WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Uptown voters may be surprised on Tuesday when they show up to their polling sites to find they no longer exist.
The city’s Board of Elections has relocated a half dozen polling sites in Washington Heights and Inwood. The changes came in advance of Tuesday’s primary elections, which feature a faceoff between Adriano Espaillat and Robert Jackson for the state Senate seat and a five-way fight to replace disgraced Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa, who resigned in June.
According to the Daily News, the changes were made because the original sites didn’t meet the accessibility standards defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Board of Elections said that voters were notified of the changes by mail and that an announcement has also been posted on the agency’s website. However, some uptown residents said they had received mixed messages.
“I got this thing in the mail about two weeks ago that had new poll site information,” said Brad Aaron, an Inwood resident and reporter for Streetsblog NYC. “But then I got another site change notification that put me back at Cooper Street. Now I’m not sure where to go.”
Workers will also be posted at the old polling sites to redirect voters to the correct locations on Election Day, the BOE said.
Aaron said he planned to bring all of the notifications and his voter registration card with him on Tuesday in hopes of straightening out the confusion.
“I’m lucky. I work from home primarily, but if I had to schlep up from downtown after work, I wouldn’t have time for this,” he said.
Uptown residents can check this list to see if their polling site has been affected. The Board of Elections also allows voters to look up polling sites based on their addresses.
Changes to 72nd Assembly District Polling Places:
► Old Site: The Mirabel Sisters School at 21 Jumel Place
► New Site: P.S. 173 at 306 Fort Washington Avenue
Affects Voters from Election District: 10
► Old Site: The Mirabel Sisters School at 21 Jumel Place
► New Site: Alianza Dominicana Triangle Building at 530 West 166th Street
Affects Voters from Election District: 5
► Old Site: Gregorio Luperone High School at 501 West 165th Street
► New Site: Alianza Dominicana Triangle Building at 530 West 166th Street
Affects Voters from Election Districts: 3, 4 and 6
► Old Site: P.S./M.S. 278 at 421 West 219th Street
► New Site: Good Shepherd Church at 104 Cooper Street
Affects Voters from Election District: 67
► Old Site: P.S. 98 at 530 West 212th Street
► New Site: Good Shepherd Church at 104 Cooper Street,
Affects Voters from Election District: 66
Changes to 71st Assembly District Polling Places:
► Old Site: Gregorio Luperone High School at 501 West 165th Street
► New Site: Alianza Dominicana Triangle Building at 530 West 166th Street
Affects Voters from Election District: 62
