Queens orgs disappointed by redistricting results
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One of the proposed maps for Assembly Districts in Queens. Photo via NYSIRC
By Jacob Kaye
While they couldn’t come together to make a bipartisan agreement as they were intended to do, the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission did a few things right Wednesday, redistricting organizers in Queens say.
The commission, which was created in 2014 and tasked with redistricting the state for the first time this year, released two sets of first draft electoral maps earlier this week after its Republican and Democratic members couldn’t agree on one set.
Despite the disagreement, organizations in Queens that have been advocating for new lines in their districts said there were some wins buried in the conflict. New lines in some of the maps reflect their desires for less gerrymandering in Black and brown neighborhoods historically disadvantaged by electoral lines. But the organizing isn’t over, they said, after the overall process and end result have left many feeling disappointed.
After participating in public hearings and submitting draft maps of their own, organizations in Queens say they were happy to see they weren’t completely ignored.
“I’m pleased to see the collective advocacy of many community organizations, South Queens Women’s March included as a part of the APA Voice Redistricting Task Force, has been centered in the IRC’s first round of the “letters” map for District AL,” said Aminta Kilawan-Narine, the founder of the South Queens Women’s March. “It’s a major and very much welcome improvement.”
Kilawan-Narine, her organization and others, had been specifically advocating for the unification of Richmond Hill and South Richmond Hill and parts of South Ozone Park and Ozone Park, all of which are home to a large South Asian and Indo-Caribbean population.
Richmond Hill is currently divided across seven Assembly Districts.
“The lines divide us in a way that dilutes our ability to be a strong voice,” Kilawan-Narine said during the commission’s public hearing in Queens in July. “Stop dividing us, keep us whole. This isn’t about identity politics, it’s about fairness, equity and justice.”
In the “letters” version of the Assembly maps – the Democrats have backed the maps named “letters” and the Republicans have backed the maps dubbed “names” – Richmond Hill is kept a little more together than it has been in the past.
“While the [letters Assembly] map centers our overall advocacy, there are some portions of South Ozone Park near the Van Wyck Expressway and North Conduit Avenue which are notably not included,” Kilawan-Narine said. “These portions are home to our community of interest and should be included. Portions of the northwest area that are currently included in [the district] should be removed.”
Organizations said Wednesday’s anticipated reveal leaves a lot to be desired and feels like an overall let down after the IRC stressed so much that it was dedicated to public input.
“It seemed like the idea that we were putting forward, which is fair districts and wholly represented communities with it, sort of fell on deaf ears,” said Heather Beers-Dimitriadis, a lead organizer with the Central Queens Redistricting Coalition. “We're just very disappointed in the fact that communities have not been kept whole.”
Beers-Dimitriadis, who acknowledged that IRC didn’t have a lot of time to create their maps, said that she sees some steps toward progress, at least in Central Queens, and at least in some of the maps.
Her organization submitted maps of their desired district – which includes areas including Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Rego Park – and its neighbors to the IRC. The Democrat’s Assembly map somewhat resembles some of the drafts the coalition submitted.
Both Beers-Dimitriadis and Kilawan-Narine took issue with both sets of Senate maps released, which they say still don’t do a good enough job of keeping distinct neighborhoods together.
“Regarding the Senate maps, it is disheartening to see the continued fragmenting of our community of interest,” Kilawan-Narine said.
In the Republican’s Senate map, Forest Hills’ district runs south to Ozone Park, cutting through a portion of Richmond Hill, separating the neighborhood from its western and southwestern neighbors. Another Senate district in the Republican’s map runs from the northern part of Astoria, across Northern Queens until it dips down at Glen Oaks.
While the Democrats Senate map tends to keep neighborhoods fully intact within districts, there are still some that stretch across the borough.
One district in Central Queens, similar to the current map, starts in Woodside and heads east until it reaches Fresh Meadows.
But most disappointing was the fact that the 10 person commission, which is half Democrat and half Republican, couldn’t agree, organizers say.
The commission will hold a second round of public hearings in the coming weeks and submit a final draft of the maps to the State Legislature in January. If the lawmakers vote against the maps twice, they’ll have an opportunity to draw them themselves, as they have done in the past.
“I do believe that the chances of the legislature having to draw these maps increased yesterday,” Beers-Dimitriadis said. “I think if I were a legislator, after seeing what I saw yesterday, I would have been concerned.”
But even if the power falls back into the hands of lawmakers, Beers-Dimitriadis said she would do what she could to make sure her voice and the voice of the communities affected by redistricting still have a say in the end product.
“If it did turn over to the legislature, I think we would find a way to sort of exercise our voice,” she said. “Either through meeting with our electeds, emailing our electeds or even standing outside their offices if it came to that.”
