Ranked-choice voting will
be used in New York City
for the fi rst time in the
upcoming primaries. It has
been used in other states, and
it’s implementation could have
a big impact on the upcoming
citywide races.
In fact, it has already had
an impact on how candidates
have campaigned. There have
been fewer negative attacks on
opposing candidates, as candidates
fear possibly alienating
another candidate’s voter base.
It has also forced people
to endorse not only their fi rst
NYC is ready for hurricane season, are you?
COURIER L 36 IFE, JUNE 11-17, 2021
choices for an elected offi ce but
also their second and sometimes
even third choices for
the seat. The nature of rankedchoice
voting has shifted how
campaigns operate.
The race for mayor, example,
is expected to be extremely
close — with no one candidate
probably winning more than
25 percent of the vote on the
fi rst-choice ballot. The candidate
who can garner the most
second-choice votes may come
out on top.
It’s a unique race just in
terms of how candidates are
having to vie for secondchoice
votes as well as fi rstplace
votes.
The reason ranked-choice
voting was implemented was
so that voters have more of a
voice in who’s elected. Being
able to rank candidates allows
for voters to have more representation.
Voters can still just
vote for one candidate if they
choose to. This is also known
as a bullet ballot.
In the end, ranked-choice
voting is a win for voters.
Think of a normal election
where a candidate wins with,
let’s say, 37 percent of the vote.
That leaves 63 percent of voters
unsatisfi ed.
Ranked-choice voting helps
remedy that issue, giving voters
more say which is always a
positive — and giving a majority
of New Yorkers representatives
they can call their own.
Regardless of how you vote
in the June 22 primary, if
you’re eligible to participate
in it, please do so.
Voting is not a civic duty exercised
once every four years.
The local elections count just
as much as any presidential
election — and, in many respects,
are more impactful on
our daily lives.
We’re electing a new slate
of executives and representatives
who will be tasked
with leading the city’s post-
COVID recovery, along with
tackling all other issues we
take for granted — from public
safety to school curricula,
from rezoning to trash collection,
from road repair to public
transit, and everything in
between.
Make your choice, and
make it count!
EDITORIAL
Make your choice
OP-ED
BY JOHN SCRIVANI
We all know that New York
is a city that never sleeps,
and the past year has shown
us that emergencies don’t
take a pause, either. While
the city has been fi ghting the
COVID-19 pandemic, natural
disasters like coastal storms
and hurricanes continued to
threaten the place 8.6 million
of us call home. This year, it’s
more important than ever for
New Yorkers to take steps now
to be ready.
Here’s how.
Know Your Zone
In New York City, a lot has
changed. Your hurricane evacuation
may have changed, too.
We are constantly examining
past events to improve and
shape our mitigation, preparedness,
response, and recovery
efforts. Thanks to new
and improved storm surge
modeling, combined with better
topographic data, and information
from actual events,
the city has updated its hurricane
evacuation zones for the
2021 Atlantic hurricane season.
Depending on the strengt
and course of a storm, up to 3.1
million city residents could
fi nd they will need to evacuate
before a storm. Knowing your
zone is a small but important
step that will help you and
your family stay safe this hurricane
season.
Finding your zone is easy.
Visit NYC.gov/knowyourzone
or call 311 (212-639-9675 for
Video Relay Service, or TTY:
212-504-4115). You also can fi nd
hurricane evacuation centers
that are closest to your home.
Make Your Plan
If this last year has taught
us anything, it’s that we need
to be prepared. Every New
Yorker should have an emergency
plan that best suits
their needs and outlines what
to do, where to go, and how to
stay in touch.
In a planned evacuation,
such as for a coastal storm or
hurricane, city offi cials will
advise residents which New
York City communities are affected
and provide guidance
on how the evacuation will
proceed. If you must evacuate,
your fi rst plan should always
be to stay with friends
or family that live outside of
an evacuation zone. (If you are
a pet owner, shelter your pet
at a kennel or with friends or
relatives outside of an evacuation
zone.) Especially in these
challenging times, remember
to check and see if they
have symptoms of COVID-19
or have people in their home
at higher risk for serious illness.
If they have symptoms or
people at higher risk in their
home, make other arrangements,
such as mapping out
which of the city’s evacuation
centers you will go to.
For those who have no
other shelter, the city will
open 60 evacuation centers
throughout the fi ve boroughs.
If you are going to an evacuation
center, pack a Go Bag
fi lled with essential supplies,
including clothing, personal
supplies, and medications.
If you have pets or service
animals, don’t leave them behind.
Pets and service animals
are allowed at all city
evacuation centers. Just like
you will bring supplies to care
for yourself, bring items to
care for them, too.
For more info on how to
prepare and to build your
emergency plan, visit NYC.
gov/readyny, call 311 or download
the free Ready NYC mobile
application (available for
Apple and Android devices).
Stay Informed
Notify NYC, the city’s emergency
communications program,
provides free emergency
alerts and updates when you
need them most. Notify NYC
sends out messages around the
clock, 365 days a year.
Signing up is free and
easy: Get the Notify NYC mobile
application (available for
Apple and Android devices),
visit NYC.gov/notifynyc, call
311, or follow @NotifyNYC on
Twitter. From phone calls to
emails and text messages, Notify
NYC messages are available
in multiple languages,
audio format, and American
Sign Language video format.
We are ready to face any
storm that may come our way.
Together, we can be safe and
prepared.
John Scrivani is the commissioner
of the New York City
Emergency Management Department.
Cars submerged in fl ood waters in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
/knowyourzone
/notifynyc