Primary Day is upon us here in the northwest Bronx and throughout New York state. Because our borough is so heavily Democratic, this is our de facto election day, which means it’s BIG DEAL. You will be deciding who represents our communities in Albany for the next two years. Throughout the day, we’ll be stopping by a few polling sites to see how things are going, what turnout is like, if there are any problems with the voting machines, etc. We’ll post a few stories on top of this, but this post is an opportunity for readers to weigh in about their experiences at the polls and talk about politics — the candidates, the races, the issues, whatever. This is your forum. Just click on the comments section and fire away. I’ll be collecting the comments and publishing some of them in next week’s print edition. Happy voting!

Update, 10:39 a.m. Poll workers in Kingsbridge Heights at PS 86 — which includes the 78th Assembly District and 33rd Senate District — said only about 14-18 people have voted there so far, including State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who is running for re-election in the 33rd against Manny Tavarez and lives about two blocks away. The Daily News reported late last night that Tavarez filed for bankruptcy in 2010 after a restaurant he opened in Inwood went belly up. As we reported yesterday, Tavarez still hasn’t filed his financial disclosure reports with the state Board of Elections.

Norwood resident Gregory Lobo-Jost tweeted earlier today that he was the 14th person to vote at PS/MS 280 and that there was no line when he arrived at around 8:30 a.m.

Update, 11:24 a.m. The Daily News, which has a nice live coverage feature on its Daily Politics blog. They’re reporting that Mark Gjonaj’s yellow-clad campaign crew are out in force in Morris Park, which is the heart of the 80th Assembly District, and that the voting business is booming there — 114 votes were cast at PS 105 by 9 a.m. Poll workers said incumbent Naomi Rivera stopped by but didn’t appear to vote. Gjonaj voted at 10 a.m. at PS 108 in Morris Park.

Udpate, 12:44 p.m. The DN‘s Dan Beekman (a fellow Garfield Bulldog; what’s up with Seattleites doing journalism in the Bronx, anyway?) is killing it on 80th AD coverage. He reports that a political science professor watched Gjonaj work the room inside the polling site he voted at (PS 108) — hugging and greeting everyone — and switched his vote over to Naomi Rivera. “I’d rather vote for someone who has problems with her private life than for someone who makes a mockery of the public process,” David Luchins told Beekman.

Update, 2:39 p.m. Comment from reader Ruben (keep em coming, folks!):

I wonder what kind of science, does professor Luchins teach, because his logic is truly distorted.

If he did not like what Mark Gjonaj was doing, he had two more candidates in the ballot running against Rivera. He could have voted for one of them instead.

And no, Naomi does not have “private life problems”. She is accused of misusing taxpayers money to pay her boyfriends. That’s a very public life problem.

Seems that the professor forgot to do his own homework and failed to cast the right vote.

Update, 3:51 p.m. Just spoke with Irene Estrada-Rukaj, the 80th AD underdog. She says turnout has been typically low in her Allerton neighborhood, which is nonetheless packed with Gjonaj and Rivera campaign workers. But she’s confident the people will overlook them and vote for her instead. “I’m ecstatics,” she said, “because I know I’m going to win.” Rukaj says she’ll be holding her victory party at her apartment with her family.

Other post-election parties we know about: Gjonaj will be at Maestro’s, typically the gathering place for the Bronx Democratic party; Gustavo Rivera will be at DR Lounge, 509 E. Tremont Ave.

Beekman reports that embattled incumbent Naomi Rivera is sticking to her media blackout until all the votes are counted. Her campaign team, he reports, appears to consist of mostly 1199 SEIU workers.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.