BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | Donald Trump is the president-elect, but Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen voters overwhelmingly chose the Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine ticket, according to unofficial election results.
For Assembly District 75 — which includes Murray Hill, Chelsea, Clinton, parts of Midtown and the Upper West Side — 45,871 votes were cast for Clinton compared to 5,764 for Trump, according to the city’s Board of Elections’ unofficial results on its website.
For Assembly District 67 — which includes Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen and parts of the Upper West Side — 50,915 votes went to Clinton while 6,188 votes were for Trump, according to the unofficial results.
Voters had the option to choose the Clinton/Kaine ticket under the Democratic, Working Families and Women’s Equality parties; and the Donald Trump/Mike Pence ticket under the Republican and Conservative parties. Chelsea Now added those columns together for each candidate for the above results.
Matt Graves, administrative associate in the candidates records unit, cautioned that these results are unofficial, and do not include absentee or affidavit ballots, he told Chelsea Now by phone Wednesday. The unofficial results are based on ballots that had been scanned at poll sites, he explained.
The ballots scanned at poll sites will be “recanvased,” i.e., confirmed, Graves said. Each affidavit ballot — when a person goes to the wrong poll site and swears to their address to cast their vote — has to be checked, and absentee ballots counted, he said. Final election results can take around 25 days, he said.
In 25 days, Trump will still be president-elect, but the mood on Election Day at polling sites in each neighborhood was one of selfies taken to commemorate voting, and people patiently waiting in line to cast their vote. Chelsea Now spent about five hours at two sites, and no voter said they chose Trump.
At PS111 (440 W. 53rd St., btw. Ninth & 10th Aves.) in Hell’s Kitchen, Taz Pereira, 33, and Eran Amir, 39, took a celebratory selfie together outside the polling station — it was the first time voting for both.
“We’ve gotten our citizenship recently,” Pereira explained. “It’s the first time voicing my opinion. One of the most important elections for a long time.”
Born in Brazil, Pereira moved to the United States when he was 12 and has lived in Hell’s Kitchen for two years. Originally from Israel, Amir won the green card lottery and became a citizen in 2015. Amir has lived in the neighborhood for eight years.
Pereira said, “I think Trump represents what’s most wrong with America. I do not understand how one could vote for him.”
Immigration was a key issue for both, and Amir said he chose Clinton because of her experience and qualifications.
Another first-time voter, Spencer Reeves, 21, said he voted for Clinton.
“I grew up around people who agree with Donald Trump’s ideals,” said Spencer, who is from Mississippi. “I would like a more progressive country.”
He added, “I think it was important to vote today because my generation will be majorly affected. The consensus is that we’re lazy and don’t care about our future. I wanted to be someone who goes against that.”
Registered Republican Love Malone, 39, told Chelsea Now, “I think [Trump] has good intentions. However, what the country needs now is someone experienced.”
Malone, who has lived in Hell’s Kitchen for 10 years, said the economy was an important issue for her.
Julie Morgenstern said that she found the voting process a moving, emotional experience.
“Everyone shows up,” said Morgenstern, who declined to give her age. “Here we are in Hell’s Kitchen, and you see the diversity of the neighborhood.”
Longtime Penn South residents, Vivien Traiman, 71, and Doris Shapiro, 87, said women’s reproductive rights and health were crucial issues for them.
When asked why she voted, Traiman exclaimed, “Are you kidding me?
For Shapiro, “It is about Trump and his approach, and, you know, how lowbrow it was. He was very vehement, and he was lying.”
Traiman and Shapiro voted at PS33 (281 Ninth Ave., btw. W. 26th & W. 27th Sts.). From mid-afternoon to past 5 p.m., the line curved around to W. 28th St.
Fellow Penn South resident Jane Hogg, 84, told Chelsea Now it was her birthday, and all she wanted for a present was for people to grab their friends and vote.
Hogg voted early at around 6:45 a.m., and her husband, Donald Hogg, 89, that Tuesday afternoon.
“This is the first time ever, by the way, they were out of stickers,” she noted, adding that she was Hillary all the way, but appreciated some of the issues Bernie Sanders brought to the fore, including making college more affordable.
College affordability was an issue voters repeatedly brought up to Chelsea Now. Hell’s Kitchen resident Stella Mallard, 57, said she had two grandchildren burdened by student loans. She said she didn’t think higher education should be free, but it should be reasonable.
Mallard also has deep roots in the civil rights movement, which her parents participated in.
“They fought so hard for this,” said Mallard, who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and moved to the city 30 years ago. “It is very important for me as an African American” to vote.
A Chelsea resident since 2010, Vanessa Pestritto, 31, said she liked exercising her right to vote, and she cared most about maintaining freedom, such as reproductive rights.
“Hillary Clinton’s taken a lot,” Pestritto said. “I don’t think it’s ever been this hard for someone to become president.”
For Joel Greene, 43, the rights of the LGBT community, people of color and women were important to him. He voted for Clinton, who he said was the most qualified candidate the country has seen in a long time — and that Trump scares the bejesus out of him.
He added, “It’s the fate of our country right now.”
