Chinese seniors in Sunset Park head to polling stations via a shuttle bus organized by Brooklyn Chinese-American Association yesterday. Photo by Wendy Leung.

Political activity was high in the city's Asian communities yesterday as voters went to the polls following one of the largest voter registration efforts among this population.

In the last five months, groups under the umbrella coalition of Asian Pacific American Voters Alliance garnered over 7,000 new Asian-American voters in the New York City area through education forums and registration drives, a feat some community leaders say has exceeded their expectations.

Yesterday in Sunset Park, home to the largest Chinese community in Brooklyn, many Chinese seniors were bused to different polling stations throughout the neighborhood from the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association on 8th Avenue. The social services group has been providing transportation to voters for over 10 years and by noon yesterday, at least 40 people had used the service. Translators from the organization were also on hand to help the mostly Cantonese-speaking voters.

One proud Democrat, Chen Meifeng, 75, has voted in the last three presidential elections, but was on the bus for the first time yesterday. "I've come for every election because we live in America and of course we have to make sure every politician does their jobs," said Chen, while waiting in line to vote at P.S. 314.

Mr. and Mrs. Ng, of Sunset Park, read elections stories from a Chinese-language newspaper on their way to vote yesterday. Photo by Wendy Leung.

Chen, a retired home worker from Guangdong, China, cannot read or write and gets most of her news from the television and the association's senior center. "I'm not saying Bush is no good," said Chen, explaining her preference for Sen. John Kerry. "But rich people usually vote for Bush and I'm poor. I don't think Bush really supports poor people."

The associations' public relations director, Carolus Shen, said many Chinese immigrants from the Communist-ruled China are very interested in voting in their new country. "Here you have Democrats, Republicans, this one, that one. We tell them, 'you're an American, you can join any party if you want,'" Shen said.

One such Chinese voter is Lin Meixin, 67, who immigrated in 1993 and recently got her citizenship. Lin said she had two years of education in her native Guangdong province and that a woman like her rarely has a voice in Chinese society. "Back home, without an education, you're pretty much blind," said Lin, a housewife now living in Chinatown. "I'm really happy I can vote here."

In the last presidential election, 4.7 million Asian-Americans nationwide were eligible to vote but only 2.5 million were registered, and of those, 87 percent actually voted. This year, Asian-American organizations throughout the city hope the 7,000 newly registered voters will make an impact.

Chen Meifeng, right, gets help from poll workers and an interpreter at a polling station in P.S. 314 in Sunset Park yesterday. Photo by Wendy Leung.

Speaking at a City Hall press conference last week, Rupa Parekh, national board chair of South Asian American Voting Youth, said, "We're sending a message to candidates that if they wanna win, they have to win with Asians."

In the largely Chinese and Korean neighborhood of Flushing, Queens, the Asian vote was especially crucial during the Democratic primaries. In September, Chinese-American businessman Jimmy Meng, upset incumbent Barry Grodenchik for the 22nd district State Assembly seat. Yesterday, Meng was up against Republican Meilin Tan and the Green Party's Evergreen Chou, both Chinese-American. Results were not available as of press time, but as the Democratic candidate, Meng is the favorite to become the first Asian-American elected to the State Assembly.

Many community leaders in Flushing expected a large turnout at the polls because of the precedent set in the local elections. Chou, who commended his opponent Meng's efforts at registering voters in the weeks leading to the elections, had no doubt that Flushing voters came out in full force yesterday. "You know they're gonna come out voting for the Chinese of their choice," he said.

At a Chinese-language debate among the three candidates for Assembly last Tuesday, City Councilman John Liu, (D-Flushing), called yesterday "the most important election of our lifetime at both the national and local level."

Liu, who gave his endorsement to Meng last Thursday after backing Grodenchik in the primaries, stressed the importance of the voting power in the Asian-American community.

"It's not so important who you vote for but the fact that you do vote," he said.

The city's Korean community was also getting a big push to vote. The Young Korean American Services and Education Consortium recently completed the city's first Korean voter database using information from the New York City Board of Elections. The Flushing non-profit group gathered over 20,000 names for the database and has been busy calling and writing these targeted voters, reminding them to head to the polls.

While the social services group doesn't endorse any candidates, program director Young Sook Na hoped that raising awareness in the Korean community would help unseat President Bush. "The 2000 elections changed a lot for Asians," said Na, who conducted exit polls in the Korean neighborhoods of Flushing and Bayside yesterday. "He hasn't done anything for immigrant rights or the immigrant community."