Constituents Fed up With Ocasio-Cortez, Says She Doesn’t Spend Enough Time on Them

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), speaks to the media about Amazon scrapping its plans to build a new headquarters in Queens, New York, on Capitol Hill on Feb. 14, 2019. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is taking in all the media attention, regularly appearing on television, or making headlines. But her constituents are not impressed.

Many of her voters have complained that the congresswoman is not spending enough time solving local issues and has done a poor job at delivering promises.

“I thought AOC would be our savior, but that’s not the case,” local activist Roxanne Delgado told The New York Post.

Delgado, 40, is trying to get assistance in saving an animal shelter and to clean up parks in the district and has tried to get in touch with the Bronx-Queens congresswoman via phone and Twitter for help but to no avail.

“Can someone ask @aoc to please have a contact for constituents services. NO one working in #biaggi or #gillbrand office on her behalf. NO email or contact on @AOC’s page except DC number which has full #voicemail and no one picks up," Delgado tweeted on March 25.

Delgado’s request for help was eventually answered by the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office.

Similarly, Anthony Vitaliano, 78, from the Bronx has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez for help regarding concerns with the postal service and graffiti in the area.

“She has to address these local issues. Her district is everywhere else in the US. Her heart is not in the Bronx,” Vitaliano, a former police officer, told the Post.

Vitaliano said, by contrast, he felt former Rep. Joe Crowley, who lost his seat to Ocasio-Cortez in the 2018 election, was more attentive to the community by sending a representative, Thomas Messina, to community board meetings.

Moreover, he added that despite Ocasio-Cortez’s tweets about improving the postal service and that a representative from her office had visited the graffiti site, he was still having issues with the mail and the graffiti has not been removed.

Ocasio-Cortez said during a meeting with 17 locals at the Westchester Square Library on March 21 that she was making “baby steps” to find time for her constituents.

“Right now we’re just taking these baby steps and adapting according to community feedback,” the congresswoman told the Post.

She even told her constituents that if they are unable to work with her sporadic schedule, they should follow her on Twitter.

Then-congressional nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (L) stands with Zephyr Teachout after endorsing her for New York attorney general in New York on July 12, 2018. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Mixed Reviews

Ocasio-Cortez’s performance so far is receiving mixed reviews. According to a Gallup Poll conducted in February and released in March, 41 percent of Americans view her unfavorably, which is up by 15 percentage points since September last year.

“Americans have taken note of the meteoric rise of Ocasio-Cortez, who went from a Manhattan bartender to a committee member on the powerful House Financial Services Committee in less than a year. But their view of her has become slightly more negative than positive in the process,” the poll stated.

Constituents told the Washington Times that they were unhappy by her attention-seeking behavior.

“I see her on TV a lot but not in the neighborhood,” Barbara Nosel, a waitress, told the news website. “You are supposed to come to the people without the media. You are one of us. You worked in a bar. You are not a princess.”

Iris Acosta, 70, a retired school teacher, said she admired the congresswoman for her energy but did not like her way of doing things.

“I just don’t like her being too fast, in your face. Go a little slower, and she could do a lot,” Acosta said.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks as Sen. Ed Markey (D-Maine) (R), and other congressional Democrats listen during a news conference in front of the U.S. Capitol Feb. 7, 2019, in Washington. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Meanwhile, some of her constituents faulted her for not having enough experience.

“The Green New Deal looks good on paper, but I’m reluctant to give the government so much power and I don’t think this country is ready to embrace a socialist platform and I don’t think we ever will be,” lawyer Manuel Fabian, 65, told the news website. “But I’m willing to give her a chance. She’s got to learn the ropes.”

Ocasio-Cortez has recently opened up her Queens office but has yet to choose a place in the Bronx, making it more challenging for constituents to reach her. Naureen Akhter, a representative, said the congresswoman is facing difficulties finding space, reported the Post.