By Yepoka Yeebo
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Rep. Charles Rangel took his case straight to Morningside Heights on Tuesday morning, greeting straphangers at the 110th and Broadway subway station, the New York Times reported.
After decades of laid-back campaigning, the paper said the incumbent spent 90 minutes telling the residents of Morningside Heights and the Upper West Side "I need you this time."
The Times reported mixed reactions, with some residents greeting him warmly and taking pictures, and others averting their eyes and ducking into the 1 train station.
Ali Mirza, who told the Times he once worked for Rangel as a page in the United States Capitol, was especially blunt. "I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in you," he told Rangel.
After a pause, Mr. Rangel wished Mirza good luck.
"I can’t say the same for you," Mirza replied.
Rangel told the paper he understood the anger, but said it was not just about the charges leveled against him, pointing to anti-incumbent sentiment and the tough economic situation.
"It’s a rough time out there," he said according to the Times. "I’d be heckling, too."
Rangel is accused of evading taxes on a beachfront villa in the Dominican Republic, misusing rent-stabilized housing in Harlem, and using his political power to raise funds for a City College center to be named after him.
His battle with the House Ethics Committee has put him in an unfavorable light with some voters and made a significant dent in his campaign fund, jeopardizing his chances in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary.
