Come Election Day, the city as a whole is expected to vote overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton, but in one pocket, there's surprisingly strong loyalty for Donald Trump: among Russian speakers, particularly in South Brooklyn. There, distrust sometimes runs high for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, but it's often just the opposite feeling for the Republican who campaigns for closer relations with Moscow. Josh Robin filed the following report.
Under the Brighton subway line, and along the boardwalk, you don't need to speak Russian to find the presidential favorite.
"I like Trump," said one resident.
And while one woman doesn't want to appear on camera, she said, "My and my husband's friends have voice only for Trump."
A voice whose support cuts across age, religion, and differences over internal Russian politics.
Length of time in the U.S. also doesn't seem to matter, with less recent arrivals seeing in Trump another figure.
"I loved Reagan. It was such a good time," said one resident.
"It's very hard for me to understand, Josh, why my community is going against their own interest," said Former Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny.
Brook-Krasny is a Democrat. He says a Republican would more likely cut the areas's government-provided services.
Trump's support comes as his critics and his presidential rival say they're alarmed by his ties to the Kremlin, in his business and his choice of advisers past and present. And many are concerned when he compliments the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as he's done repeatedly.
Trump's warm words for Putin contrasts with deteriorating relations with Moscow. In 2014, Russia's military took Crimea from Ukraine. Russia's unwavering support for the Syrian regime also is seen as prolonging a brutal civil war.
Closer to home, Friday, U.S. officials said they're confident the recent hack of the Democratic National Committee is the work of the Russian government...
Out of the Trump campaign, there are shifting responses to Putin.
"If he's going to say great things about me, I'm going to say great things about him," Trump said.
But after Trump's running mate Mike Pence warned of Russian agression, Trump seemed to soften.
"I don't love, I don't hate," Trump said.
What do New Yorkers supporting Trump say about Putin?
"My opinion, we don't trust Putin," said one.
"I trust Putin. I do. I do," said another.
"It's one thing to hate President Putin's effect on Russia. It's another thing to admire certain qualities that he possess that they also see in Trump. So there's a contradiction within many of these opinions," said journalist Masha Udensiva-Brenner.