Bill Clinton Stumps for Hillary in Brooklyn Church

Bill Clinton addresses St. Gabriel's Church in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Photo by John V. Santore

PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS, BROOKLYN — The Clinton campaign sent its most famous surrogate to St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church here Monday, as Bill Clinton called for the creation of industrial jobs, supported police reform, and praised increases to the minimum wage.

Speaking to a predominantly Caribbean audience, the former president also talked up Hillary Clinton's focus on the island nations during her tenure as secretary of state, such as her support for grants to help six such countries develop renewable power production.

"We've got to all rise together," Clinton said time and again, to pews filled with supporters. And after touching on how America must combat terrorism by winning Muslim hearts and minds, he summed up his central argument for his wife: "There is no easy answer, but you need someone who knows what the contest is."

After the speech, a 24-year-old undecided Clinton Hill resident named Atkins said that while the speech offered a good "little fact-check," she wanted more legislative specifics relevant to young people.

Asked about Sen. Bernie Sanders, she said, "He's like Oprah — he's giving us everything."

She questioned whether his plans were achievable, and said she feared Sanders was making promises he couldn't keep.

Below, a few more voices from the crowd at St. Gabriel's.

Crown Heights resident Francis Sisnett, 55, a Hillary supporter, described the speech as "excellent," and said the former president had offered thoughts for a cross-section of society, rich and poor alike.

He said Sanders' ideas were "not too accurate. For example, the senator's calls for free public colleges would "send the country into bankruptcy."

St. Gabriel's Pastor Eddie Alleyne said Hillary is offering programs "which are realistic, which are not pie-in-the sky," adding that he also thought Sanders' proposals weren't achievable.

Bishop Sylvetta Hamilton-Gonzales, 68, a Jamaican immigrant and Princeton University graduate who has lived in the neighborhood for 42 years, said Hillary is prepared to be president "upon entry" into the White House.

Members of the congregation care about immigration issues, education funding, and are concerned about their inability to get small business loans from banks, she said, adding that Bill Clinton's decision to work out of Harlem after his presidency promoted economic development in New York.

Hamilton-Gonzales said young people aren't as familiar with what the Clintons have done, explaining their disproportionate support for Sanders, whom she praised. But "we have been the ones carrying along the struggles to this point," she said of older voters, adding that they've done so with Hillary's help.

Claude Stephens, 74, another Jamaican immigrant who has lived in the neighborhood since 1960, said people want a country where "everybody can get a good job, even if you have a [criminal]record."

"She knows our stuff," Stephens said of Hillary. And Bernie? "He talks nothing but trash."

"Hillary is my girl," said Pablo Martinez, 60, who has worked at St. Gabriel's as a groundskeeper for about 10 years. "She's down to earth. She seems to care about people."

Martinez said he lives in Crown Heights, where he pays $1,100 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.

New people keep moving into the area, he said, leading landlords to "jack up the rent on people."

"I think the wages should be fair enough for people to live here," he said, adding that community residents are being priced out of the area. "Where them people going to go? The further they go, the more expensive it gets."

New York City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, whose 35th district includes nearby Prospect Heights, said "this is the most exciting time ever to be a woman in the United States."

Clinton, she said, is "a candidate who doesn't just get it, but is it," meaning a mother and a grandmother, adding that her election would "inspire a whole generation of girls to know that leadership is your right."

She also praised Clinton's support of paid family sick leave and income equality for men and women.

And while she said she respects the Sanders campaign, she added that, "When you're really about this work, your presence would have been felt on a national stage prior to this campaign." Clinton, however, has "been out there on all these issues for a very long time."

The midday event was arranged by Rep. Yvette Clark, a Hillary Clinton backer representing Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, and a member of St. Gabriel's.

Clark said Clinton's state department supported Haiti after 2010's devastating earthquake. Hillary has backed heath care coverage expansions that benefit immigrant communities, Clark said, and is an advocate for new gun control laws, an issue the Congresswoman said matters in a district struggling with gun violence.

Part of the Congressional Black Caucus, Clark said she and her fellow members have "never been reached out to" by Sanders, adding that he's been uninterested in speaking with her when they've crossed paths on Capitol Hill.

"He definitely lacks collegiality, but he found it when he's looking for people to support him," she said. She described the Vermont lawmaker as a "Johnny-come-lately" to the issues she cares about. Clinton, on the other hand, "has been in the battle with us" for years, she said.

The Democratic Party's primary election in New York falls on April 19.