Assembly District 62: Staten Island
Votes for Bush: 29,139
Votes for Gore: 21,907
Census data for one Zip Code in district (10309): White: 24,779; Hispanic: 1,738; Black: 717. Median Household Income: $65,397. Unemployment: 2.4 Percent. Median Value Of Owner-Occupied Unit: $252,900.
Local controversies: Ex–borough president Guy Molinari and Congressman Vito Fossella are backing two different candidatesto unseat 24-year incumbent Assemblyman Robert Straniere in the GOP primary. One beef with Straniere: He “lives” in the city (he keeps homes in Manhattan and Staten Island). Also: Near-unanimous opposition to proposed NASCAR track.
Famous Progeny: Christina Aguilera, Ricky Schroder, Wu-Tang Clan
Top five nonfiction books, Barnes & Noble, 2245 Richmond Avenue: American Soldier, by Tommy Franks; The South Beach Diet, by Arthur Agatson; Bushworld, by Maureen Dowd; My Life, by Bill Clinton; The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?, by Rick Warren.
Assembly District 70: Harlem
Votes for Bush: 1,062
Votes for Gore: 35,404
Census data for one Zip Code in district (10027; includes part of Morningside Heights): Black: 30,661; White: 13,456; Hispanic: 12,617. Median Household Income: $23,150. Unemployment: 10.6 Percent. Median Value Of Owner-Occupied Unit: $325,000.
Local controversies: Residents are concerned that people will be displaced by Columbia University’s massive expansion plan—and then there’s the proposed W Hotel on 125th Street.
Famous Progeny: Colin Powell, Harry Belafonte, Damon Dash
Top five nonfiction books, Hue-Man Bookstore, 2319 Frederick Douglass Boulevard: The Spook Who Sat by the Door, by Sam Greenlee; Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye, by Michael Eric Dyson; Germany’s Black Holocaust: 1890–1945, by Firpo W. Carr; On the Down Low: A Journey Into the Lives of ‘Straight’ Black Men Who Sleep With Men, by J. L. King; The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?, by Rick Warren.