MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
It is hereby ORDERED that the determination be and the same hereby is unanimously confirmed without costs and the petition is dismissed.
Memorandum: Supreme Court erred in transferring this proceeding to this Court pursuant to CPLR 7804(g) inasmuch as it does not raise a substantial evidence question. We nevertheless address the merits in the interest of judicial economy ( see Matter of Hunt v. Goord, 252 A.D.2d 982; Matter of Moulden v. Coughlin, 210 A.D.2d 997).
The record establishes that petitioner waived his right to an employee assistant before the hearing and, although he initially indicated at the hearing that he wanted an employee assistant, petitioner later indicated that he would proceed without one. Thus, contrary to the contention of petitioner, we conclude that he validly waived his right to an employee assistant. Petitioner failed to preserve for our review his contention that he was denied his right to an interpreter ( see generally Matter of Wood v. Goord, 265 A.D.2d 854). Finally, contrary to petitioner's further contention, the record does not establish "that the Hearing Officer was biased or that the outcome of the hearing flowed from such bias" ( Matter of Parker v. Coughlin, 211 A.D.2d 929, 929).