The Five Borough Ballot – Staten Island: Anybody But Bloomberg

In order to gain a microcosmic perspective on the actual opinions of New Yorkers about the upcoming election, City & State and City Limits, in partnership with MetroFocus, present a new series: “The Five Borough Ballot.”

It’s the calm before the storm at W’s, early evening on a Saturday night, the eve of St. Patrick’s Day. Across the city, droves of drunken co-eds and 20-somethings booze their way from one pub to the next, part of what is now ostensibly a two-day drinking holiday, with no semblance of Irish heritage being honored outside of green attire. But W’s keeps it old-school—corned beef and cabbage on the menu, taps of beer flowing, and scores of locals slowly migrating to the neighborhood haunt for conversation and “Irish” cheer.

In other words, it’s not a great night to talk politics in Tottenville.

When asked what his thoughts were on the mayoral election, a gentleman at the bar responds gruffly, that “he doesn’t pay much attention” to what’s going on in city politics. Sure, he doesn’t like Bloomberg, sure he votes, but ask him about any of the candidates and he shrugs his shoulders. “I’m just not really interested in it,” he says.

Situated in front of the tap, a man named Chuck sips on a finger of whisky with a friend from New Jersey. Wearing a 49ers hat and denim jacket with an earring in his left ear, Chuck is approachable and genial about the conversation topic, if not overly opinionated. He sticks to the creed of W’s patrons in his dislike for everything Bloomberg—despite voting for him—taking issue with his crusade against cigarettes and generally high taxes under his administration.

“I’m a smoker, so I don’t like the cigarette tax,” Chuck said. “I tend to go down that line: save our taxes.”

Read the full story here.