Mary Stachyra

On a warm night in Fort Greene, people often sit at tables outside a bustling restaurant on DeKalb Avenue, just down the street from the park. Inside, patrons sit at tables or the bar, sometimes just chatting, other times listening to music or a reading from an author.

For a decade, Madiba restaurant has been a cultural center for South Africans in the city. Mark and Jenny Henegan, co-owners and spouses, modeled Madiba after a South African shebeen, where locals gather to drink, socialize and talk about politics. As a native of South Africa, Mark Henegan wanted to bring a taste of his homeland’s culture to his adopted hometown.

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Reporters from the New York City News Service hit the streets to get opinions from New Yorkers in all five boroughs. Each person answered the question: “where would you like the country to be in four years?”

Click on the links to hear an audio clip and see a picture of each person.

David Zonca, from Carroll Gardens, said that he would like to see more people with health insurance. “I know people who’ve had fifteen, twenty thousand dollar hospital bills because they broke a leg and didn’t have insurance,” said Zonca.

Kathleen Henderson, of Kensington, said that she is concerned for the poor. “There are a lot of poor people who can’t afford to eat. Let’s give them more money so they can take care of themselves, take care of their family,” said Henderson.

Caroline Gartner, of Carroll Gardens, said that she wants to see more unity among Americans. “People are so red state, blue state against each other,” said Gartner.

Larissa Bailiff, of Park Slope, said that she wants better protection for the environment. “I’m not naive. Obviously we have built up a world for ourselves where we use a lot of gasoline and we pollute and all of that. But there’s got to be some kind of regulation and some control,” she said.

Also see First-timers Pull Through at the Polls, by Joe Walker and Marcella Veneziale. Contributing reporting by Mary Stachyra and Maureen Sullivan.