More Interpreter Services Are Coming To Central Queens Poll Sites

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Voters in central Queens who speak Polish, Russian, and Italian will be able to receive help from interpreters at additional polling sites in the area during the upcoming June primary elections.

On top of its existing translation services, the New York City Civic Engagement Commission (NYCCEC) is working with interpreters to offer 11 additional language options at polling sites across all five boroughs, including in Forest Hills, Rego Park, Middle Village, Maspeth, and Ridgewood.

The translation services will be offered from 6:00 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Election Day polling sites on Tuesday, June 22. Interpreters will also be available at early voting sites from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. on Saturday June 19 and Sunday June 20, respectively.

Here’s which early voting sites in central Queens are offering interpreter services in Polish, Russian, and Italian:

• Middle Village — Board of Elections Queens Voting Machine Facility Annex at 66-26 Metropolitan Ave: Italian and Polish
• Forest Hills — Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens Borough Hall at 120-55 Queens Boulevard: Polish and Russian
• Rego Park — Rego Center Community Room at 61-00 97 Street: Polish and Russian

Here’s which Election Day voting sites in central Queens are offering interpreter services in Polish and Russian:

• Maspeth — Holy Cross Church at 61-21 56 Road: Polish
• Rego Park — JHS 157-Stephen A Halsey at 63-55 102 Street and PS 175-Lynn Gross Discovery School at 64-35 102 Street: Russian
• Ridgewood — PS 88-Seneca at 60-85 Catalpa Avenue: Polish

The commission decided where to offer specific interpreter services, and in which languages to offer them, based on census data and data from the city’s Board of Elections, according to the NYCCEC.

News of the additional language services comes in the midst of the city’s $15 million outreach campaign to educate New Yorkers about ranked-choice voting.

This June will be the first time when a majority of New Yorkers use the voting system, where voters can rank up to five candidates in order of preference.

Ranked-choice voting was first used in the city this March in a special election in Queens, where Selvena Brooks-Powers assumed the 31st District City Council seat after it was vacated by now-Borough President Donovan Richards.

“Here in New York City, we've been working to expand democracy constantly, make it easier for people to run for office, easier for them to get public financing, easier for people to participate, especially if they happen to speak another language,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio in April, when he announced the launch of the ranked-choice voting education campaign.

Laura Wood, chief democracy officer at DemocracyNYC — a city initiative aimed at increasing voter participation and civic engagement — said that language access is central in ensuring that voting resources “reach all New York voters.”

In addition to the city’s translation services, all voters in New York have the right to bring an interpreter with them to polling sites.