AOC now insists she grew up ‘between’ Bronx, suburbs but locals near her childhood home are still confused: ‘You’re from here’ – NY Post
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to ridicule over calling herself a “Bronx girl” by claiming she grew up “between” the city and the leafy suburbs — but locals near her childhood home are still confused.
While AOC was born in the Bronx, she moved to Yorktown as a toddler with her family, attending the local public schools through high school. She was listed as a resident of her parents’ home in the suburb when her childhood home was sold for $355,000 in 2016 — two years before her election to Congress, according to land records cited by Lohud.
Richard Kennedy, who works at the Uncle Giuseppe’s supermarket in town, said he thinks the 35-year-old lawmaker’s short stay in the city before moving to Yorktown “doesn’t even qualify” her as a Bronx girl.
“If you came here when you were 3 years old, you’re from here,” Kennedy bluntly said.
Another local called Ocasio-Cortez a “phony.”
“You think she’d be proud of being from Yorktown,” said a woman who did not want to be named. “It’s a great town.”
“I don’t get why you wouldn’t want to say you’re from here,” added 31-year-old Sandra Guarriello, who owns a salon in town with her husband.
“We dreamed of living here. It took us a long time and a lot of hard work and now we live here. It’s been our dream to live here.”
Bronx residents were also quick to weigh in on the progressive congresswoman’s past, making it clear AOC wasn’t a true Bronx girl.
“It should be a crime to claim you from the Bronx when you’re not,” said lifelong Bronx resident Sandra S., 29, last week.
Brittney M., 26, said she feels sorry that Ocasio-Cortez isn’t a true Bronx girl.