Seniors Demonstrate Support for Kerry by Etta Sanders Nearly 100 residents of the Hallmark held a spirited rally on the sidewalk outside the Battery Park City assisted living facility on the morning of Aug. 31 in support of John Kerry and in protest of the Republican administration. Wearing white t-shirts printed with "Vote Kerry, Save our Democracy", the participants, most in their 80's and 90's, may have been unable to venture to midtown to join the numerous other protests taking place during the Republican National Convention, but they were every bit as committed. "I'm here because I'm so fiercely against Bush," said Julia Gelfand, 97. After a series of brief speeches through a hand held bullhorn, the marchers, some aided by canes, walkers or wheelchairs, moved slowly around the corner and then back to the building's entrance. "Our enthusiasm outdoes our legs at this point," said Mori Stickney, 84. But what they lacked in mobility, they made up for in conviction. "I would have come out even if I had to crawl, "said 89-year-old Herb Diamond leaning on his cane. If there were any Republicans nearby, they were nowhere to be seen. Lee Kheel, 85, whose t-shirt read "drop Bush, not bombs" on the back, said the Hallmark population is so overwhelming Democratic that, "If you are a Republican, you keep it a secret." The rally grew out of the activities of a political action committee Hallmark residents formed last year, which has raised money for political causes and conducted postcard writing campaigns to elected officials. The purpose was not only as an anti-Bush protest, said organizer Pearl Scher, but also to demonstrate that seniors are politically active. "Some of us can't walk. Some of us can't hear," Scher told the crowd. "But we can still see, we can still act and we can still cherish what this country stands for." For some, taking to the streets was a new experience. Jean Poirier said she lived in a small town in New Jersey where demonstrating just never came up. "In 85 years it's my first protest," she said, " It feels good to vent." For Gelfand who cast her first presidential ballot for another northeastern Catholic, Governor Al Smith in 1928, this was her first political rally. "It's fun," she beamed. Eighty-nine-year-old Henry Suss also seemed satisfied as he looked over the assembled group. "For people who are as young as we are, it's good showing."