[Whitfield:] All right. Welcome back. We are just nine days before the New York primary and just four days before CNN's highly anticipated Democratic debate in Brooklyn. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are making their final pushes. And both are staking claim that New York is their home state. CNN correspondent Sarah Ganim went to the heart of the battle, Brooklyn, to get opinions from people there on the democratic candidates.
[Sara Ganim, Cnn Correspondent:] Bernie with his undeniable Brooklyn accent.
[Sanders:] But I am very proud that I was born here in New York City.
[Ganim:] And Hillary, the former New York senator parking her campaign headquarters here.
[Hillary Clinton , Presidential Candidate:] I am thrilled to have a chance to be here in Brooklyn.
[Ganim:] Battling it out over who has stronger New York ties.
[Sanders:] Born in Illinois, that's not a crime.
[Clinton:] I love New York.
[Ganim:] But a true Brooklynite. Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams says neither of the candidates are in touch with real issues that some New Yorkers face.
[Eric Adams, President, Brooklyn Borough:] A real New Yorker is willing to represent the full parts of New York. Communities like Brownsville, they have been left behind.
[Ganim:] A lifelong Democrat, Adams says he hasn't endorsed either candidate and won't be attending the debate on Thursday being held in his borough at the Brooklyn Navy yard.
[Adams:] Why are we focusing on places that is a success story? Why not go to the heart of areas that needs to be successful, Brownsville is that.
[Ganim:] Brownsville is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in New York City. The crime rate is above 40 percent, more than a third of people live in poverty. It has the highest concentrated public housing in the city, a breeding ground for gang violence. It's here we met Adams, in front of an elementary school where a mother of 12 was shot and killed, caught in the crossfire of gang warfare.
[Adams:] She covered the body of her children, and she was shot and killed. And it's really representative of the Brownsville across America. The debate should be in Brownsville.
[Ganim:] His message is resonating with the people here.
[Adams:] And not in the middle of downtown where everything is fine. It should be in communities that have been ignored and denied for so many years.
[Ganim:] Gene Barkly says he was once into drugs and a life on the street in Brownsville. Life is hard here, and he wants the candidates to see that. If the candidates were to come to Brownsville.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Ganim:] What would you want them to hear from the people who live here?
[Unidentified Male:] See, if they can stop the shooting and the crimes, number one. If that was stopped, a whole lot of other things would stop.
[Ganim:] With the April 19th primary approaching, Clinton and Sanders have been crisscrossing the city all weekend vying for the state's 291 democratic delegates. Clinton stopping at Brooklyn landmarks like the famed junior's diner, a favorite on the campaign trail. Sanders holding a rally in front of his childhood home trying to close the gap. You don't think they're trying hard enough here.
[Adams:] No, they're not. No, they're not. I know they're going to the boardwalk, they're walking through Harlem, they're sitting in black church. Those are traditional things. They cannot be afraid to come to Brownsville. Sit down in the public housing, have a town hall right here, have a debate right here. That's the right statement.
[Ganim:] So, Fred, on debate night instead of attending with other prominent Democrats in Brooklyn, Eric Adams says he is going to hold a watch party in his native of Brownsville with people who live in the housing projects, people that he believes need to have more attention paid to them leading up to this primary.
[Whitfield:] All right. Sarah Ganim, thank you so much, in New York. Appreciate it. All right. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are facing off in that fight for New York. But Clinton has another hurdle to overcome. Her encounter with a New York subway turnstile. And "Saturday Night Live" was all over it. We'll show you that next.