State commission to hear Queens’ thoughts on Assembly districts
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Proposed Queens Assembly districts drafted by the New York Independent Redistricting Commission in December. The commission will host a hearing at York College at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16. Screenshot from newyork.redistrictingandyou.org
By Ryan Schwach
Next week, Queens residents will go to York College in Jamaica to weigh in on the newest draft of district lines for the New York State Assembly, a so-far tedious process which has been beleaguered in the courts.
In September, a Manhattan judge ruled that the New York Independent Redistricting Committee redraw their lines for the State Assembly and repeat the process they began over a year ago – albeit, this time to completion.
The commission did not submit final maps to the legislature before its early 2022 deadline, prompting state lawmakers to draw their own, each of which was eventually struck down in court. But while the State Senate and congressional maps were redrawn by a court-appointed special master, only the Assembly lines were sent back to the commission for a second go.
The commission released their newest maps in December and are now in the process of soliciting public feedback, which they will then use to draw a second set.
And while the district lines are far from finalized, the commission’s first proposal would shake up a number of Queens’ current district lines.
Under the proposed maps Assemblymembers Nily Rozic, Andrew Hevesi, Steven Raga, Vivian Cook, Juan Ardila and Ron Kim all would continue to be the only incumbent living in the district they currently serve and will have reasonably similar constituencies.
Eight of the 18 members of the Queens delegation will no longer reside within the district they currently serve, under the proposal. Should some of those changes remain in the final version of the map, the incumbents would either need to eventually move or run in a different district. The proposed map also leaves five districts currently unoccupied by an incumbent, and sees several neighborhoods change in how they are represented.
District 23 and 31
District 23 currently encompasses sections of the Rockaway peninsula, Broad Channel, Howard Beach and Ozone park and is represented by Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato.
The new lines would split Rockaway in half, east and west, and then stretch up into mainland Queens toward Forest Park.
Pheffer Amato, who resides in the Rockaway Beach section of the peninsula, would now longer be within the new lines, and would instead live in AD31, currently represented by Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson.
Pheffer Amato, who just recently eked out reelection by just 15 votes over a Republican challenger, would more than likely have to move to run in the new district 23, rather than challenge her Democratic colleague who already represents much of Far Rockaway and Southeast Queens, should the maps not change significantly.
However, the new lines are similar to City Council District 32, which Republican Joann Ariola represents, making it more likely that a Republican candidate could have a chance at the 23rd should one choose to run.
District 24
Currently represented by Assemblymember David Weprin and encompassing areas of Richmond Hill and the more eastern neighborhoods of Terrace Hills and Hollis, District 24 is one of five districts where an incumbent will not reside under the new maps.
The new maps would eliminate D24's western portion, and confine it to Richmond Hill and Ozone Park to the south. Weprin, who lives in Hollis, would now be living in the 26th District.
Assemblymember Jenifer Rajukumar, who currently represents District 38, and will be drawn out, could see a path in the heavily South Asian communities that the new District 24 will cover.
District 26 and District 27
D26 now includes Bayside, Bay Terrace, Auburndale, Douglaston, Glen Oaks and Little Neck along Queens’ eastern border, and is represented by Assemblymember Edward Braunstein.
The new maps would see Braunstein’s home in Bayside shift to Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal’s District 27, moving him out of the district.
Although the district spreads to take what is now the western portion of Weprin’s D24, most of the district stays intact, so it could be likely Braunstein could make a run at the new 26, and Rosenthal would keep his 27th District.
District 29 and District 33
Currently, the Southeast Queens district is represented by Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman, who would now reside in the new 33rd District.
However, D29 would keep in tact the Jamaica and St. Albans constituency, making it likely Hyndman could move and then run in the newly drawn district.
Assemblymember Clyde Vanel’s 33rd district would gain Springfield Gardens but keep much of the 48-year-old’s district intact.
Districts 34, 35, 36 and 39
The majority of the Queens’ redistricting complications could come in the ever-changing northern part of the borough.
District 34, which holds the Ditmars, Jackson Heights and Astoria neighborhoods sees its current representative, Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, just a few hundred feet from its new draft lines, based on the address she used to file in the 2022 election.
District 36, which makes up the progressive coastal neighborhoods of Astoria and Long Island City also sees its incumbent, Assemblymember Zohran Mamamdi just on the outside of its new borders. The new D36 lines also include Roosevelt Island and a portion of eastern Manhattan. Since interborough lines tend to be unpopular, and with a similar attempt to make a Western Queens-Manhattan district shot down during the City Council’s redistricting process, it’s possible that district is significantly changed in the final versions of the map.
Southeast of District 26, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz finds herself just outside of her Corona based district, the proposed map shows.
This leaves Mamadi as the only incumbent living in D34, but without the left-leaning neighborhoods he now represents, he could potentially move into the new 36 and keep his old seat should the maps not change significantly.
González-Rojas, Cruz and Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry would all reside in what could become the new 35th District, which keeps most of Aubry’s current constituency but cuts out most of González-Rojas’ and Cruz’s constituencies.
District 38
The new District 38 has very little in common with the old 38. Currently represented by Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, it now encompasses Woodhaven south of Forest Park, and Glendale north of it.
It could potentially only keep Glendale, and then stretch as far northwest as Long Island City, as far east as Rego Park, and include Maspeth and Ridgewood.
Rajkumar lives in Woodhaven, which would now be District 23, making both the new D23 and the new D28 with Rajkumar’s base in the South Asian community either left out of 28 or drowned out by right-leaning Howard Beach, Broad Channel and western Rockaway peninsula.
No other incumbent currently lives in the new 38. Although the election lies far in the future, former City Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley ran last year for a State Senate district with lines similar to the new D38 – the district was eventually redrawn and Crowley lost to now-State Senator Kristen Gonzalez.
The Queens hearing will be held at York College in Jamaica at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16.
