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Change to Uptown Polling Site Could Lead Voters to Skip Primary, Locals Say

 Residents found out that their longtime polling site at P.S. 187 was changed for this year's election.
Uptown Pollling Site Change
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HUDSON HEIGHTS — A polling place that was recently relocated over accessibility issues is worse than the original site because it's further away and forces people to traverse a hill — potentially leading people to skip voting altogether, residents said. 

Neighbors who had been voting at P.S./I.S. 187, located at 349 Cabrini Blvd., for as many as 25 years were recently notified by the Board of Elections that they would now have to travel to P.S. 48 at 4360 Broadway to vote in the September 10 primary.

In 2012, the BOE was sued by the United Spinal Association because of barriers to accessibility at some polling sites. A federal court ordered the agency to undertake system-wide compliance efforts, including instituting an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) officer at each site, according to the case. It was not clear what the specific problem was with P.S./I.S. 187.

However, residents said that the new site would pose its own accessibility issues.

“Walking from where we are to PS 48 can be quite a trek for some people,” wrote one commenter in a local Facebook group. “Overlook Terrace is steep. The stairs at 187th Street are not viable for many people. There’s not even a way to take a bus there…I’ll bet a good number of my elderly neighbors will forego voting as a result.”

Another voter, whose partner is in a wheelchair, said he would have preferred the original site.

“We have never had a problem using the ramp at P.S. 187,” he said. “As others have stated, it will be extremely difficult for us to vote at P.S. 48 since pushing a wheelchair up and down the hill on Overlook Drive is pretty much impossible for me now.”

Elizabeth Ritter, president of the Hudson Heights Owner’s Coalition and a member of the Barack Obama Democratic Club, said she supports the BOE’s effort to make polling sites fully accessible, but agreed that P.S. 48 would pose a challenge for many residents.

“It’s not the worst idea, but they didn’t take topography into account," she said of the change. "For able-bodied people like myself, it’s not a bother, but for anyone who is mobility-impaired, it’s a real drag.”

In response, Ritter worked with Assemblyman Denny Farrell’s office and the BOE to find alternate sites to P.S. 48.

“We were trying to come up with places that would keep people who live up the hill from saying, ‘This is just too difficult. I’m not going to vote,’” she said. 

Eventually, the BOE agreed to allow residents from three Hudson Heights-area election districts, including the 83rd, 84th and 85th, to vote at the Fort Tryon Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. These election districts encompass the area north of West 187th Street from Cabrini Boulevard to Overlook Terrace.

The building, at 801 W. 190th St., is fully accessible and only requires voters coming from the these districts to go down a small hill, rather than traveling all the way to Broadway.

However, voters in the 78th, 79th, 80th and 81st districts will still have to travel to P.S. 48, according to BOE records. These districts cover the area from roughly West 183rd to 187th streets between Chittenden Avenue and Overlook Terrace.

Residents were appreciative of the change to Fort Tryon Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, but still worried for their neighbors who will still had to travel to Broadway.

"Big help for the many elderly residents of my building," wrote a commenter on a Facebook thread. "I hope the other people in this area who are being massively inconvenienced by the new voting location will soon have an alternate easier-to-reach site."

It was not clear what would happen for future elections.  

Ideally, the local school could be made fully accessible not only for voting, but for the many community events that are held in the space, Ritter said.

“I’d like to hope that there will be movement towards making 187 accessible, but it’s hard to say,” she said. “That  could be a multimillion-dollar project.” 

The Board of Elections did not respond to requests for comment about the polling site change and why P.S. 48 was chosen. 

A spokesman for the Department of Education said that the DOE works with the Board of Elections to provide the best and most appropriate polling sites. The spokesman did not answer questions related to P.S./I.S. 187's accessibility.