Councilman Eric Ulrich welcomed the city Board of Elections’ announcement that it moved Tudor Village residents’ voting site from Lindenwood to Ozone Park. File Photo
Tudor Village residents will have an easier time voting after the city Board of Elections agreed to follow Councilman Eric Ulrich’s (R-Ozone Park) request that it change a poll site so residents would not have to cross a major highway to cast their ballots.
City BOE Executive Director Michael Ryan told Ulrich in a Sept. 27 letter that, as of the Oct. 1 special runoff election, Tudor Village denizens would be assigned to vote at JHS 202, located at 138-30 Lafayette St. in Ozone Park, instead of at their previous poll site at PS 232 in Lindenwood. The announcement follows a letter Ulrich sent in September asking for a switch.
“With this change in poll site, voters will no longer be required to traverse the north and south sides of Conduit Avenue to vote on Election Day,” Ryan wrote in his letter. “This change will certainly be more convenient and will enhance the safety of the voters, as they will no longer be required to cross a busy thoroughfare with few overpasses to exercise their right to vote.”
Last year, the BOE designated PS 232 as the new poll site for a large section of Tudor Village. Previously, Tudor Village residents had been able to vote at PS 63 in Ozone Park – a much easier site for residents, particularly those who are older and non-drivers because they did not have to maneuver across the busy and dangerous Belt Parkway.
Located not far from PS 63, the new spot at JHS 202 is also far more manageable than the Lindenwood site, Ulrich and area residents said.
“I am pleased that the Board of Elections was able to accommodate the residents of Tudor Village,” Ulrich said. “By making it easier for them to exercise their right to vote, we are ensuring that every voice can be heard on Election Day.”
Residents echoed this, saying that the city’s decision to move the site last year prevented a number of people from casting their ballots.
“It was a shame that we, the senior citizens living here, had to vote in Howard Beach,” Tudor Village resident JoAnn Vintenzi said of the PS 232 site. “It’s hard for those who live in Tudor Village to get to Howard Beach. These people, they walk with canes, and it’s too dangerous to cross there.”
Vintenzi also welcomed the new poll site.
“Now at least people can walk there,” she said. “It’s not that far.”
By Anna Gustafson
