Calm in Charles Rangel's District Despite Vote Count Drama Life on West 181st Street, in the 13th Congressional District, has not changed much since last week's primary election. At the lower tip of Manhattan on Tuesday, the New York City Board of Elections defended its handling of the primary election contest between Representative Charles B. Rangel and his main challenger, State Senator Adriano Espaillat, a disputed race that has assumed more drama since the polls closed. A board commissioner, Juan Carlos Polanco, asked the board's general counsel at a meeting to explain why Mr. Rangel's margin of victory, which has been reduced to 802 votes, was revised so drastically in the days after the election. "The fact is that, in the heat of the conduct of the canvas on election night, sometimes our poll workers make errors in filling out the returns of canvas," said the general counsel, Steven H. Richman. I am sure that the N.Y.P.D. makes mistakes both in the data entry and the transmission. Such errors were unavoidable, he suggested. "People want instantaneous and perfect results," he said. You can't get them both. But at the other end of Manhattan this week, in the heart of the 13th Congressional District, in Washington Heights, life hewed to a quiet routine. At vending stands, bus stops and takeout counters, many seemed unaware of the postelection drama. "What election?" asked a gray-haired man at a bus stop on Broadway. At a gypsy-cab stand on West 168th Street, political views were nearly as indifferent. "There are some countries in Latin American that people don't want to vote," a cabdriver, nicknamed Chile after his native country, said. They think it's a waste of time. I think that's what happened here. The driver, eyeing his double-parked town car, said he was not allowed to vote because though he was a resident of the United States, he was not a citizen. Whom would he vote for? "Rangel," he said, grinning. He's a good guy, who was in the Army. He knows what it is to run this, or he wouldn't have 22 terms in Congress. Hispanics now dominate the landscape in the district that Mr. Rangel has represented for more than 40 years. Some saw last week's primary as a chance to elect one of their own. "I mean, 40 years," Luis Cruz, 34, said, and then sighed, as he cut hair in his barbershop on Broadway near West 190th Street. He's been there a long time, and I think it's time for change. "I don't know - all the time the same people," said Renaldo Vargas, 56, as he bought Tootsie Rolls at a bodega before heading to St. Elizabeth's parish across the street. I think that's not good. But whether because of voter registration issues over citizenship, apathy over the political process or a lack of awareness of what some deemed a historic race, it appears that Mr. Espaillat was unable to harness that sentiment and turn it into a victory. At last count, more than 2,000 absentee and affidavit ballots were still to be tallied. "What happened in the election is normal," said Francisco Pimentel, 66, sitting at his sneaker stand at a street fair. Charlie Rangel won the election clean. Now we are waiting. Along the strip, many pointed out that the incumbent had served well while in office, though they could not point to any specific achievements. Memories can blur over 22 terms. Mr. Pimentel, who has been a vendor for 18 years, joined the chorus. "He's done a good job for vendors like us," he said. His friend, Eligio Rosa, also spoke up. "This is not a place with a lot of money," Mr. Rosa, 76, said. "Being here," he added, pointing to the stand where his wife sold women's undergarments, "we've been able to get food for our families."