A polling site in a Queens, N.Y., neighborhood has been moved after some Jewish voters raised concerns about violating their religious beliefs by having to enter the building.

Kew Gardens Hills residents will now not have to vote at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church because their voting venue is being switched to the Kew Gardens Hills Library, according to the Times Ledger, a newspaper in Queens.

“It’s an issue for certain people that religiously don’t feel it’s right to ask them to vote in a church,” state Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz (D-Queens) told the newspaper.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

He has been helping the city Board of Elections identify alternate polling places.

The area’s previous polling place can no longer be used because the U.S. Justice Department said it was not handicap-accessible, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount