Live From Election Day: New Yorkers have their say on the city's next mayor
New York, New York - Polling stations opened at 6 AM EST in New York City on Tuesday, and early bird voters couldn't wait to catch the worm.
NYC's most important race – who will replace Bill de Blasio for the city's new mayor – was on everyone's minds this Election Day.
Voters also cast their picks for public advocate, comptroller, borough presidents, city council, district attorney, New York supreme court judges, and five new ballot proposals that included environmental rights, redistricting, and throwing out previous voting procedures.
TAG24 got in on the action at a polling station in New York's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, where mostly senior voters were buzzing about the city's future.
It was a much lower turnout compared to this time last year, when millions mobilized to kick former president Trump to the curb. An overwhelming amount of those were young voters, as just over half of all eligible under age 30 flocked to the polls in 2020.
Tuesday, however, saw even less voters than this June's primary election to select the two candidates who are now facing off for NYC mayor. Democrat Eric Adams is leading by a large margin in the overwhelmingly Democratic city and is expected to win over Republican Curtis Sliwa.
"This is the first line we've had all day," said a poll worker at Manhattan Plaza as a small group of voters gathered around 10 AM.
Yet, not everyone working in the polling station was on board with the spirit of democracy.
"The political system is rigged," the station's security guard whispered on the sly. He said he would not be casting his vote this year, and was skeptical of the process.
Oppositely, voters outside were fervent believers in the importance of using their voice.
"We always vote, for all the usual reasons," a husband and wife duo told TAG24. "It's our responsibility."
New Yorkers sound off on why they vote
"It's a privilege to vote, and an obligation," longtime New York voter Steven Stieger sounded off. "I grew up voting, and knowing that you had to vote."
He said Tuesday's vote on proposal 2, which would give New Yorkers a new constitutional right to clean air and a "healthful environment," is one that will hopefully make elected officials responsible for its execution.
"The government must put things in place to make that happen," he said. "Like electric cars and garbage removal."
Stieger added that while he thinks Republican candidate Sliwa has been "instrumental" in bringing the city's issues to light, he believes the Guardian Angels anti-crime group founder can better "affect change" and "be more effective on a grassroots level than he would be as an elected official."
The majority of voters seemed to agree, and are heavily leaning Democratic. A poll released last week showed Adams with nearly a 40-point lead over Sliwa.
Ben Harburg, a 35-year-old who voted on Manhattan's East side, said he filled in his voting sheet bubble for Adams.
"I hope Eric [Adams] will win," he confessed. "We'll see what happens."
The reason for his vote? Harburg said he just doesn't have faith that Sliwa can make good on his promises to combat homelessness in the city.
"This Adams, I think he's gonna win," agreed Billy Lake, a Union City, New Jersey resident who voted early last week in the state next door.
He is a Democrat who originally hails from a largely Republican area of Tennessee, where he said he had seen many voters turned away from the polls who were not registered on time.
For this reason, Lake was happy one of Tuesday's ballot measures might pave the way for same-day voter registration in New York's future. If the majority votes "Yes" on proposition 3, it could become only the 21st state in the country to do so.
He also said cleaner air was needed in New York, so the proposed environmental rights amendment was an important issue on the ballot.
"Adams should be able to clean up the city," he hoped.
Still, not everyone was on board with the 61-year-old Brooklyn Borough President.
A woman strolled by who was decorating her walker with fallen "I Voted" stickers collected from the sidewalk.
"I hope the right man wins," she yelled. "And I don't mean the liar who lives in New Jersey!" It seems that Sliwa – who lives in his compact NYC apartment with more than a dozen cats – will receive her vote.
Whoever New Yorkers are throwing their weight behind this Election Day, they sure have something to say about it.
The polls close in New York City at 9 PM EST.
Cover photo: Lena Grotticelli