Submissions

Amy

Mona

March 15, 2023 Attention: New York State Independent Redistricting Commission Dear Commissioners, As a longtime resident of the Town of Ramapo, I am also the Chair of the Town of Ramapo Democratic Committee and have spent many years read more working on behalf of this wonderful town that I am proud to call home. I am writing about the proposed assembly maps which plans to split the Town of Ramapo into three separate Assembly Districts. Unfortunately, history has shown us that diluting our community in this way has a lasting negative effect on Ramapo families. Having multiple Assembly members, each of whom represents a district that includes just a small portion of the Town of Ramapo, is not beneficial to the town and in fact puts us at a serious disadvantage. Arbitrarily splitting the town in this fashion deprives us of the opportunity to have a strong and substantive partnership with the State Assembly, the ripple effect of which is felt by our town and its residents on a regular basis. Without a true partner in the State Assembly, our extremely diverse town lacks a single representative who is attuned to their varied needs to be their voice in the State Assembly. The lack of a single representative inevitably creates a sense of confusion that compounds issues which may surface and need to be addressed accordingly. We ideally need an Assembly member who understands our town, our residents, and our needs, and who is solely dedicated to us and the issues that we face. The reality is that our town, with 148,000 residents, should largely be contained in one Assembly District, not divided into three different districts. We deserve to have proper and adequate representation, which would entail having someone who considers the Town of Ramapo to be their primary focus, and not simply an afterthought. I therefore respectfully urge you to take a close look at the town and take the time to better understand its needs relative to representation in the New York State Assembly. Dividing the Town of Ramapo in such a fragmented and haphazard manner is imprudent, and the Commission should take this opportunity to ensure that our town is treated in a responsible and evenhanded fashion. Thank you for your consideration of our town and the needs of its residents. Sincerely yours, Mona Montal Chair, Town of Ramapo Democratic Committee
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Judy

Hello Commissioners, The attached document coincides with my oral testimony on 2/28/23. I appreciated the opportunity to share my oral comments and now my written comments that convey my support for your proposed map for AD21 as well as ways to read more enhance this map. Best, Judy Griffin, Former Assemblywoman AD21
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Katherine

My name is Katherine Walsh; I am born/raised here in Sunset Park. I am also on my local Community Board 7 Brooklyn and serve as the Transportation Chair. I am very active in my community and have extensive civic and political engagement including read more participating in local County Committee. I testified to the New York State Redistricting Commission virtually on Feb 15th. You can go to the website and choose “Part 3” 1:58 to view the recording of the testimony. I submit testimony today on behalf of myself and my community. I request that you keep us in Assembly District 51 (Sunset Park) specifically the streets between 56th street and 54th street between 4th and 6th avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn together in the existing 2022 Assembly District Map. The proposed map cuts out this section and moves into a new Assembly District 49th. Do not move us in Assembly District 49th. I ask you to please respond to what community members are asking for. Keep us in Assembly District 51. I spoke with residents that live around on these blocks about this issue when it was first proposed in 2021. More than 35 neighbors already signed that they want to stay together in the 51st Assembly District. This is the second time I have come to testify about keeping us together. It was the same issue at that time that it was proposed we were removed but in the final maps we stayed in. We would like to stay in and I ask you to preserve the lines on 6th avenue. Here in Sunset Park, we have experienced high rates of gentrification, and developments from all sides, we have high air pollution and lung cancer rates, we are dealing deluge of different challenges. It is important that we are unified in our elected representation to keep us together to work on these, and this needs to be reflected in the Assembly District Maps. I ask you to rise to your goals to keep neighborhoods, like Sunset Park, together, and specifically to keep these blocks under one unit in representation for the same assembly district in Sunset Park Please keep 56th to 54th street between 4th avenue and 6th avenue in existing 2022 assembly plan map for Assembly District 51 – don’t move us into the 49th. KEEP SUNSET PARK TOGETHER! New York State Redistricting Commission New York is finalizing new district maps to change the Assembly district for the next ten years. The commission wants to move us into the Assembly District further east, associated with Borough Park and Bensonhurst. Our elected leaders can serve us better if Sunset Park stays in one district! Sign the petition to keep our Sunset Park community together. THESE RESIDENTS SIGNED // ORIGINAL NAMES-SIGNATURES BELOW First Last Address Cesar Zuniga 434 55th street Petra Pena 430 56th street John Cucci 451 55th street Mary and John Murphy 449 55th street Strat Muh 435 55th street Laura Olin 424 55th street Yasko Yoshida 422 55th street Angela Aleman 424 54th street Jhodessa Reimer 428 54th street Helene Onserud 428 54th street Erik Steyn 428 54th street Marun Aleman 424 54th street Alice Walsh 452 54th street Katherine Walsh 452 54th street Viviane Hays 424 56th street John Milisenda 424 56th street Natalie Reubens 424 56th street Joseph and Lisa Estrella 432 56th street Josiah Estrella 432 56th street Michael Sierra 559 56th street Jessica Sierra 559 56th street Wanda Sierra 559 56th street Tanya Varges 563 52nd street Judith Rosario 563 52nd street Gladys Cruz 234 54th street Damarys Villaneuva 563 52nd street Nancy Acevedo 563 52nd street Karen Moore 563 52nd street Madison Moore 563 52nd street Matthew Sierra 559 56th street Samuel Sierra Jr. 559 56th street Samuel Sierra Sr. 559 56th street David Santiago 559 56th street Victor Perez 479 56th street
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Josh

