New York, Nu York: Politics Comes to Brooklyn

By ELLEN LEVITT
I have avoided writing about and wrestling with contemporary politics in my "New York, Nu York" essays, choosing instead to focus on historical commentary, thoughts on a variety of current events and commemorations, and Jewish themes and how they manifest themselves in New York City and especially in Brooklyn, my lifelong hometown. But I will finally dip my toes into the tsunami of the American presidential campaign, because it has come so close to my home.
April 19th will be the New York State primary, and in many election years, the primary in New York has not been crucial to the delegate counts of either the Democrats or Republicans. Earlier states and different candidates have been more instrumental in the winnowing down of the candidate market. However, 2016 is a different scene, with a different cast of characters. The three Republican candidates and the two Democratic candidates for Presidential nominees have all made appearances in New York City and some of these events were very close to my own home.
But let me make something pretty clear, dear reader: I am not happy with any of these people. In fact I am dissatisfied with them all. Honestly, I wish we voters had a totally different slate of nominees with which to contend. I cannot stand any of the Republicans, and while I had been interested in Bernie Sanders as opposed to Hillary Clinton, I am now greatly disappointed with his comments about Israel, annoyed at his avoiding the AIPAC conference, and a few other issues. Not that I am eagerly jumping on the Clinton bandwagon either, and I even have a younger cousin who is working on her campaign.
Disgruntled voter as I am, I did want to discuss my observations on some recent campaign appearances of Senator Sanders, the first Jew in United States history who apparently has a reasonable shot at becoming elected president. Last Friday, April 8, Sanders spoke at a rally held in his honor, just a few minutes walk from my house. Now, this is something that does not happen every day. Sanders attended PS 197, an elementary school a few blocks walk from my house (and my younger daughter's school for two years). In addition, he is now the most notable graduate of James Madison High School, several blocks from my home and the zoned school for my children. (However, they chose not to attend Madison; my older girl is currently enrolled at nearby Edward R Murrow High School, my alma mater, and my younger daughter was accepted to Murrow for September.)
It is undoubtedly exciting to know that a notable political event is being staged just minutes from where I live, for our neighborhood is a rather prosaic place, ordinarily. Largely residential, our neighborhood of Midwood-Marine Park is typically quiet. But Sanders grew up here, and he chose to stump here for votes.
And on Sunday, two days later, Sanders spoke at the legendary Coney Island boardwalk, the ultra- famous beach spot. I had not planned to attend that rally, but I had gotten my bicycle repaired at a shop that was a ten minute bike ride from the beach rally, so I decided to ride over and check it out.
I was not impressed, to be candid. The event was called for 11AM and at noon, hardly any people had been security screened or ushered into a standing area for the speeches and cheering. And not only that, but I was able to walk onto the boardwalk a block east of the security line, and stand right near where Sanders was slated to speak. So much for organization. I decided not to stick around because we were supposed to get together for lunch with my cousins, in a Brooklyn neighborhood well north of the beach area, so I biked away.
You may be wondering who will receive my coveted vote in the prez primary. At this point none of the people who are so prominently in the news. Yet I don't want to stay home. At this point I am thinking of doing a write-in vote for someone else, as a protest vote. I will let you know, okay?