Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to criticism over calling herself a “Bronx girl” by saying she grew up “between” the city and the leafy suburbs. However, locals near her childhood home remain puzzled by her description.
Residents of Yorktown — many of whom also grew up in the Bronx — weighed in on AOC’s story about her upbringing after her yearbook photos resurfaced on social media. Despite fundraising off the backlash, she has yet to clearly state that she lived in upper Westchester County.
“Right from the start, you can tell she’s not really from the Bronx. Just listen to her!” insisted Billy, a 47-year-old retired FDNY firefighter with a Bronx accent who now lives in nearby Valhalla.
“Listen to us!” Billy added while golfing with a fellow Bronx native at Mohansic Golf Course in Yorktown one recent morning. “We may have left the Bronx years ago, but we still sound like it! That way of speaking doesn’t just disappear. She doesn’t have that in her voice.”
Ocasio-Cortez sparked controversy and drew criticism last month when she once again referred to herself as a “Bronx girl” during a clash with President Trump, who hails from Queens.
Richard Kennedy, an employee at Uncle Giuseppe’s supermarket in town, said he believes the 35-year-old lawmaker’s brief time in the city before relocating to Yorktown “doesn’t even qualify” her as a Bronx girl.
Although born in the Bronx, she moved to Yorktown as a toddler with her family and attended public schools there through high school.
“If you moved here when you were 3 years old, then you’re from here,” Kennedy said bluntly.
Another local called Ocasio-Cortez a “phony.”
“You’d think she’d be proud to say she’s from Yorktown,” said a woman who wished to remain anonymous. “It’s a wonderful town.”
“I don’t understand why she wouldn’t want to say she’s 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 years and a lot of hard work, and now we finally do. It’s always been our dream to live here.”
She was still listed as a resident of her parents’ suburban home when it was sold for $355,000 in 2016.
However, some—including Guarriello’s husband—stood up for the prominent politician, understanding why her heart remains tied to the Bronx.
“I was born in Yonkers and raised by my grandmother, but I’d say I was raised in the Bronx because my whole family lives there,” said Nicholas Guarriello, 33.
“But I don’t try to push any narrative. I simply say I’m from the Bronx because my family is from 187th Street.”
Sabrina Gomes, 33, was born in the Bronx but grew up outside the borough and can relate to AOC’s experience.
“Maybe the Bronx felt more like home to her than this place,” Gomes said. “I also say I’m from the Bronx, even though I’ve lived here for over 30 years.”
Peter Cleary, co-chair of the Yorktown Democratic Committee, dismissed the controversy as “kind of silly” and emphasized that many in the town are “proud of her.”
Ocasio-Cortez embraced the discussion on Thursday by sending out a fundraising email addressing the topic.
“I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time! My mom cleaned houses and I helped out. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep,” she said.
“Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views on inequality and is a major reason for the beliefs I hold today!”
Ocasio-Cortez engaged with the debate on Thursday by sending out a fundraising email addressing the issue.
After winning the Democratic primary for Congress in 2018, she faced criticism for highlighting her Bronx roots in her campaign profile, which originally stated that “much of her life was defined by the 40-minute commute between school and her family in the Bronx.”
Her campaign later removed the “commute” line and revised the biography to read, “She ended up attending public school in Yorktown, 40 minutes north of her birthplace,” according to a lohud.com report from that time.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s senior yearbook photo.
However, some Bronx residents were quick to say AOC isn’t a genuine Bronx girl.
“It should be a crime to claim you’re from the Bronx when you’re not,” said lifelong Bronx resident Sandra S., 29, last week.
Brittney M., 26, expressed sympathy, saying she feels sorry that Ocasio-Cortez isn’t truly from the Bronx.
After winning the Democratic primary for Congress in 2018, she faced criticism for emphasizing her Bronx background in her campaign profile.
“Honestly, I think people only noticed because she mentioned it so often,” she said. “Maybe the more she talked about it, the more she convinced herself she was from the Bronx.”
