Campaign diary

Candidates have eyes on Marble Hill

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After a bruising, second straight loss to Rep. Charles Rangel in the Democratic primary earlier this summer, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat is shooting for a decisive win in his bid to keep his seat from challenger Robert Jackson, a former Manhattan councilman.

“I want to have a big victory,” the incumbent said on Sunday at Marble Hill. “I hope to win by over 60 percent of the vote and continue to serve this community.”

Mr. Espaillat and Mr. Jackson were among several politicians who trekked to the northernmost point of Manhattan for a street renaming ceremony on Sunday morning. During a day packed with campaign stops for both men, they each returned later in the day to get some face time with Marble Hill residents barbecuing, dancing and chatting on Marble Hill Day, an annual celebration at the neighborhood’s 11 NYCHA high-rises.

“I’m just trying to get them to remember that Sept. 9th is an election again,” Mr. Espaillat said. “Many people, since they voted in June, might not be aware there’s an election going on again.”

The senator was a familiar face to many of the residents he encountered while circling a path ringed by the high-rises, with some of them calling out to Mr. Espaillat and giving him handshakes and hugs. When a group playing dominoes asked him to join, the senator said he would come back later and play.

While he did not live up to the promise, he nevertheless seemed to leave a positive impression on the players.

“I go for him all the way,” said Crispin Lebron, Jr., a retiree who declined to state his age. “I’ve seen him in the neighborhood more than once. That’s more than I can say for anybody else.”

After Mr. Espaillat, 59, won the Marble Hill part of the 13th congressional district over Mr. Rangel in June, the neighborhood is the senator’s to lose in the upcoming senate primary. Still, Mr. Jackson, 63, is making a full-court press to win votes there, with visits to Roosevelt “Rosey” Spivey’s storied Marble Hill barbershop and the nearby Promenade high-rise scheduled for later this week.

Adriano Espaillat, Robert Jackson, Charles Rangel, campaign diary, Shant Shahrigian
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