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HARLEM, NEW YORK February 20, 2004 — The Reverend Al Sharpton may be the only New Yorker in the race for President but that doesn't mean he's getting much hometown support. A recent poll found Sharpton with only 4 percent of the New York vote. The Quinnipiac University poll was taken right before Wesley Clark and Howard Dean dropped out of the race. But even among black voters, Sharpton had only 15 percent. In our ongoing coverage of the New York primary, WNYC's Beth Fertig went to Harlem to find out why.

A Taste of Seafood is a tiny restaurant smack in the heart of Reverend Sharpton's home turf. Located on 125th Street and Madison Avenue, it's just around the corner from the former site of Sharpton's National Action Network.

MAN: Two fish dinners, one with rice and mac

But even here, there are no Sharpton for President posters. And few customers waiting in line for the shop's famous fried fish have any plans to vote for the local candidate in next month's primary.

KEITH: No disrespect to him, he just don't seem like he's the type of person right now who would run a country you know?

That's 27 year-old Keith, a marketing professional who works downtown and didn't want to give his whole name. He's just begun paying attention to politics and says he's hearing a lot about one of the Democrats - whose name escapes him now.

KEITH: He has like a gray, gray sort of afro like real, you know like a flat top in a sense you know? (Laughs)

Well, John Kerry DOES have big hair.

WOMAN: Cause he reminds me of JFK. WOMAN: Yes, yes. WOMAN: And I believe his brother is backing him.

Some voters of both sides of the counter are leaning toward Kerry. And one woman really likes John Edwards. But while many people in this lunch time crowd are still undecided about the primary, they're much more focused on the general election. Melvin Alston is a Vietnam Veteran who works for the city and is supporting Kerry.

ALSTON: Sharpton is a good man, I like him personally, I think he's got a lot of integrity. I think he really has a feel for us. And he wants to do things for us. But I don't think he could beat Bush. That's the bottom line. I want a Democrat who can beat Bush.

Like other Democrats, Harlem voters say their main goal is defeating Bush. Which may also explain why they aren't troubled by the recent negative publicity surrounding Sharpton. No one here seems to know, or care, about reports that his campaign is in debt. Or that he's getting financial assistance from a Republican strategist. That's just politics, they say.

WOMAN: No I really don't pay mind to all those things you know.

Nor are the voters in Harlem galvanized by the prospect of a black man running for president. Melvin Alston says he's glad Sharpton's forcing other Democrats to pay attention to minorities. But he says this election is nothing like Jessie Jackson's two campaigns for the White House back in the 1980s.

ALSTON: I mean Jessie is one of a kind. We all know if Jessie wouldn't have been black Jessie would have been president right now, we know that. Jessie has charisma, he's a very knowledgeable person, and that's what he was able- he got a lot of votes Crossover votes. He's a different person, Sharpton. Sharpton has a lot but he's not Jessie.

And Sharpton doesn't have an organized campaign like Jackson's was. At a church in Harlem yesterday, the candidate defended his low numbers by saying his campaign has barely started in New York. And Sharpton chided his fellow Democrats for not paying enough attention to urban issues like police brutality.

SHARPTON: And the reason they would like to see people like me out of the race is they want to not have to address us. But I'm not going nowhere and neither are you.

For some Democrats, that's reason enough to stand by Sharpton.

As she waits for her lunch, retired school teacher Bessie Harrington says she'll probably vote for Sharpton next month. She also supported him in his other electoral races.

HARRINGTON: I respect him because he takes the initiative to go after situations that no one else would touch.

But, Harrington says she's also a realist. So when this election is over she hopes Sharpton will lead a new, longterm campaign for the issues he cares about. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.