Roosevelt Island Gets Early Voting Site After Local Push

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NY — Residents of Roosevelt Island will not need to venture into Manhattan to cast an early vote for mayor or City Council in the upcoming primary, thanks to a new poll site that will open on the island in June, a local lawmaker announced.

Roosevelt Island's early voting site at the Sportspark Gymnasium will be open from June 12 to June 20, ahead of the June 22 primary, Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright said Thursday.

The site was designed after an agreement between Seawright, the New York City Board of Elections and Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation CEO Shelton J. Haynes.

Rebecca Weintraub, a candidate for district leader on the Upper East Side, tweeted that she had contacted Seawright in an effort to secure the site, calling it "absolutely necessary to ensure fair representation."

"Roosevelt Islanders asked and we answered," Seawright said in a statement. "We must fulfill the intent of early voting including the ease of convenient voting times including early morning, late evening, and weekend hours."

Seawright brokered a similar deal last October, securing Marymount Manhattan College as an additional early voting site for the Upper East Side in an attempt to alleviate the hourslong waits at Robert F. Wagner Middle School.

Kudos to all the electeds and activists who fought to bring early voting to Roosevelt Island! A victory for increased participation in our democracy. https://t.co/hefvbXGTfz
— Billy Freeland (@BillyFreelandNY) May 6, 2021

Great news: #RooseveltIsland will have an early voting location for the primary election this year, according to @SeawrightforNY! Sportspark Gymnasium will be open for early voting from Saturday, June 12 to Sunday, June 20!
— Kim Moscaritolo (@kimmosc) May 6, 2021