Moving Vans for First Lady Land in Upstate New York

If her kitchen chairs have arrived, can Hillary Rodham Clinton be far behind?

Six weeks after she unofficially announced her candidacy for New York’s U.S. Senate seat, two moving vans loaded with rolled-up rugs, kitchen chairs, a mattress and assorted boxes arrived at the Clintons’ new $1.7-million Westchester County home on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.

Mrs. Clinton was expected at the house today to begin emptying the boxes and to spend her first night there, said Karen Finney, a member of her campaign staff.

The first lady hopes to move in by the end of next week, and President Clinton is planning to visit at the same time, Finney said.

Mrs. Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee for the Senate seat opened by Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s retirement, has said she plans to spend most of her time in New York state this year. New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani is expected to be her Republican opponent.

The Clintons plan to live in the white three-story frame house when the president leaves office in January 2001. They signed a deal to buy the house in September.

Two of Mrs. Clinton’s friends, including a decorator, were at the house Tuesday to supervise the unloading of the 26-foot trucks. Most of the items had been kept in storage in suburban Virginia, although some had been at the White House, Finney said.

The Clintons paid for the move, she added.

The Clintons have been waiting for the Secret Service to finish security work before moving in. Security precautions approved by local officials included an 8-foot-tall fence around the property and construction of a small gatehouse at the end of the driveway.

Neither was in place Tuesday. Instead of the guardhouse, a phone sat on a rock at the bottom of the driveway.