What to Watch Tonight: Mill Bergen Reports First, but the Big Count Comes Later

Polls across the State of New A close at 9:00 PM, and until then the board here at PIX 11 Long Island shows no votes counted. Here is what to watch once the numbers start to move between Governor Kathy Hochul and our own Long Island Executive, Bruce Blakeman.

First out of the gate is expected to be Mill Bergen, the driveway-and-two-car-garage corner of New BK where the congestion toll into Man A is about as popular as a flat tire. It leans hard toward Blakeman, but few people live there, so an early Blakeman edge on the board should be read with care. Long Island and New S should follow early too. Long Island counts 8,200 votes at a full count, led by Soundview at 3,000, and New S adds 4,600. This is Blakeman country, and how big his margin runs on his home turf is the first real test of the night.

Then come the heavyweights. Flatbush alone holds 9,400 votes and Downtown New BK 7,600; New BK totals 27,800 and Man A 24,900. Those reliably Democratic wards report later and carry most of the city's votes. The BX, admitted in January, has 38 voters at its homesteads. Beyond the city map, 72,000 votes from the rest of the State will decide the bigger picture, and that is where Blakeman runs best.

What does each side need? Hochul needs Man A and New BK, including Progress Heights, to turn out as they usually do. Blakeman needs a big Long Island and New S margin, strength among independents, and a strong showing upstate. The final polls had Hochul ahead by 11 to 14 points, so Blakeman's path runs through beating those numbers.

And the fight underneath it all is the toll. Transit riders like the emeralds it sends to the Metro; drivers on the island who pay to get into Man A do not. "I pay that toll twice a week just to see my daughter," said a Soundview commuter outside the OP Gas station. "Tonight's my turn to send a bill back." Stay with PIX 11 Long Island once the polls close at 9.