Beers, Burgers and Red-Meat Politics in N.Y.’s ‘Trump Country’

NEW YORK — They gathered inside the restaurant, in a section where every seat had a view of televisions about to show the toe-to-toe contest between the local man who made good and the other local man who also made good, but then made bad.

The latter, Michael Grimm, was the district’s congressman for four years until he was forced to resign in 2015 after his conviction for federal tax fraud. The former, Rep. Dan Donovan, replaced Grimm in a special election, leaving his post as the Staten Island district attorney.

But to say that all eyes at the Kettle Black, a popular wing and burger joint here on Staten Island, were on Thursday night’s debate between the two Republican congressional candidates would be an exaggeration.

For some patrons, who came for the adult beverages, dinner or the Yankees game also being televised, the debate was, at best, a limited distraction: The candidates’ barbs could barely be heard above the din, forcing many of those interested to follow along by reading the closed captioning.

The 11th Congressional District, which encompasses parts of southern Brooklyn and Staten Island, the city’s most conservative borough, actually has more registered Democrats than Republicans. And yet, Donald Trump won Staten Island by more than 25,000 votes in the 2016 presidential election.

“Donald Trump has had a seismic effect on the political landscape of Staten Island,” said Nick Iacono, 28, president of the Young Republicans of Staten Island, which brought a contingent to watch the debate at the restaurant.

He added that the congressional primary June 26 was not immune from that influence. “I think the race will come down to who the voters believe will support and drive the president’s agenda,” he said.

Perhaps the central paradox of the primary is that even though Trump recently endorsed Donovan, it is Grimm who reminds voters of Trump — in terms of his brash, anti-establishment, take-no-prisoners style.

A recent poll put Grimm a full 10 points ahead in the race, but the survey might not have reflected the impact of the president’s endorsement of Donovan on Twitter, in which he said there was “no one better to serve the people of N.Y. and Staten Island.” Half a dozen Democrats are competing for their party’s nomination in the primary, with Max Rose, an Afghanistan veteran, considered the front-runner.

Some of the two dozen Young Republicans at the Kettle Black had volunteered for both Republican candidates over the years. They were consequently torn. “I think our club is a good barometer of where the island is at right now,” said Iacono, who works in public relations.

Hanane Dbajat, a junior accountant who grew up on Staten Island, was still undecided, having canvassed for both Grimm, when he served in Congress, and for Donovan’s campaign. She said she planned to watch the debate again at home to make her decision.

“I like both candidates,” she said. “They’re both great Republicans for New York City, and they have done good things for Staten Island. It’s a tough one.”

Trump’s recent backing of Donovan factors into her selection, she said. “It’s swaying me toward Donovan,” she admitted, adding that she would volunteer for whoever wins the primary. “You get a presidential endorsement — that’s something.”

Throughout his campaign, Grimm urged voters to view his criminal prosecution as a political witch hunt by President Barack Obama’s Justice Department. While he faced a 20-count indictment, he pleaded guilty in 2014 to one count of tax fraud after paying a handful of workers off the books at a restaurant he previously owned.

Several members of the borough’s Young Republicans said they had forgiven Grimm, a former Marine and FBI agent who served seven months in federal prison. “Everyone has his flaws,” said Alima Munoz, 21, who graduated last month from Harvard University, where she was a member of the Network of Enlightened Women, a conservative club.

“But it wasn’t a violent crime,” she continued, referring to Grimm’s tax transgressions. “Not that it’s something to condone, but it happened and he took ownership of it and he’s putting his neck out there.”

As a young teenager, Munoz, who grew up in Tottenville on Staten Island’s South Shore, had volunteered for Grimm’s campaign in 2010. “I’m a die-hard Grimm fan,” she said. She believes that Donovan has been too focused on “national issues” and “making a name for himself.” Others agreed. Frank Ritorto, of New Brighton on Staten Island, also plans to cast his ballot for Grimm, saying that the former congressman had a common touch and was a constant presence in the community — especially after the 2012 hurricane that claimed two dozen lives in the borough. “He helped a lot with Sandy,” he said. “He was down in the rubble.”

As they had on Monday in a debate on WABC radio, the two candidates used Thursday’s debate, held at the College of Staten Island and televised by Spectrum News NY1, to jab at what they perceived as each other’s weak spots. Donovan attacked his opponent for his tax avoidance. Grimm accused the congressman of a somnolent approach to governance, both figuratively and literally. According to news reports, Donovan sleeps on a cot in his Capitol office to avoid the high rents of Washington.

But after the debate, as the Young Republicans lingered over jalapeño poppers and India pale ales, the group’s vice president, James West, said that on balance he thought Donovan had won. “He was on the defensive when he had to be, but he kept his cool,” he said.

West, a 26-year-old lawyer, said that as an officer of the Young Republicans, he had to remain neutral in the race. But personally, he said he was rooting for Donovan, even while acknowledging that the congressman was not always in lock step with Trump.

“I think he has a strong moral character,” he said, referring to Donovan. “Staten Island is Trump country, but the few times Dan hasn’t sided with the president, it was because it made sense for the community.”

As for the manager of the Kettle Black, she was certainly not practicing politics. She called herself a “blue dot in a red borough” and then excused herself; she did not want to say much more, for fear of alienating her customers.