NORWICH – Hurricane Irene had an unfortunate effect on the grand opening of the “New York Remembers” exhibit which spans over 30 locations across New York State.

Due to the damaging winds and flooding caused by the hurricane which ravaged the east coast last week, the governor’s office announced that the exhibit will not have its official opening until Friday. The Norwich exhibit will be holding the ceremony at 3:30 p.m. on Friday at the Chenango County Council of the Arts located on West Main Street.

According to Kevin McCabe, regional representative for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state government was forced to shift focus from the opening of the exhibit to disaster relief across the state. The clean-up needed in the wake of the hurricane is on-going and the governor’s office is still focused on relief, said McCabe, but schedules have been shifted to allow for the openings to occur before the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

McCabe said the governor’s office will be sending commissioners to each of the sites. Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles Barbara Fiala will be in Norwich at the opening and will speak to the crowd about the importance of the exhibit. Local officials will also be contacted and will hopefully attend as well, said McCabe.