Mayoral hopeful and former City Comptroller Scott Stringer cast his ballot in Tribeca on Sunday, bashing fellow candidates along the way for what he described as childish antics during the Democratic primary campaign.
Stringer arrived at Fiterman Hall, located at 245 Greenwich St., just after noon on Father’s Day with his wife and two kids. He greeted poll workers with a smile before disappearing behind a booth to fill out a ballot.
“It’s Father’s Day, so I woke up very happy. I’m with the family. I got the two boys who have been campaigning with me since earlier this morning. We just came back from Riverdale. We’ve been getting a great reaction, and then we get to vote together,” Stringer said.
After casting his ballot, he joked that he is now in the lead in a race filled with strong and rather contrasting contenders. While the majority of the focus of the democratic primary has had a sharp focus on moderate former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and socialist Queens Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, with a lot of political mudslinging between the pair during the last debate, Stringer told amNewYork that he is looking carve out a victory by rising above the personal attacks and being the “adult.”
“People are looking for the adult in the room, it is grown-up time,” Stringer said. “You know, you can get into a school yard scrap, but that doesn’t actually get anything done. So, I decided in the time that I had during the debate to make my case, and if the kids want to play in the playground, in the sandbox, they can do that. I have a different idea of what a mayor should be and the kind of way we conduct ourselves.”
Although polling over the last several months has seen Cuomo holding a commanding lead, Stringer says he is relying on his experience as a comptroller and, previously, Manhattan borough president to sway voters in his favor. He also believes his platform of striving for a cheaper New York will also bring voters to his side.
“The affordability crisis is real. We see people who are struggling to pay rent they can’t afford, and the people who made the neighborhoods what they are today, the people in this community who literally built Lower Manhattan after 9/11 they’re having trouble staying here and living here without affordable housing,” Stringer added. “They’re having their kids have trouble staying here, and we need a mayor who has a real housing plan.”
Stringer also criticized Trump and his immigration enforcement, including the startling images of ICE whisking away immigrants.
“We have to recognize that the city has real challenges coming out of Washington. ICE agents roam the streets like they own the place. This is not something that New Yorkers are used to. We’re a democracy. We don’t pick people up off the streets, I’m going to do everything I can to protect people,” he said.
