Gov. Kathy Hochul Campaigns On The UES On Election Day

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Gov. Kathy Hochul's first stop on her last day of campaigning was a busy intersection on the Upper East Side.

The New York governor — facing an increasingly close gubernatorial race against Republican Lee Zeldin — stopped to shake hands and take photos on the corner of East 86th Street and Second Avenue.

Hochul's appearance outside the Second Avenue subway tracks with a campaign that put the focus on infrastructure and post-pandemic recovery.

"Riders are continuing to come back to the subway," Hochul said in a press release on increased subway ridership. "We're investing in cops, cameras and care to ensure our riders get the best possible experience throughout the system."

Hochul made her last rounds as more than 60,000 Manhattan voters checked into local poll sites between 9 a.m. and noon, bringing the total to 245,312, according to city Board of Election data. About 133,000 Manhattanites voted early, the BOE said.

Hochul's Upper East Side visit also included a stop at The Mansion, a diner on East 86th and York, where she quoted Taylor Swift to tourists, according to journalist Ross Barkan.

Then Hochul was off to Queens for a photo-op with U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, where they were met by a hoard of supporters and heckler in a Make American Great Again hat, video posted to Twitter shows.

"She is bad for the state," the man reportedly said.

Hochul's competitor Zeldin has garnered increasing support with an anti-crime message that earned him an unequivocal endorsement from the New York Post, and some on-the-ground support from Upper East Side moms.

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Hochul, on a visit Monday to the Upper West Side, said Zeldin was just "hyperventilating."

"He has been...trying to scare people for months," Hochul said "New Yorkers are on to it."

Should Hochul win the election — her 14th — she will become New York's first elected woman governor.

Should Zeldin win, he'll become the state's first Republican governor to be elected since Gov. George Pataki, who served from 1995 to 2007.

Upper East Side voters who have yet to cast their ballots can find what they need to know here.

Patch will be following the returns Tuesday night and will provide live updates on results.