STATEN ISLAND -- Gubernatorial candidate and actress Cynthia Nixon made a first-time stop on Staten Island Saturday afternoon as a candidate, touring the borough and promising to help fix the Island's transportation woes and enact a number of progressive policies.

Borough residents filled Flagship Brewery in Tompkinsville to hear her speak, many of them saying they were interested in hearing what the political newcomer had to say because they were tired of the status quo of the Democratic party in Albany.

But many also said they were still undecided on whether to give Andrew Cuomo a third term in office, and unsure if they would vote for Nixon.

"I think some of the issues she talks about are good, but are they of particular importance to Staten Island?" Joann Sacks of St. George, said. "I want to know if she's aware of what Staten Island issues are."

The candidate pitched about a dozen progressive policies to Island Democrats, promising to fully fund all public schools, legalize recreational marijuana and end the racial disparities in marijuana arrests, and make New York State a "real sanctuary state."

But she made just one concrete promise to Staten Island: a vow to invest in the Island's transportation if elected.

"We need to fix the New York City subway and we need to invest in transportation across the state, we need to invest in transportation in Staten Island," Nixon said. "We need to do it because we can't have people in transportation deserts, and we can't have people trapped by the gridlock that is snarling our roads."

Nixon told the Advance that one of the issues she heard the most from Staten Islanders is the need for better transportation options.

She said more HOV lanes and expanding ferry service around Staten Island were ideas she would be interested in exploring if elected.

"We have to do something about the incredible gridlock and things like HOV lanes would make an enormous difference," she said. "A ferry is obviously a great way to address the problem of getting in and out of Staten Island, and we have a ferry that only comes from one part of the Island now, and I think that's something that we should look at expanding."

Cuomo's campaign argued the governor made transforming infrastructure a "central focus of his tenure."

"Investing $100 billion in a statewide plan, directing the MTA to improve Staten Island's bus network, advance the express bus redesign, and deliver a new fleet of Staten Island rail cars to improve service. The governor is focused on results, not rhetoric," Cuomo campaign spokeswoman Abbey Collins, said.

Nixon also took the opportunity to question Cuomo's true political stripes, accusing him of handing over "massive amounts of power to the Republican party" and governing like a Republican fiscally as well.

"[Cuomo] has handed over to the Republican party of New York State the ability to block every progressive priority that we've had here."

Debbi Quinones of the SI Urban Center speaks to @CynthiaNixon about the Maritime education and recreational corridor waterfront proposal on her ride on the Island ferry pic.twitter.com/CPF9mNOXsa — Sydney Kashiwagi (@SydneyKashiwagi) July 14, 2018

The candidate got to and from the Island on the Staten Island Ferry, taking time to stop and speak to ferry riders and pose for selfies.

She also made pit stops at the Muslim American Society Community Center, New York City Housing Authority's Richmond Terrace, and the Everything Goes Book Cafe.

NOT ALL DEMS ARE CREATED EQUAL

Nixon was joined by other progressive Democratic political newcomers from the borough like activist Bobby Digi, who is running for the North Shore Assembly seat, and Jasmine Robinson who is facing off against state Sen. Diane Savino.

They and other Democrats agreed that it was time for a change in Albany and that not all Democrats are the same.

"We have a progressive voice and we have a progressive choice. Not any ol' blue will do, this blue will do," Robinson said of Nixon.

"We must have communities that empower themselves and hold accountable the Democratic party, especially in this borough," Digi said.

Others said they voted for Cuomo in the past, but he was no longer the progressive they had hoped for.

"[Cuomo] will do good on some issue and then he'll rest on his laurels, he's not really a progressive," Robin of St. George said, adding "how did he not get the speed cameras renewed in school zones?"