Regardless of preference, most Oakland Gardens residents and students in neighborhood schools seem to have foreseen the historic victory of Barack Obama this Tuesday.
“It’s not like I’m happy about it, but I’m not surprised. The way things were looking even a month before the election, I didn’t think McCain would be able to win,” said Joe Garcia, 27, a worker at a restaurant nearby.
“I think it really was Sarah Palin who lost this election for McCain,” he added.
Others were more enthusiastic but still, not surprised.
“I knew [Obama] would win, but I still wanted to watch it. When me and my mom saw that he won, we were screaming,” said Sharon Walton, 19, who described her experience of watching the election coverage on television.
Because her recent immigration from Barbados only allows her a permanent resident card for now, Walton could not vote this election, which saddened her.
“It would have been so nice if I voted, but since he won anyway, I’m still happy. Maybe next time,” she said, hopeful.
Also hoping to enroll in CUNY’s Queensborough Community College next semester, located right in the heart of Oakland Gardens, she said, “It would be great if now that Obama will be president, tuition went down – maybe it will.”
Most of the residents in the neighborhood made it clear where their sympathies lay. From bumper stickers on their cars to signs right on their front lawns, many people seem to have had strong opinions about this election.
More than Obama or McCain posters, Padavan posters were seen all over lawns and especially store windows.
However, with all of the strong opinions, it was rather quiet on election night. Nobody took to the streets and screamed for joy, and seeing from the lack of surprise people had with the results, maybe few of them even watched the election on TV.