Russian and/or Haitian Creole interpreters at 20 poll sites in
Brooklyn. For the November 2018 general election, MOIA’s
interpreter program provided Russian, Haitian Creole, Yid-
dish, Italian, Polish, and Arabic interpreters at 101 poll sites.
MOIA communicated with the Board regarding the interpreter
program prior to both the 2017 and 2018 general elections, and
adhered to the Board’s request that MOIA station its interpret-
ers at 101 feet or more from the poll sites.
The Office of the Mayor’s Democracy NYC initiative joined
with MOIA in planning for the provision of poll site interpret-
ers for the February 26, 2019 citywide special election for pub-
lic advocate. The plans for this special election included the
provision of interpretation services in Russian at 40 poll sites,
2. The 11 languages are Albanian, Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Ital-
ian, Greek, Polish, Russian, Tagalog, Urdu and Yiddish.
BOARD OF ELECTIONS v MOSTOFI [65 Misc 3d 876] 879
Haitian Creole at five poll sites, Yiddish at two poll sites, and
Polish at one poll site. Prior to this special election, the City
defendants formally requested that the Board allow them to
station the interpreters within the respective poll sites.
Fonseca-Sabune attended the Board’s meetings on January 4,
2019, and January 15, 2019, at which point she provided the
Board’s commissioners with information regarding the poll
sites at issue, how the languages were selected, how interpret-
ers were trained and supervised, and how they would provide
their services. Fonseca-Sabune thereafter sent the Board a let-
ter dated February 13, 2019, in which she indicated that the
City intended to station its interpreters within the 100-foot
boundary even absent the Board’s consent.