Bernie in Brooklyn: 13 Rallygoers Who Are Voting Sanders (and 4 Who Aren't)

Pictured: Two Bernie Sanders supporters in Greenpoint; photo by John V. Santore

GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN — This week, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, underdog candidate for the Democratic presidential primary, held two rallies in Brooklyn on a frigid Friday afternoon.

At the first, Sanders delivered a short, impassioned speech from a stage squeezed onto his childhood street in Midwood, as Orthodox Jewish neighbors peered down curiously from their balconies. And at the second, he addressed a young crowd at Greenpoint's WNYC Transmitter Park, the Manhattan skyline rising behind him from across the East River.

We spoke to some of the hundreds of New Yorkers who followed Sanders around Brooklyn in the cold. Here are 17 of them. Thirteen were Team Sanders; four of them were not.

Here's what they had to say.

FLATBUSH

New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (pictured above), who represents the heavily Jewish neighborhoods of Borough Park and Midwood in Brooklyn, decried Sanders' comments to the New York Daily News about civilian deaths in Gaza at the hands of Israel. “This is one of the worst blood-libels I've ever seen," Hikind said. "He's got to apologize to the people of Israel. He's the hero of terrorists today. He's dangerous.”

Ahmad Isfar and Fardin Zaman (pictured above), both 18-year-old immigrants from Bangladesh and both students at James Madison High School, which Sanders attended, said they appreciated that Sanders — and Clinton, for that matter — was focusing on issues instead of personal attacks.

“He'll give free tuition for colleges,” Isfar said of Sanders, whom he supports for president. “His foreign policy is more fair.”

“He has an attractive personality,” Zaman said. “He's an honest man.”

Ronald Orilus (pictured above), a 43-year-old corrections officer in NYC, said he likes Sanders' focus on wealth inequality. There's nothing wrong with being successful, he said, but "if we don't have the opportunity, ain't no way we gonna make it." Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, will owe "favors" to her big political donors, Orilus said.

Morris Threewood and Jacob Rottenstein (pictured above), both 19-year-old Donald Trump supporters, took a selfie outside Sanders' Flatbush rally with a "Bernie For President" sign to amuse their friends. They said they weren't voting for Sanders because he isn't supportive enough of Israel, among other reasons.

"Socialism is a joke," Rottenstein said. "We built this place up on capitalism."

Ariel Lasry (pictured above), 19, wore a leather jacket with a Bernie bumper sticker on the back.

"The most important thing to me is campaign finance reform," he said. And Sanders, he said, "is demonstrating that he is going to do something about it" by not taking Super-PAC money. Sanders has also been out in front of major social-justice fights, Lasry said, while Clinton has been a "follower." Plus, he said, "she's one of the most two-faced politicians out there."

Yehoshua Danese, 55, dressed in a traditional Orthodox Jewish suit, said he attended the Sanders rally because he "truly despise[s] Hillary Clinton." He said he has seen a list of 90 former Clinton associates who have mysteriously died. "She's a murderer," he said.

Faisal Yayah, 29, who plans on attending med school in the near future, said he supports single-payer healthcare even though it will likely mean lower salaries for doctors. As a physician, "you want the common good," he said.

Joseph Spiegel, 53, from Windsor Terrace, said he shook Sanders' hand after the Flatbush rally — and in that moment, he said, the idea of a future President Sanders became real for him. "He is real," Spiegel said. "He tells the truth."

GREENPOINT

Alexandra, 70, said she supports Sanders because "he's talking about inequality" and a "fairer distribution of wealth." That's "important for young people," she said, motioning to her daughter, who was also at the rally.

Thomas Smith, 26, from the Bronx, said Sanders is "an honest politician who seems like he's not in this for himself." In addition, he said, Sanders has better relations with members of Congress — making his agenda more likely to become a reality.

Anup Desai, 31, a theology professor from Carroll Gardens, said he's a fan of Sanders' stance on universal health care and free college tuition. In the U.S., he said, change is "a slow and steady process," and he believes Sanders has what it takes to build upon President Obama's accomplishments.

Plus, because of his consistent record, "we can hold him to a higher standard," he said.

Evan, 36, a local journalism teacher, said he believes Sanders' "message has been consistent," while Clinton has been engaging in "sneaky tricks" on the campaign trail. "She's incredible corporate, and that's not OK anymore," he said.

New York City Councilman Rafael Espinal, who represents parts of Bushwick, Cypress Hills, Bushwick, Brownsville, East New York and City Line in Brooklyn, applauded Sanders' support of affordable healthcare and income equality. He said high rents in Brooklyn are pushing longtime residents out of the borough and "homogenizing our neighborhoods."

Dennis Hargett (pictured above), a 57-year-old retired firefighter from Canarsie, said one of his daughters took on debt to graduate from Fordham University.

"People who go to college shouldn't be saddled like that," he said.

Another daughter, Hargett said, lives in a Republican-controlled state whose governor is trying to undermine the Affordable Care Act. That threat, he said, has shown him the importance of universal healthcare.

Hargett said he would vote for Republican John Kasich before he'd vote for Hillary Clinton. "I used to like Hillary," he said, but now, "I just don't trust her."

Vinu Potti, 35, analyzes emerging markets for a living. He said he'll be voting for Clinton in the New York State primaries on April 19.

Sanders' call for free tuition at public colleges, he argued, would shift an unbearable burden onto state governments. Potti said the proposal shows the senator has a weak grasp of policy.

And of the sea of Berners surrounding him Friday, Potti said: "They just don't care. They love the guy. It's about the personality."