Joseph Spector

Albany Bureau Chief

ALBANY - Hillary Clinton started to ramp up her New York presidential primary campaign on Wednesday, releasing an ad that knocks Donald Trump's campaign and giving a speech at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem.

The Wednesday morning speech is to be followed by an event Thursday in her home county of Westchester, where she will speak at SUNY Purchase.

On Friday, Clinton will head to Syracuse for two events: a roundtable on her plans to "support American small business and manufacturing jobs," and then an organizing rally.

The New York presidential primary is April 19 for both Democrats and Republicans.

In her Wednesday speech, Clinton touted her record as New York's senator from 2001 through 2009, citing the 2001 terrorist attacks and her efforts in Washington to get funding for the rebuilding of lower Manhattan.

"You have always had my back, and I’ve always tried to have yours," Clinton said. "When I think back to those eight eventful years I served you, there were some hard times, weren’t there? But we pulled together. None of us who lived through 9/11 and its aftermath will ever forget the lives lost, lower Manhattan in ruins, toxic dust and debris raining down and the many examples of heroism we saw."

She also talked about her efforts to help the state's economy.

"We were looking for anything that would create more jobs, more markets, more opportunities, and we fought for new investments for poor communities and support for teachers and schools so all our kids could get a good education no matter what ZIP code they live in," Clinton said.

Clinton's Democratic foe, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, will be in New York on Thursday, speaking in the South Bronx.

He was in Wisconsin on Wednesday ahead of that state's primary next week, accusing Clinton of supporting trade policies that led to plant closures and job losses. He accused her of being tied to Wall Street.

"We don't represent Wall Street. We don't represent the drug companies or the fossil fuel industry. We don't want their money," Sanders said at a rally.

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Supporters gathered at the storied Harlem theater holding signs welcoming Clinton back to her adopted home state. The former secretary of state moved to the hamlet of Chappaqua after her husband, former President Bill Clinton, left the White House.

"We’re going to work for every vote in every part of this state, just like I did when I ran for the Senate," she said. "Because New Yorkers took a chance on me, and I’ll never forget that."

The television ad, without mentioning Trump by name, showed the Freedom Tower construction in lower Manhattan. In the ad, she said we don't “solve America’s problems by building walls, banning people based on their religion and turning against each other.”

The ad also showed video footage from a recent Trump rally where a supporter of the Republican front-runner punched a protester.

"New York, 20 million people strong. No we don't all look the same. We don't all sound the same either. But when we pull together, we do the biggest things in the world," she said in the ad.

She offered a similar critique of the Trump campaign during her Harlem speech, saying, "Our next president has to be just as passionate about defending our people and our country as about fixing our economy. I will do both. Because when you vote on April 19, you’re voting for a president and a commander in chief."

In Wisconsin, Trump knocked Clinton and said he's the best candidate to lead the country.

“A movement is only a movement if the movement ends in greatness, meaning it ends in making sure that our country really becomes great again. We have so much momentum,” Trump said.

Clinton had a 21-percentage-point lead over Sanders, 55 percent to 34 percent, in New York, a Siena College poll found earlier this month.

Late Tuesday, Sanders' campaign said it scored a victory: Clinton has indicated she's agreeable to a New York debate.

Sanders' campaign has pressed for one, but Clinton's campaign initially was resistant. The debate may be held in Brooklyn — where Clinton's national campaign is based and where Sanders has set up his New York operation.

The Sanders campaign said the likelihood of a New York debate was "a victory for Democratic voters everywhere and for New York voters in particular."

JSpector@Gannett.com

Joseph Spector is chief of the Gannett Albany Bureau.

Includes reporting by the (Westchester) Journal News' Mark Lungariello and the Appleton (Wis.) Post-Crescent.