BLAC, The Black Institute, Elected Officials and Advocates Rally Against Board of Elections Appeal of LeFrak Voting Rights Ruling
New York, NY – The Black Leadership Action Coalition (BLAC) and its sister organization The Black Institute (TBI), led by Bertha Lewis, were joined by elected officials, advocates and tenants on the steps of City Hall to demand that the Board of Elections’ (BOE) immediately withdraw their appeal of an October 2017 court ruling that prevented the agency from permanently relocating LeFrak City’s longstanding polling sites.
Last month, the BOE filed a 46-page brief with the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division claiming that New York County Supreme Court Justice Erika Edwards “encroached on the Board’s authority,” when she ruled that the BOE’s relocation of polling sites at LeFrak City was “irrational, arbitrary and capricious.”
Arthur Schwartz and Ethan Felder, on behalf of petitioners, will submit their own amicus brief challenging the appeal by the New York City Board of Elections and the Corporation Counsel for the City of New York, represented by Zachary Carter.
The battle began last summer when LeFrak tenants learned that their polling place — containing five different election districts — would be moved from within the complex’s Continental Room, where they have been voting for 50 years, to schools three quarters of a mile away. Its 6,000 voters, many of whom are minority, elderly or disabled, would have been dispersed to other sites that do not have public transportation options.
At the October 2017 New York Supreme Court hearing, the Hon. Erika M. Edwards issued an order for the immediate relocation of 4 of the 5 Election Districts — the 15th, 16th, 18th and 25th — back to LeFrak City, thereby reversing the actions made by the City’s Board of Elections.
Along with their demand of an immediate withdrawal, BLAC and TBI called for additional voting reforms including:
Increased transparency by the BOE on their decision making by making any supporting documentation public,
Agreement by the BOE to Mayor de Blasio’s proposal that involves $20 million toward reforming its operations, and
The passage of no-excuse absentee voting, early voting and voting by mail.
TBI will also be re-releasing its report, Mississippi on the Hudson, chronicling the abuse of the BOE’s power in relocating polling sites in predominantly minority communities.
“We are demanding that the New York City BOE withdraw their appeal immediately. We won fair and square in the New York Supreme Court. Not only was their relocation ‘irrational, arbitrary and capricious,’ but so is their decision to appeal. This vindictive move and their comments in the brief of Justice Edwards are shameful. They are not above the law. Every elected official in the city and state should stand with us and LeFrak City tenants. This is voter suppression at its height, thereby disenfranchising one of the largest concentrations of minority voters in the City. We might as well be in Mississippi,” said Bertha Lewis, President and Founder of The Black Institute and the Black Leadership Action Coalition.
“All too often, the Board of Elections’ processes are opaque and difficult for citizens to influence. The LeFrak decision created a small window which hopefully we can widen. The Board of Elections is wrong to assert, as it does here, that their decisions are beyond review. New York has the 46th lowest voter turnout in the U.S., and the NYC Board of Elections deserves a lot of the blame for that statistic,” said Arthur Schwartz, lead attorney who represented petitioners.
“The Board of Elections has yet to learn that its actions have dramatic consequences for those trying to access the franchise. The Board’s actions send an unmistakable message to communities of color and the disabled that not everyone’s right to vote matters equally. This is anathema to democracy. In the times we live in, it is the people who are leading the way in defending our most sacred rights and freedoms,” said Ethan Felder, attorney who represented petitioners.
“The right to vote is paramount and I stand strongly with LeFrak City tenants as they fight to ensure that their longstanding polling sites remain within the community. Any restriction of voting access to communities of color, low-income neighborhoods, senior citizens, or any eligible voters stifles our citizens’ voices and their right to be heard. I will not allow that to occur in LeFrak City,” said Congressman Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “It is past time for the New York City Board of Elections to drop their misguided effort to move these polling sites.”
“Plain and simple, this is an attack on LeFrak City residents. Through their actions, the BOE has shown they are playing political games in order to disenfranchise voters living there. The courts have ruled — any poll site relocations at LeFrak are irrational — and I am calling on the Board to withdraw their appeal efforts,” said Senator Jose Peralta (D-Queens).
“It’s a shame, that in 2018 there is still a working system that serves to deter black and brown men, women and young people from voting. Voter suppression is real and those who do not believe this are apart of the conspiracy,” said Council Member Andy King (D-the Bronx).
“It is my view that the Governor should conduct an investigation into the relocation of our poll site, as well as other poll sites around the city. It is the responsibility of commissioners of the Board of Elections to insure that the voters’ rights are protected. Suppressing votes in any way sabotages elections,” said Malikah K Shabazz, President of LeFrak City Tenants Association and lawsuit petitioner.
“I was the Executive Director for NYC’s first Disability Pride Parade held on the 25th anniversary of the ADA, and I love the ADA, which is why I become so upset when it is abused. During my recent visit to the Continental Room, I confirmed that there are no ADA violations existent and no person with a disability ever raised a complaint. The reasonable accommodation arranged by the BOE creates an undue burden on persons with disabilities as they have to sacrifice a huge block of time and pay a poll tax just to vote,” said Michael J. Schweinsburg, President of the 504 Democratic Club.
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