NEW YORKERS SAY IT MATTERS WHO IS MAYOR

To hear the mayoral candidates tell it, New York City will experience a sea change if any one of them is elected. The message from each: It is not too late to turn the city around. New Yorkers, a sophisticated lot, have their doubts. Still, if you ask them whether any candidate will really make a difference in the way the subways and schools are run, or in how dirty the city is allowed to become, many say it most certainly does.

``Sure it will make a difference,'' says Rosalyn Settles, while taking a lunch hour stroll near City Hall. ``Not in everything, maybe, but certain things like education will get better. One person can't really run the whole city, but he can set the tone.''

``It mattters,'' agrees Timmy Enright, a Manhattan construction worker. ``This city has been booming since Koch got in there - he's good for construction.''

Heather Cabrera, a social worker in the Manhattan public schools, says the city has deteriorated under incumbent Mayor Edward Koch and that she will do almost anything to ``get him out.'' She favors candidate David Dinkins. ``He's calm, he's reflective, he's a unifier, and I think he cares about all the people...''

``I think it's going to take a long time for any candidate to make a real difference, and it will depend on who it is,'' says David Gladstone, a Brooklyn public school teacher who supports Mr. Dinkins.

Martin Halpern, a visitor to Manhattan, waves a hand toward several buildings surrounded by scaffolding. ``Just look around at all these buildings being redone - and look at the homeless over there.... I think if I were a voter in New York City today, I'd vote Republican for the first time...

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
QR Code to NEW YORKERS SAY IT MATTERS WHO IS MAYOR
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/1989/0911/a1new.html
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe