On Saturday, March 26, the Bernie Sanders campaign team kicked off their New York City campaign and opened the Brooklyn headquarters with a block-party rally between 2nd and 3rd Ave on 8th Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

With Senator Sanders trailing in the New York polls by an average of 34.5 points, this rally marked an important new beginning for the team as they try to build momentum for the New York primary. The rally also marked the opening of the senator’s campaign headquarters in his hometown of Brooklyn.

This kickstarted the beginning of a month long campaign in New York, and the team sought help by encouraging the over 250 Sanders supporters in attendance to sign up to be volunteers. Many were given canvassing guides to inform volunteers how to go door-to-door in New York neighborhoods identifying voter support.

Various speakers addressed the excited crowd and gave reasons why they supported the senator. Linda Sarsour, a political activist in the Justice League NYC who helped lead the march to Washington D.C. protesting the death of Eric Garner, excited the crowd with her personal feelings about Senator Sanders.

“I am honored to stand here today to support a candidate who is consistent, who has dignity and respect,” Sarsour said. “A man who you can go back 40 years ago and hear him say the same things that he is saying today. A man who sees all of us: progressives, whites, Jews, Muslims, black people, Latinos. A man who believes we all believe equal access. Bernie Sanders is a candidate that represents the principles and values of New York.”

Ohio Senator Nina Turner later took the stage, dancing to Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fire” before she gave her insight during an inspirational speech about why Senator Sanders was the best candidate.

“We need more people in the elected ministry who give a shit, can I get an amen,” Turner said. “Senator Bernie Sanders is channeling the spirit of many great revolutionaries of our time from Dr. King to Mother Theresa to Cesar Chavez.”

The event was generally met with a positive response, although many understand there is much more work to be done. Even after winning Alaska, Hawaii and Washington decisively in the March 26 Super Saturday, Sanders is still trailing Clinton by 200 delegates. Losing New York, the state that Clinton served as senator for eight years, would be a critical blow to the Sanders campaign.

However, many were still optimistic about Senator Sanders’ prospects. Chris LeVasseur, a software developer from Connecticut who has been volunteering on the Sanders campaign since January, noted the race is still far from over.

“From what I’ve seen, half the contest is done, and they’re calling the race,” LeVasseur said. “That’s like going to the Super Bowl and being down two touchdowns and not watching the second half. Like Bernie says, the two biggest states are New York and California, you’re not going to wait for them to weigh in, and you’re still going to call it?”

Like many of the other volunteers “feeling the Bern,” LeVasseur demonstrated his admiration for Sanders’ authenticity.

“When I was thinking about this presidential election, I wanted someone with honor and integrity, and I wanted someone with a track record of actually fighting for what they tell you they’re going to fight for,” LeVasseur said. “Not just paying lip service to progressive ideas to get a vote.”

The New York Democratic primary will be held on April 19.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, March 28 print edition. Email Carlos Michael Rodriguez at [email protected].