DNC visits host cities for 2016 Democratic Convention

Following visits to Columbus and Philadelphia earlier this week, DNC Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz visited Brooklyn today:

New York City made its final pitch Friday to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Brooklyn.

Mayor Bill de Blasio met with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the Democratic National Committee’s chairwoman, who toured the Barclays Center, the arena at the center of the city’s proposal.

“I know it’s highly competitive,” de Blasio told reporters at an unrelated news conference. “I know we’re coming down to the wire.”

Wasserman Schultz went with the mayor to Barclays about 3:30 p.m.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), at a separate news conference, said that the city would subsidize hotel rooms for delegates to keep costs in line with cheaper cities.

Though past New York conventions for both parties have been held at Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan, Schumer said visitor accommodations in the Brooklyn proposal would generally be closer than in almost any other convention the Democrats have held in the past.

A February decision is expected.