Larry Sharpe Bronx Meet-and-Greet Courts Independents

On August 30, inside the storied Arthur Avenue Market, veteran and former New York gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharpe turned a casual meet-and-greet into a sweeping policy seminar, urging a Bronx audience to embrace localism and build a cross-party coalition strong enough to challenge Albany’s status quo.

“I grew up right by Yankee Stadium,” Sharpe began, anchoring his remarks in Bronx roots before shifting to his statewide barnstorming—“seven runs” across all 62 counties over eight years—because, he said, “localism matters.” The thesis for the night unfolded from there: New York’s centralized control, in his view, inflates costs, stifles opportunity, and weakens public safety—problems he framed within three pillars: affordability, opportunity, and safety.

Affordability: “We made necessities expensive and luxuries cheap.”

Sharpe argued that sectors with heavy government control—health care, housing, schooling—see prices climb, while elective or cosmetic services (with less regulation) become more affordable. The remedy, he said, is to devolve decision-making closer to communities and reduce top-down mandates that he believes drive costs “again and again.”

Opportunity: Licenses, chains, and the lost art of the trades

Sharpe’s most animated moments came as he described a regulatory culture that, he contended, squeezes out small businesses while national chains can “lobby the government” and thrive. He pointed to licensing rules—“braiding hair shouldn’t require college”—and urged a cultural reset that respects skilled trades. Too many young people, he said, are steered away from well-paid, debt-free paths. “Who’s the ‘dumb kid’ now,” he asked, “the one earning 70, 80, 100 grand with no debt—or the one underemployed and $50,000 in the hole?”

Safety: Local control, empowered DAs, and the right to self-defense

On public safety, Sharpe said policing priorities should be set locally, with district attorneys “actually deciding outcomes” and county sheriffs playing a larger role. He advocated wider self-defense rights and criticized criminalizing “items in your pocket” rather than actions. Throughout, he framed safety as inseparable from trust in local institutions.

A coalition to compete with the establishment

Sharpe cast New York’s political math bluntly—Democrats outnumber Republicans roughly 3:1—and said statewide GOP victories are increasingly elusive. The path forward, he argued, is coalition politics anchored by independents, whom he says now outnumber Republicans in the state. “Independent parties move things forward,” he told the crowd, hinting at a possible run next year and invoking historical long-game candidates who won on their third try.

Veterans, education, and the MTA: Sharpe’s policy toolkit

In a lively Q&A, Sharpe sketched a series of proposals:

• Veterans: Channel small, voluntary contributions from residents’ year-end state liabilities to local VFWs, American Legions, and non-government veteran groups—“Let veterans support veterans.”
  
• Education: Create a state social trust to fund schools directly and reduce federal strings; streamline administration and reimagine K–12 as K–10, offering a high-school equivalency at 16 and a $20,000 / five-year state education credit for trades, prep, or apprenticeships. The goal: faster, cheaper paths to real skills—and fewer six-year bachelor’s degrees.
  
• Transit/MTA: Open night-time subway slots to private freight operators (e.g., Amazon, FedEx) to build and finance logistics rails and system-wide Wi-Fi; lease naming rights to bridges to fund maintenance and reduce or remove tolls; dedicate a “caring caboose” car on trains with private security and hospital partners to triage riders in crisis without defaulting to police action.
  
• Immigration & Sanctuary Policy: Establish a Bronx-based intake hub—his “Ellis Island” concept—run by vetted recruiting firms that match willing workers to jobs, issue a limited two-year work permit, and require check-ins while barring public assistance during the term.

Sharpe fielded pointed questions—from AI’s march into the economy (“your job won’t be taken by AI; it will be taken by someone who knows AI”) to whether national politics should intrude on state priorities (“If it helps New York, I’ll back it. If it hurts New York, I’ll fight it.”). His closing plea returned to theme: stem the out-migration, rebuild the economic base—finance, farming, and “forward-thinking”—and do it through local control and broad coalition.

Whether Larry Sharpe runs next year or remains a movement evangelist, the Arthur Avenue takeaway was unmistakable: decentralize power, lower barriers, and organize beyond party lines. “We can fix this,” he said, “but only together.”