Restler Making Last-Minute Election Day Push to Keep District Leader Spot

Lincoln Restler has been greeting voters at the Pete McGuinness Senior Center since 6 a.m. and will likely stay there until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., when the polls close.

He’s slept four hours, has eaten only two Cliff bars, and has worn a large hole in the right side of his shoe (note to the Restler campaign: bring the man a couple of donuts. He’s hungry!)

Lincoln Restler on primary day (photo by Aaron Short)

“The morning was not as intense as I would hope but turnout is decent,” he said. “A lot of people have told me they are supporting this campaign.”

Indeed. If HBO has taught us anything, it’s that Greenpoint has a lot of pretty girls – and all of them know who Lincoln is.

Actually it seemed that nearly everyone who stopped by the polling precinct knew Lincoln and told him they were voting for him.

But that may not be enough to help him win re-election.

The largest Hasidic sect in south Williamsburg is supporting his opponent, Chris Olechowski, and if voter turnout today is as high as it was in June, Restler will most likely lose.

“I haven’t been getting numbers and I don’t want them,” he said. “It only stresses me out.”

Sources in South Williamsburg say turnout appears lower than it was during the congressional primaries three months ago.

And the Olechowski campaign may have been hampered by a late start this morning. Volunteers and poll workers didn’t get out to the polls until 8 a.m. or later in some precincts.

I wanted to see how the Olechowski camp was doing so I headed over to a polling site on Monitor Street. Restler’s mother was there. I had just missed Councilman Steve Levin, who has close ties with Restler rival Vito Lopez.

She told me she saw a big stack of Olechowski flyers inside the polling site, so she grabbed them. Shouldn’t she also get Lincoln a new pair of shoes?

“I did!” she said. “He won’t wear them.”