NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday was among the many New Yorkers who had to wait several hours to cast a ballot at an early voting site.
The mayor headed to the Park Slope Armory YMCA at around 1:30 p.m. to cast his ballot and found a line of voters wrapped around the block of 15th Street and 7th Avenue.
Upon his arrival, the mayor was met by hecklers who told him to get in line, forcing him to walk to the end of the queue on 16th Street.
The mayor seemed to take the wait in stride at first telling reporters that he admires everyone on the line.
“Everyone else is waiting,” he said. “They’re doing it because they care, and they want to make their voices heard.”
Wearing a suit and a blue medical mask, the mayor passed time speaking to those around him for a while.
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As the line slowly progressed, however, he began to acknowledge the wait was outrageous.
“I think people are keeping in good spirits but, they don’t think it’s right. Everyone thinks this is kind of ridiculous but they’re still sticking with it because they want to make sure they get their vote counted,” the mayor told NY1.
During his wait, de Blasio also repeated his criticisms of the Board of Elections, saying the system was broken and people should not be subjected to hours-long waits to cast their ballots.
Staying socially distant from others in the line, the mayor faced some heckling and questions from constituents passing by the line.
He even paused to talk with a young girl who told him that she would like to be mayor of New York City when she grows up.
The mayor reportedly checked emails and participated in conference calls during his 3-hour wait.
Towards the end of his wait, the mayor donned a pair of blue surgical gloves and also stepped up to help hand out free slices of pizza to those around him. He also grabbed a slice for himself (sans knife and fork).
Mayor de Blasio finally cast his ballot at around 4:50 pm.
In the end, he also made sure to get his “I Voted” sticker.
To combat the long lines, the Board of Elections on Tuesday voted to extend early voting hours at some polling sites across the city.
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