Veronica Noel
Age 38
Resides Brooklyn
Occupation Bank operations
Now that she lives here, is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker? I take her as a humanitarian. It’s by the people, for the people. It doesn’t matter where she was born.
What does it take to be a real New Yorker? It takes one thing down here and another thing upstate. City New Yorkers are going to work, finding child care, running for the train. Upstate women can afford to stay home and take care of their children.
Are you a New Yorker? Yes, I’ve lived here all my life, though I spend the summers in North Carolina. I live in Bedford-Stuyvesant and my daughter gets up every day at 5 a.m. to go to school in Coney Island. She’s been doing that since she was a child. Now she’s the valedictorian of her class.
Chris Hatcher
Age 24
Resides Queens
Occupation Actor
Now that she lives here, is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker? I’m new to town and I don’t know what that means yet.
What does it take to be a real New Yorker? Again, I’m not sure. I’ve found that people here are nice, just as nice as they are in Austin, Texas, which is where I’m from.
Are you a New Yorker? It will take me a couple of years to consider myself one. The city’s culturally diverse, which I love. That’s very different from where I grew up.
Duane Bourne
Age 20
Resides Brooklyn
Occupation Student
Now that she lives here, is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker? No. You can’t be from Arkansas or Chicago and call yourself a New Yorker, in the same way that you can’t have lived in the White House and claim to know how the rest of the world lives. On the other hand, I wouldn’t vote for Giuliani just because he’s a New Yorker.
What does it take to be a real New Yorker? You have to have lived here a long time to consider yourself a New Yorker. You can’t just love the city.
Are you a New Yorker? Yes, I’ve lived here all my life and know the city inside and out.
Melissa Weiss
Age 24
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Photographer
Now that she lives here, is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker? You have to be for the people to be a legitimate candidate, and both Hillary and the mayor fail that test. Her not being a legitimate New Yorker because of residency is irrelevant.
What does it take to be a real New Yorker? An understanding and sympathy for a lot of different kinds of people. Racial profiling of minorities is anti-New York. To be accurate, it’s whites who should be profiled because they’re the minority.
Are you a New Yorker? Yes, I was born here.
Anthony Esenplare
Age 19
Resides Staten Island
Occupation Construction worker
Now that she lives here, is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker? She can claim to be one, but she’s not. This doesn’t mean she shouldn’t run for the Senate. The mayor’s been irrational about the police shootings.
What does it take to be a real New Yorker? Courage. You have to be tough.
Are you a New Yorker? I live in Staten Island, which is quiet, practically the country. I’d love to live in Manhattan.
Giovani Acosta
Age 26
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Retail sales
Now that she lives here, is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker? Why not? New Yorkers come from everywhere. The real issue is that she’s a woman. Deep down, people still think they’re not equal to men.
What does it take to be a real New Yorker? This isn’t a melting pot, it’s a salad bowl. To be a New Yorker, you just need to spend an hour in a bar or a deli.
Are you a New Yorker? Yes, 100 percent.
Teena Chin
Age 21
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Clerk at Ricky’s
Now that she lives here, is Hillary Clinton a New Yorker? Yes, the mayor’s just scared of competition. He’s intimidated by the fact that she’s a woman.
What does it take to be a real New Yorker? New Yorkers do what they want and say what they want without fear of criticism. You will never be “different” in New York, because there will always be someone like you.
Are you a New Yorker? Yes, I was raised here.