Beacon should remain in its current district, the 104. Beacon, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie have historical connections, as well as cultural and economics ties, as river cities. I urge the committee to reconsider the proposed maps and leave Beacon in read more the 104th.
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Brad

Alison

I live in the current Community Board 6 on East 49th Street in Manhattan. I strongly object to the redistricting plan that would place me in a combined Queens/Manhattan district. The issues between those 2 boroughs are very often different, read more sometimes the interests are at odds. With things like driving penalties below 60th Street in Manhattan, we need to be grouped with residents of Manhattan facing similar situations.
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Matthew

Hello, Attached is a letter to the editor that was published in the Schwangunk Journal in September of 2022, shortly before the 2022 Elections regarding the Assembly maps that were in place for 2022. I encourage the committee to pay special read more attention to district 101, as how the lines are drawn now are egregious and detrimental to the communities that live here. The submitted proposal for the 2024 maps, addresses some of these issues. I would like to state for the record Keeping the districts as evenly matched as possible between parties creates a representational map that allows for the discussion of ideas and allows candidates to run based on policies and not a predetermined result based on Math that favors one party over the other. This strengthens are democracy and ensures that the voices of the people are truly heard in our legislature. Thank you for your time.
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David

Dear Peop[e: Today I received an email about your proposed State Assembly redistricting plan. What was described to me seems like an outrage. Please leave my Assembly District 146 and my Assembly person Karen McMahon alone! Please redistrict read more fairly and leave off the gerrymandering! --yours, David Gaeddert in Town of Amherst--
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Katherine

My name is Katherine Walsh; I am born/raised here in Sunset Park. I am also on my local Community Board 7 Brooklyn and serve as the Transportation Chair. I testified to the New York State Redistricting Commission virtually on Feb 15th. You can go to read more the website and choose “Part 3” 1:58 to view the recording of the testimony. I submit testimony today on behalf of myself and my community. I request that you keep us in Assembly District 51 (Sunset Park) specifically the streets between 56th street and 54th street between 4th and 6th avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn together in the existing 2022 Assembly District Map. . The proposed map cuts out this section and moves into a new Assembly District 49th. Do not move us in Assembly District 49th. I ask you to please respond to what community members are asking for. Keep us in Assembly District 51.
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Tyler

