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QUEENS WEEKLY, JUNE 9, 2019
BY BILL PARRY
The city’s Board of
Elections announced it
would double the number
of early voting polling
sites from 7 to 14 after
complaints from state
Senator Michael Gianaris
and several elected officials
in northeast Queens
that the original plan
was inadequate.
Gianaris held a press
conference at LaGuardia
Community College in early
May where he complained
that 7 polling sites were
simply not enough for voters
in Queens, which has the
second-highest population
in the state (by county) and
the largest geographic area
in the city.
Under the state’s
new voting law, Queens
residents will be able to
begin casting their votes
nine days before Election
Day this year but the BOE
plan had too few locations,
and “the few sites chosen
are not even convenient
for many residents,”
Gianaris wrote in a letter to
the BOE.
“Seven polling sites
for more than 2 million
people is an affront to
democracy. The Board of
Elections plan deserves a
recount” Gianaris said at
his press conference. “We
passed this law to make it
easier for millions of New
Yorkers to vote. The Board
of Elections needs to step
up so more New Yorkers
will vote.”
Gianaris was angered
that just a single location
was originally planned
for all of western Queens,
at LaGuardia Community
College. On Thursday, the
BOE announced it would
add a second location in
Gianaris’ district, at the
Museum of the Moving
Image in Astoria.
“I am glad more voters
will have the chance to
vote now that additional
poll sites have been added,”
Gianaris said. “While
we need even more going
forward, doubling the
initial proposal is a step in
the right direction.”
The BOE also added a
polling site in Bayside, at
the Korean Community
Services located at 203-
05 32nd Avenue, after
Assemblywoman Nily
Rozic and Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein fired
off a letter to the BOE
complaining that voters
in eastern Queens were
being overlooked.
The original plan
had just one early voting
polling site in all of
northeast Queens, at the Al
Oerter Recreational Center
in Flushing Meadows
Corona Park several
miles away from voters in
Bayside, Fresh Meadows,
Auburndale, Bay Terrace,
Whitestone, Oakland
Gardens, Douglaston and
Little Neck.
Other new locations
announced by the BOE on
Thursday include the Cross
Island YMCA in Bellerose,
the First Baptist Church
in East Elmhurst, Holy
Trinity Parish Church in
Cambria Heights, the New
York Hall of Science in
Corona and the Rochdale
Village Community Center
in Jamaica.
The original sites
include Rentar Plaza in
Middle Village, Queens
Borough Hall in Kew
Gardens, Resorts World
Casino in South Ozone
Park, and the Rockaway
YMCA at Arverne
by the Sea.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
File photo/QNS
Parking cheats cuffed
Four Queens drivers busted for fake placards
Alex Proimos/NYC Department of Finance
BY MAX PARROTT
Four Queens residents
were among eight
individuals arrested on
Tuesday for allegedly
creating phony city-issued
parking placards so they
can put their vehicle
wherever they wanted.
“Parking comes at a
premium in a city like New
York and using fraudulent
placards to circumvent
the rules is a crime.
These individuals abused
city parking regulations
and attempted to escape
paying the penalties by
posing as city employees
with city-issued placards
or by using fake handicap
parking placards reserved
for those in real need,
according to the charges,”
said DOI Commissioner
Margaret Garnett.
These arrests come
after Mayor Bill de Blasio
unveiled a new measure
aimed at preventing fake
placards and phase out the
use of physical city-issued
placards in February.
That plan sought to
eliminate the use of
fraudulent placards as an
approach to the problem
of municipal employees
who abuse city-issued
parking placards.
The defendants are
charged with offering a
false instrument for filing
in the first degree, a class
E felony punishable by up
to four years in prison.
Ying J. Lin, 47, of
Fresh Meadows, received
a summons for failure
to display a muni meter
receipt and failure to
display a parking meter
receipt in Queens. To get
the tickets dismissed,
Lin allegedly submitted
two fraudulent City
DOT handicap parking
placards to DOF. Lin’s plea
was denied by DOF and
the summonses were paid
in full.
Ramon Arias, 57, of
East Elmhurst, received
a summons for Failure to
Display a Parking Meter
Receipt in Manhattan.To
get the ticket dismissed,
Arias allegedly submitted
a fraudulent New York
Blood Center parking
placard to DOF in January
2018. Arias’ plea was denied
by DOF and the summons
was paid in full. Because
Arias allegedly used a
New York Blood Center
placard, purporting to be
a New York Blood Center
employee, Arias is also
charged with Criminal
Impersonation in the
Second Degree, a class
A misdemeanor.
Arsen Iskhakov, 47, of
Forest Hills, received a
summons for parking in
a no parking zone during
street cleaning in Queens.
To get the ticket
dismissed, Iskhakov
allegedly submitted a
fraudulent City DOT
handicap parking
placard. Iskhakov’s plea
was denied by DOF and
the summons was paid
in full.
Adrian Ramprasad, 27,
of South Richmond Hill,
received summonses
for Failure to Display a
Parking Meter Receipt
in Queens. In an effort
to get these tickets
dismissed, Ramprasad
allegedly twice submitted
a fraudulent City Law
Department placard to
DOF. Ramprasad’s plea
was denied by DOF and the
summonses were paid in
full. Because Ramprasad
also allegedly used a
placard purporting to be
a City Law Department
employee, Ramprasad
is charged with two
counts of Criminal
Impersonation in the
Second Degree, a class
A misdemeanor.
The case is being
prosecuted by the
Manhattan District
Attorney’s Office.
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by email at
mparrott@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
224-5863, ext. 226.
Elections board doubles
Queens early vote sites
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