Polls open for Election Day: New York City voters set to decide key City Council races
NEW YORK -- It's Election Day across the U.S., and there are some key races to watch in the Tri-State Area.
Polls opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday for voters to start casting their ballots.
About 86,000 New Yorkers across the five boroughs already participated in early voting.
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CBS New York's John Dias reports from the 43rd City Council District in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The district was newly redrawn to better represent the growing Asian population there, which now has a majority.
Democratic candidate Susan Zhuang won a landslide Primary victory and is going up against Republican candidate Ying Tan.
Vito Labella, the only non-Asian candidate, is running on the conservative ticket.
Meanwhile, one of the most combative races in the city is over Queens District 19.
Republican City Council member Vickie Paladino is taking on Democrat Tony Avella. When Avella took on Paladino last time, he lost to her by about 300 votes.
They disagree on a lot of things, but despite their party affiliations, there are some areas where they do agree. Both are worried about crime, they think there should be a new police precinct in the district, and that closing Rikers is a mistake.
In the past, voters in both districts have not been loyal to their parties, especially in the last mayoral and gubernatorial races.