Public housing developments have been left aside in the redistricting process, though are viewed by many as communities of interest. This map unifies New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments, creating nine unified districts: District 37 read more (Queens and Roosevelt Island), Districts 55 and 56 (Brooklyn alone), District 65 (Manhattan and Brooklyn), District 68 (Manhattan and the Bronx), District 69 (Manhattan alone), and District 79, 80, and 85 (the Bronx alone). The map is best viewed with NYCHA Developments overlaid; that view is available online at https://bit.ly/3J8DTmM, with options to download in any file format. The plan also has many other benefits (common benefits, like district 49 being majority-Asian or district 51 being plurality-Hispanic, are not listed): -It has three majority-Hispanic districts in the Jackson Heights-Elmhurst-Corona region (34, 35, and 39) and one Asian-majority district there (30). -It has one plurality-Hispanic and one majority-Hispanic district in the Ridgewood-Cypress Hills-Woodhaven region (38 and 54, respectively). -It has two majority-Asian districts in eastern Queens (25 and 40) and two plurality-Asian districts there (24 and 27). -It only puts Roosevelt Island — no mainland Manhattan — in a district with Queens (37). -It keeps intact Hasidic neighborhoods in Williamsburg and Borough Park in districts 50 and 48, respectively. -With district 65 becoming a NYCHA-unified district, it ends the packing of minority communities in Lower Manhattan within one district; Chinatown would now be in district 61. Both districts 61 and 65 are majority-minority. -District 75 would be a new majority-minority district. -Manhattan-grounded districts 68, 71, and 72 are plurality-Hispanic. -The Bronx would have two majority-Black districts (80 and 83). The map does not include redrawn parts of southern Brooklyn and southern Queens or Staten Island, as there is no significant public housing that would require unification and no surrounding districts that are required to exemplify the plan's feasibility.
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Camille

A more compact and contiguous 44th AD as referenced in my testimony.

Robert

Attached is a proposed revision of the map of Suffolk County. I attempted to keep it to just the Suffolk ADs, however, there were some small revisions to areas along the Nassau-Suffolk border to ensure the deviation was largely similar to the draft read more proposal. This map is designed to unify various communities of interest in Suffolk County, as well as also address some small administrative issues for the Board of Elections (Ghost EDs aka EDs with 0 population and odd shaped EDs). In addition, this map is designed to create similar districts to the County Legislative and Town Board (where applicable) districts exist. Finally, the map was designed to have as minimal crossing of town boundaries as necessary. A description of each district and purpose of the design is as follows: AD01 - A South Fork district. This incorporates the Hamptons along with Eastport (Brookhaven portion is tied to Southampton portion), the various Moriches (Center Moriches, East Moriches, and Moriches). The only odd communities included are Mastic, the Poospatuck Indian Reservation, and portions of Mastic Beach. They are included as they have been in past incarnations of AD01 and are there for population. In addition, the Poospatuck Reservation students attend Center Moriches Schools and there is also the presence of the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in this district. A potential alternative exists, which will be elaborated in AD02. This district largely overlaps with the County's 2nd district. AD02 - A North Fork District. This incorporates the North Fork communities of Southold and Riverhead, along with Shelter Island, with Eastern Brookhaven. Shelter Island is included to keep contiguity with the County Legislative map, which recently transferred the Town to the North Fork Legislative district from the South Fork district. The portions of Brookhaven that are included have similar socio-economics to the North Fork towns and are also predominately rural (Manorville and Calverton) or are areas that have ties to the North Fork (Shoreham and Wading River share a School District). The only potential outlier is Miller Place, which is slightly more developed then the other Brookhaven communities. This town could be provided to AD04, but AD02 would then need population. If Mastic is not desired to be in AD01, a potential alternative would be to shift Shelter Island and Southold to AD01 and have AD02 move into Mastic, Moriches, and Center Moriches. The shifts there are roughly even. As stated before, this is not advised as it creates less overlap between Legislative Districts. This district would overlap with the County's 1st and 6th districts, and the Town's 2nd (eastern) and 6th (northern) districts. AD03 - Largely the Tri-Hamlet community, along with the heart of Longwood School District. A largely working class community, this area also unifies the minority populations of Brookhaven in Gordon Heights and North Bellport. These two communities have often advocated to be together, and are together in the County Legislature and Town Board. The only outlier community is the Village of Bellport, a largely wealthy community. Its location prevents it from being located in another district, and it does possess ties to the North Bellport community. This district largely overlaps with the County's 7th and 3rd (western) districts, and the Town's 4th district. AD04 - A suburban middle-class commuter district. This district possesses large similar socio-economics in terms of family median income, ethnic breakdown, and similarity across school districts. Lake Grove is included as it possesses similar demographics to the other communities in this district and less with the Centereach-Selden area. This district largely overlaps with the County Legislature's 5th district, and also the Town of Brookhaven's 1st and 2nd districts. AD05 - A working class community district. This district is anchored by two hyphen communities of Centereach-Selden and Holbrook-Holtsville. Both communities are anchor communities in their respective school districts (Middle Country and Sachem). This district could be alternatively called the Middle Country/Sachem district. This district largely overlaps with the County's 4th district and Town's 3rd district. AD06 - This is a largely Hispanic community district. This district # could be swapped with AD07 to create a greater consistency among the districts shifting from east to west. This district largely unifies the minority populations in Baywood, Brentwood, Central Islip, and North Bay Shore. They also share common school districts, and it keeps the lines similar to boundaries in the County Legislature's 9th, 10th, 16th, and 17th districts and the Town of Islip's 1st Council district. AD07 - A coastal community district. It is anchored by downtown hamlets in Sayville, Islip, and Bay Shore, along with the Village of Patchogue. This district is also the primary district for Fire Island. This keeps the inhabited parts of Fire Island in one assembly district (The Babylon portion is the only portion with population that is placed in a different district due to history). This district largely coincides with districts 08 and 10 of the County, and Districts 2 and 4 of the Town of Islip. AD08 - This district is primarily the Town of Smithtown, plus communities that cross into the Town of Islip in the form of Hauppauge (Fully AD08) and Ronkonkoma (Part in AD08 and part in AD05). This is a largely middle-class community, with a sizable population that commutes to the city. This district is similar to the Commission's proposal, only removing the Brookhaven and Huntington portions. It overlaps perfectly with the County's 12th and 13th districts. AD09 - A new district that is largely similar to the Commission's proposal. The primary changes are shifting of Deer Park out of the district and Lindenhurst in. This creates a district that largely overlaps with County districts 11 and 14. In addition, it is similar to a largely coastal community that exists in the Town of Babylon and Islip. AD10 - This district was reshaped to a district to acknowledge the substantial Jewish populations in the district in Plainview and Dix Hills. It also largely unifies school districts like Old Bethpage-Plainview, Half Hollow Hills, and South Huntington. AD11 - This district was shifted to incorporate Deer Park, which has sizable minority populations (in fact, this district used to have a small pathway to connect a sizable minority population in Eastern Deer Park with the rest of district named after former Assemblyman Bob Sweeney). This district largely coincides with District 15 of the County Legislature. AD12 - A coastal community for Huntington and northern Oyster Bay. It would be considered a quintessential Gold Coast district. While efforts were made to keep this district almost entirely Suffolk, it made more sense to go into Nassau in this direction than splitting up the communities of Syosset and Woodbury, which belong with Jericho and other middle Oyster Bay communities. AD17- this district was removed from Suffolk to try and keep Suffolk at 12 ADs (roughly proportional to their population). In return, it moved northward to take in more of Bethpage. As a resident of Suffolk County, I hope this information was helpful. It would be great if the commission could consider some of the proposal and a goal to attempt to overlap the Assembly districts with the various lower and also higher levels of government that exist in Suffolk County and help eliminate small EDs in the County. Thank you, -Robert
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Uri

