‘People’s Bus’ begins city tour with stop in Jackson Heights

By Jacob Kaye

An old Department of Correction bus sat covered in canvas in the middle of Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights on Sunday.

Just a week before, it was being used to transport incarcerated people but by the weekend it had been transformed into a “People’s Bus,” designed to meet New Yorkers on their home turf to teach them about ranked-choice voting. In the coming months, it will be redesigned to serve New Yorkers in other ways.

“The People’s Bus invites New Yorkers to know we’re here and here to collaborate,” said Yazmany Arboleda, the city’s public artist in residence and designer of the bus. “The bus has a history of trauma and we’re transforming it to serve people.”

Created in collaboration with the Civic Engagement Commission, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Arboleda, the People’s Bus began serving the city as a literal vehicle for civic engagement over the weekend after it was donated to the city by the DOC. It made stops in Brooklyn and Queens on Saturday and Sunday and will continue its tour of the city in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island this week.

“I think it’s been very heartwarming,” said Dr. Sarah Sayeed, the chair and executive director of the Civic Engagement Commission. “A bunch of people have stopped by and engaged.”

“It’s very gratifying,” she added.

Scores of colorful literature designed to teach New Yorkers about ranked-choice voting lined the tables outside of the bus. Jackson Heights residents of all stripes stopped by to learn more.

Richard Clark, who lives in Brooklyn but works in Jackson Heights, walked up to the bus during his lunch hour.

Clark, who wasn’t aware of the new voting system, said that he understood how ranked-choice voting worked after having a conversation with one of the people working the table.

But voting education won’t be the only thing the bus is used for. Its future is still up to the people.

A rendering of the People’s Bus’ potential future.  Courtesy of Yazmany Arboleda/Civic Engagement Commission

Over the weekend, passersby filled out a ranked-choice ballot, with various options detailing the potential future of the bus.

Items on the ballot include transforming the bus into a performance space, a podcast, TV and radio storytelling center, a wellness center, art studio, food pantry and classroom.

Clark said he hopes to see the bus transformed into a wellness center. He ranked it first on his ballot.

“In the times we’re living in now, we need more space for people to take care of their health,” Clark said.

The results of the poll will be tabulated in the coming months and the bus will be rolled out, fully transformed, at the “People’s Festival,” taking place at some point in August.