim Henson used it in the 1970s as a headquarters for his company, creating some of his best-known characters from behind its brick walls.

Peter Senzamici contributed reporting.