The Frenchman heads into the double-header season finale with a 32-point lead over Lucas di Grassi as he seeks to become the first-ever multiple title winner in Formula E.
Vergne will start the first of two races in Brooklyn from 10th on the grid while his Brazilian rival is way down in 14th after both drivers took to a dusty track in the first qualifying group.
At the sharp end, Sebastien Buemi secured pole with a stunning lap four tenths of a second quicker than his nearest challenger Pascal Wehrlein.
It is the sixth pole in 12 races this season for Nissan, while Alexander Lynn, Daniel Abt, Alexander Sims and Sam Bird completed the Super Pole Shootout.
New York ePrix Race One qualifying results
22. Jerome d’Ambrosio (Mahindra Racing) – 1:18.262
21. Felipe Massa (Venturi Formula E Racing) – 1:14.862
20. Oliver Rowland (Nissan e.Dams) – 1:11.605
19. Stoffel Vandoorne (HWA Racelab) – 1:11.449
18. Oliver Turvey (NIO Formula E Team) – 1:11.413
17. Edoardo Mortara (Venturi Formula E Team) – 1:11.326
16. Andre Lotterer (DS Techeetah) – 1:11.222
15. Gary Paffett (HWA Racelab) – 1:11.095
14. Lucas di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) – 1:11.080
13. Mitch Evans (Panasonic Jaguar Racing) – 1:11.065
12. Tom Dillman (NIO Formula E Team) – 1:11.006
11. Maxi Gunther (Geox Dragon) – 1:11.005
10. Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah) – 1:10.933
9. Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing) –1:10.854
8. Antonio Felix da Costa (BMW I Andretti) – 1:10.845
7. Jose Maria Lopez (Geox Dragon) – 1:10.836
Super Pole Shootout
6. Sam Bird (Envision Virgin Racing) – 1:11.094
5. Alexander Sims (BMW I Andretti) – 1:10.899
4. Daniel Abt (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) – 1:10.894
3. Alex Lynn (Panasonic Jaguar Racing) – 1:10.696
2. Pascal Wehrlein (Mahindra Racing) – 1:10.600
1. Sebastien Buemi (Nissan e.Dams) – 1:10.188
Formula E Season Five concludes with a double header in New York this weekend, with Round 12 taking place on Saturday and Round 13 on Sunday. Find out how to watch all the action here.