Hillary's mega rally in the Bronx [View all]

[Ichingcarpenter]

Setting the stage for her rally in Co-Op City served as a strategic venue for the Clinton camp, given the 25,000 residents that live in the sprawling complex. Mrs. Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, had campaigned in Co-Op City in 1992 during his first run for the White House.

But since the campaign begun in New York, Mrs. Clinton has barely made any visits in the Bronx, unlike the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, where he presence is strongly felt. Mr. Sanders, who jumpstarted his campaign in the Bronx, made two official stops to the borough.

Mr. Sanders held his rally in St. Mary’s Park on March 31 with several thousand in attendance.Mrs. Clinton’s rally produced some 400 people, with some waiting in line for hours to get in.

Those who entered grumbled, with several older residents in walkers pleading for an available seat and offered none. Co-Op City is ranked the country’s largest naturally occurring retirement community (NORC), with a large chunk of its residents considered senior citizens.

“You gotta tell people who are standing on line, ‘there’s a chance you might not get in,’” said Claudia Sampson, a Co-Op City resident for 22 years who waited in line three hours to see Mrs. Clinton speak.

Sampson walked in to the center with her neighbor, Naomi Weston, who griped of waiting three hours in a long line that snaked along the mall on Dreiser Loop and out to Deb Place.

http://www.norwoodnews.org/id=20812&story=clinton-rallying-in-the-bronx-riles-up-the-base/