Bernie Sanders Visits Brownsville Housing Projects, Gets NYC City Council Endorsements
Two NYC City Councilmen have recently endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders in his run for the Democratic presidential nomination. First, Councilman Jumaane Williams endorsed him over the weekend. On Monday morning, Ritchie Torres of the Bronx gave Sanders his endorsement. They join Rafael Espinal of Brooklyn as the only three City Councilpersons supporting the Senator.
According to Politico New York, Torres sent out a letter to all of the presidential candidates, inviting them to tour New York City’s public housing authority buildings so they could see for themselves what years of neglect have done to them. Torres himself grew up in public housing and understands the situation well.
Hillary Clinton ended up visiting the Corsi Houses in East Harlem with another member of City Council, while Sanders visited the Howard Houses in Brownsville with Williams and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
. @BernieSanders tours @NYCHA w @RitchieTorres @BPEricAdams @JumaaneWilliams. Torres: Bernie 1st candidate 2 visit pic.twitter.com/nLTv4L0pvg
— Lauren Blanchard News (@LaurenBlanch12) April 17, 2016
During Sanders’ tour of the public housing, he learned of the deplorable conditions facing the residents. The Washington Post reports he viewed broken down elevators that forced elderly residents to walk up several flights of stairs when coming or going. He learned that many of the buildings suffer from toxic mold, poor plumbing, and general disrepair. Sanders learned that, while crime in New York City has fallen, it remains dangerously high in Brownsville.
Brownsville, a neighborhood in east Brooklyn, is essentially one square mile comprised of public housing. According to Time, one hundred buildings with 873 stories are crammed into the small area, where gang violence is rampant and poverty is high. When Bernie Sanders visited the Howard Houses over the weekend, he was surrounded by Secret Service officers escorting him through the neighborhood.
I asked presidential candidates to come to #Brownsville and see forgotten parts of #Brooklyn. Here's @BernieSanders. pic.twitter.com/iInuShngHa
— Eric Adams (@BKBoroHall) April 17, 2016
During the tour, Torres told Sanders that no other presidential candidate had ever gone to Brownsville to tour the housing projects. This was in response to a local resident who had expressed skepticism that Sanders was only in the area as a publicity stunt.
“No matter what you do — if I wasn’t here, people would say, ‘Why didn’t you show up?’ Believe me, I can understand the cynicism. But my understanding is not too many presidential candidates have come to Brownsville to visit housing projects.”
Torres replied that none had ever come. The young councilman was previously torn between endorsing Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but the Vermont senator changed his mind with his willingness to tour Brownsville and listen to residents.
“I was just moved — it meant the world to the residents there to have a presidential candidate tour their homes, to have a presidential candidate come to Brownsville and say, ‘I see you and I hear you but above all else I’m willing to invest in you and your home.’ “
.@BernieSanders tours public housing in Brownsville, Bklyn. Councilman Ritchie Torres says his visit is "historic." pic.twitter.com/sGxr6fcIjS
— Danny Freeman (@DannyEFreeman) April 17, 2016
In a previous interview, Torres had said that his “heart was with Bernie,” but his head was telling him to vote for Hillary. In the end, his heart won out. One of the reasons why was how Sanders added the New York City Housing Authority’s need for a $17 billion investment to his rally speech afterwards.
“I spoke about the NYCHA’s $17 billion capital need and he incorporated it into his speech.”
Later, the Sanders campaign released a national affordable housing plan that includes addressing the need to fund much-needed repairs to existing public housing.
“I thought to myself, ‘you’re godd*** right.’ Because too many people’s reality in this borough, and in this city and in this nation needs to be at war with. Too many people’s reality is struggle. And maybe if you’re not at war with reality, you’re not focused enough.”
Williams called Sanders’ campaign a “political revolutionary moonshot.” In recent weeks, Sanders has cut into Hillary Clinton’s lead, and with just one day left before the primary, the polling points look similar to what they were just before the Michigan primary. Sanders ultimately surpassed expectations in that state and beat Clinton.
[Photo by Mary Altaffer/AP]