*corrected* I have attached my map here. It is a modified version of the nyirc map. The changes were primarily made in the buffalo and albany regions where I do not think the maps were drawn well in the first draft.

Uri

*corrected* I have attached my map here. It is a modified version of the nyirc map. The changes were primarily made in the buffalo and albany regions where I do not think the maps were drawn well in the first draft.

Uri

*corrected* I have attached my map here. It is a modified version of the nyirc map. The changes were primarily made in the buffalo and albany regions where I do not think the maps were drawn well in the first draft.

Uri

I have attached my map here. It is a modified version of the nyirc map. The changes were primarily made in the buffalo and albany regions where I do not think the maps were drawn well in the first draft.

Uri

I have attached my map here. It is a modified version of the nyirc map. The changes were primarily made in the buffalo and albany regions where I do not think the maps were drawn well in the first draft.

Amy

White Plains Meeting - Nov 8, 2021

Dustin

Syracuse Public Hearing Meeting - Jan 24, 2023

Dustin

Syracuse Meeting - Oct 26, 2021

Lloyd

New York County Public Hearing Meeting - Feb 7, 2023

Somia

Kings County Public Hearing Meeting - Feb 15, 2023

Orlando

Camille

Kings County Public Hearing Meeting - Feb 15, 2023

Salma

Kings County Public Hearing Meeting - Feb 15, 2023

Don