Junior’s in Downtown Brooklyn was packed with New York City Democrats Monday morning for a fundraiser for presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
The energy was high after the presidential debate last week as New York politicos chowed down on french toast, sausages and eggs while giving smiles, hugs and handshakes to their fellow Dems.
“We came out of the Democratic National Convention very positive, and obviously after the debate, very positive that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are going to make it,” said Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn, chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, which hosted the fundraiser.
Bichotte-Hermelyn highlighted Brooklyn’s vital role in elections.
“Brooklyn is the spot to be because we are the cornerstone of New York state and if you want to get elected, you’ve got to stop by Brooklyn,” said the Assembly Member and Flatbush native.
Many politicians have passed through Brooklyn on the campaign trail, including Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, both making stops at Junior’s during their respective presidential campaigns.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Black or white, or if you’re from the north or south of Brooklyn, we’re all here– we even got people from Queens to show up,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, which drew laughs from the crowd.
“It’s harder when you have all this diversity– there’s different opinions, different walks of life. It’s harder when you are the one diverse party to get things right, but that’s what we do and that’s what Kamala is doing,” he added.
State Senator Jessica Ramos, who represents the neighborhoods of Elmhurst, Corona and Jackson Heights in Queens, said that she feels energized and is looking forward to having a female president.
“I believe a woman’s voice is really important in all of these conversations, especially for those of us who come from working class backgrounds like me out in Queens,” said Ramos, who officially started her campaign to become New York City Mayor last week.
Ramos mentioned the importance of local politics, despite what’s happening at the national level.
“The city often feels very divided and polarized over issues politically and that’s where I want to lend my voice,” said Ramos, noting that her mayoral campaign will be targeted towards “bread and butter” issues such as affordable housing and child care.
Bichotte-Hermelyn, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, took time to acknowledge the false claims made by former president Donald Trump about Haitian migrants consuming cats and dogs, and several other past falsehoods and disparaging claims.
“Having our country be called a sh**hole, we being the people who eat trees, and now we’re the people that eat pets– horrible,” said Bichotte-Hermelyn.
Bichotte-Hermelyn said she plans to make a trip to Springfield, Ohio to provide “comfort” to the people who have been the target of Trump’s claims made on the debate stage.
Some other notable names attending the breakfast were Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Public Advocate Juumane Williams, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and City Council Members Crystal Hudson and Farah Louis.
Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams were absent from the event, as well as Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority Leader from Brooklyn and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
