City Council redistricting begins
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New York City’s Districting Commission released the first draft of new City Council districts on Friday, July 15, 2022. Screenshot via NYCDC
By Rachel Vick
A new redistricting saga has begun.
The New York City Districting Commission voted Friday to release the first draft of redrawn City Council districts with 10 in favor and two against, offering New Yorkers their first chance to see what may be their new council district.
In Queens – the second most populous borough in the city — there are few major shifts in the lines in the draft maps. However, some proposed neighborhood and borough-breaking districts could change the makeup of political representation in the borough should the maps not change dramatically in the coming months, advocates say.
Queens Public Library CEO Dennis Walcott, who serves as the chair of the committee, emphasized the preliminary nature of the maps, encouraging members of the public to look at their districts and give their hyper-local feedback at hearings coming up in August.
A number of committee members expressed concern over several districts that are split under the draft maps – including one in Queens.
“In drawing lines, what we are doing in separating districts, but if there is anything this has made clear is we are all so connected — when we draw lines, it affects people on the other side,” said Hon. Marilyn D. Go, a committee member. “We are here to listen to you.”
One area of concern involved District 26, which is currently represented by Julie Won. Under the draft map, the district gains Roosevelt Island and a sliver of the Upper East Side of Manhattan from District 5, currently represented by City CouncilmemberJulie Menin, who led the city’s census effort prior to her election into office.
Also of concern is the splitting of Richmond Hill, a neighborhood broken into several districts on the local, state and federal level. The neighborhood, home to a large number of South Asian and Indo-Caribbean residents was once again split across three districts in the draft maps.
Felicia Singh, who lost the race to represent District 32 to Councilmember Joann Ariola in 2021, said she “was really in shock” when she first saw the new district — with Ozone Park and Woodhaven looped in with conservative-leaning Howard Beach, Breezy Point and Western Rockway.
“It's as if the population of color within the community has been diluted,” Singh said. “It is concerning because what this sets up is, it’s always going to be conservative block, which is conservative when it comes to the immigrant population, who need more services.”
“I honestly think [the new map] is worse; the possibility of electing another person like me in a Democratic primary could be harder with this new map,” she added. “[To] see a Richmond Hill that is whole would be beneficial to the community that lives there — people say redistricting is not about Democrats or Republicans but…the immigrant community that needs that representation right now [that] haven't been able to rebuild economically, socially since the pandemic.”
Singh was not alone in her disappointment over the Southeast Queens districts. New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director Murad Awawdeh said in a statement that “all New Yorkers deserve to have a voice in their local democracy, and these maps do little to ensure that promise is kept.”
“The NYC Districting Commission has failed immigrant New Yorkers in its draft City Council district maps,” Awawdeh said. “By splitting several immigrant communities and not maintaining all of the City Council’s plurality minority districts, the NYC District Commission did not meet its mandate of keeping communities of interest together. “
Districts in Queens largely left untouched include 24, 20, 21 and 19; each gaining portions of nearby neighborhoods. For some, changes to the street by street demarcation can be enough to disrupt voter blocks.
The Mitchell-Linden neighborhood of Flushing is divided between Districts 19 and 20 along 28th Road splitting voters in the neighborhood in half.
The commission created the maps following a number of markers, including population numbers and the idea of maintaining connected neighborhoods and preserving populations of interest.
Though specific details of the next round of public hearings have yet to be finalized, one will take place in each borough between Aug. 15 and Aug. 22. Written testimony can be sent to PublicTestimony@redistricting.nyc.gov.
The draft maps will be sent to City Council for approval in September and put into effect ahead of the 2023 elections.
