Bernie Sanders: A guide to the Democratic socialist's Brooklyn

The fuzzy-haired socialist has returned home to take on Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary on April 19

Bernie campaigns in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. (Darren Ornitz/Reuters)

It isn't easy being the only mainstream presidential candidate who willingly identifies as a socialist, but things are looking up for Bernie Sanders, who's won eight of his last nine states. Sanders has since returned home bringing his campaign to New York City ahead of the April 19 primary where he hopes to upset Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. The 74-year-old Vermont senator has already held rallies outside his childhood home, eaten hotdogs with Michael Stipe and toured various locations in the city that never sleeps.

We visited Sanders' old stomping grounds to see what's changed over the years.

1525 East 26th Street

Then: Sanders grew up with his brother and parents in a rent-controlled, three-and-a-half bedroom apartment residing in the primarily Jewish, working-class neighborhood of 1940s Midwood, near Flatbush. The Sanders brothers swapped nights between a small bedroom and living room. Sanders told The New York Times that money was always a “source of friction” and his mother always dreamed of moving to a household of her own.

Now: The Sanders campaign held one of their first New York rallies outside the prewar building, which is now only partially rent-controlled and under heavy renovation. Sanders also shot campaign ads outside his former apartment complex. “Bernie Sanders for president” signs are still hanging from select windows.

 

Bernie stumping in front of the Brooklyn apartment he grew up in! #Bernie #Bernie2016 #berniesanders #politicalrevolution #wearethe99 #feelthebern #birdiesanders #brooklyn #flatbush #jamesmadisonhighschool #nyc #newyork #democraticprimary #democraticsocialist

A video posted by Team Bernie NY (@teambernieny) on Apr 9, 2016 at 1:00pm PDT

P.S. 197

Then: Sanders attended the elementary school on East 22nd Street between Kings Highway and Avenue O. When school let out, Sanders rushed home to play basketball, stickball and baseball with his classmates and neighborhood friends.

"Right on this street,” Sanders told supporters outside his old home. “Right on this street, I spent thousands of hours playing punchball, do they still play punchball?"

Now: Talia, 42, a resident in Flatbush said that both of her children attend the school. The public school worker and mother of two told The Independent that she considers herself a Clinton supporter but the more she hears about Senator Sanders the more she second-guesses her vote.

“He seems like a really genuine guy,” she told The Independent. “You can definitely tell he’s a Brooklynite. I’m still undecided, but I will absolutely be voting in the primary.”

NYC Department Of Education (NYC Department Of Education)

James Madison High School

Then: Sanders enrolled in James Madison in 1955. He didn’t make the basketball team because he hadn’t hit his growth spur, but he’d soon become a star and captain on the track team.

Now: Sanders was named to the school’s Wall of Distinction, which features notable alumni including Senator Charles Schumer of New York, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, comedian Chris Rock and many others.

 

So, this guy went to my high school. #jamesmadisonhighschool #berniesanders #jmhs @berniesanders

A photo posted by Annie Atlasman (@annienyhc) on Nov 22, 2015 at 9:40am PST

 

In line for a Bernie rally on Bernie's childhood block with a man who went to high school with Bernie! Just had to share! #feelthebern #brooklynforbernie

A photo posted by Perry Baron Huntoon (@artbyperry) on Apr 8, 2016 at 10:33am PDT

Brooklyn College

Then: When his mother's heart condition became worse, Sanders gave up his dream to attend Harvard University and unhappily enrolled into Brooklyn College. It was there, Sanders spent most of his hours in the library, not on his schoolwork, but reading a biography of the progressive Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld, challenged the Democratic leadership of Grover Cleveland.

Steve Slavin, Sanders’ college roommate, said that Sanders never drank or smoked but they’d stay up all hours of the night eating chocolate, vanilla or strawberry ice cream while they discussed supreme court cases. “He was someone who used to sit around and just bulls**t for hours,” Slavin told the New York Daily News. During Sanders' freshman year, his mother died at the age of 46. One year later, Sanders would leave for the University of Chicago.

Now: The college has expanded to 25 acres, offering five separate schools ranging from filmmaking to public health. In many of the off-campus establishments — Cafe Bene and Applebee's to name a few — have "Bernie Sanders for president" signs littered throughout their buildings.

Tim, a 28-year-old education major, said that he would be voting for Sanders in the New York primary, but he hopes Sanders and Hillary Clinton will eventually work together to fix Washington. He also admitted that while he’s lost Clinton’s trust, Donald Trump’s campaign has made being a Democratic a whole lot easier.

“I’ve never felt more confident as a Democrat, but never more torn,” Tim said, on the steps of the Brooklyn College Library. “I’m sick of the same old, and I think Sanders can put people in position to make great changes in the country. Go Sanders.”

Ivor Williams, 78, who now owns Sanders' former college home, said that he's a Clinton supporter, but he knows how popular Sanders and his former home have become. “I had a couple of people from Japan who came here the other day," he told the Daily News. "They wanted to buy the house because Bernie lived here."

Justin Carissimo (Justin Carissimo)