Long Islanders eagerly awaited Barack Obama?s presidential inauguration Monday, as many expressed excitement, hope and support for Obama and his promises.

Residents from all over the Island say they hope Obama can immediately focus on the struggling economy, unemployment rate, war in Iraq and lack of guaranteed health insurance for all Americans. Matt Alberici, a UPS driver from Selden, says he hopes Obama can offer financial assistance to the middle class.

"I?m definitely a middle class guy, so I definitely need as much assistance as the government is willing to give," Alberici says.

Some Long Islanders, like 68-year-old Wilhelmina Thomas of Freeport, say they wish their older relatives could have witnessed the day America welcomes its first black president.

"I never thought I would see the day,? Thomas says. ?I wish my older people, my mother and father, were living to see this."

Long Islanders can watch history in the making on four giant screens at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington. There is also an evening black tie gala being held at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow to benefit the Barack Obama Elementary School in Hempstead.

Long Islanders flock to Washington, D.C.