East and South Queens redistricting maps leading to wider schisms

Queens Chronicle 

 Update

The Districting Commission voted to send the revised proposal to the City Council Thursday by a vote of 13-1, with one absence. 

ORIGINAL STORY

As the city’s meticulous reapportionment process draws on, the Districting Commission is set to vote on a revised proposal for City Council district lines today, Oct. 6.

Thursday’s meeting comes just two weeks after the commission voted 8-7 against its own proposal. The body spent three hours last Thursday night and four and a half hours last Friday tweaking the map, taking into account 286 items of public testimony that had come in after the rejection two weeks ago.

Among the most significant changes to the Queens lines to come from last week’s discussions is the return of part of Fresh Meadows to District 24. Councilman Jim Gennaro (D-Hillcrest) had taken issue with the previous draft in large part because, in moving that portion of the neighborhood to District 23, members of the area’s Orthodox Jewish community would be separated from the rest of the enclave. Should the commission approve that draft, District 24’s eastern boundary would be 188th Street, as it is now.

Asked for comment on the proposal, Gennaro said, “This community and I, as its representative, made our objections to the first two proposals loud and clear. Last Friday, the Districting Commission did the right thing by completely reuniting the Orthodox Jewish community within the 24th District.”

Later, he added, “We look forward to this plan being passed by both the commission and the City Council.”

THE CITY 

In the hours following the five-alarm Richmond Hill fire in June that ravaged a row of houses, killed three family members, and left more than 40 people homeless, Annetta Seecharran felt abandoned in her efforts to scramble for resources and support for the victims. 

Not one elected official showed up that day, Seecharran told THE CITY.

“I called and I called and I called,” Seecharran, who heads the Indo-Caribbean and South Asian community development organization Chhaya in Queens, told THE CITY. “And there was no response.”

Mayor Eric Adams visited family members the next day and said “the whole city is mourning.” Apart from that, however, Seecharran recalled this week how disheartening it was for her and other community members to have to fight for attention in the aftermath of that tragedy in City Council District 28, represented by Speaker Adrienne Adams. 

Seecharran, along with other locals and activists from Southeast Queens’ majority Indo-Caribbean and South Asian neighborhoods, gathered outside a Sikh temple in Richmond Hill on Tuesday with the fire in mind. 

Their goal: to call attention to the way electorally divided communities like theirs have been historically “underserved by the government” — and how the NYC Districting Commission’s draft map for new City Council districts, released in mid-July, would perpetuate that problem. As THE CITY previously reported, these redistricting efforts are part of a mandatory process to reflect population changes in light of the 2020 census and ahead of off-cycle elections in what will be newly drawn districts next year. Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the maps must not deny or dilute the voting power of racial and language minorities.

“Ultimately this is about power,” Seecharran told the crowd. “Our power has been limited because we have been divided.”  

But elected officials in other nearby neighborhoods have expressed a similar interest in keeping their predominantly Black communities from being divided between different districts. And they’re not alone: Across the city, various groups are pushing for map changes that would enhance their voting power in what can seem like a zero-sum game. All are racing to have their desires registered before the commission votes on a final map on Sept. 22. 

For example, a related battle is playing out in Brooklyn, as the draft map creates a new majority Asian council district in Brooklyn while splitting up what’s been a majority Latino district covering Sunset Park and Red Hook for the past three decades.

If nine of the 15 districiting commissioners agree on a map, it will then be released to the public and voted on by the City Council. If the draft does not get voted through, the commission would continue revising the map until passing one, though commission spokesperson Eddie Borges told THE CITY “that’s not even a prospect.”  

While eight of the 15 commissioners were appointed by the Council, five were selected by Speaker Adams, leader of the 44-member Democratic caucus. Minority Leader Joe Borelli, one of its seven Republicans, picked the other three, who potentially could join with the mayor’s members to pass a map.

In a letter addressed to the commission’s chairman and obtained by THE CITY, several elected officials in majority Black districts in southeast Queens outlined concerns about numerous ways that the draft map would divide and dilute voting power across their districts. Those officials include Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers of District 31, which currently covers the eastern Rockaways, Laurelton, Rosedale, Brookville and parts of Springfield Gardens, and Councilmember Nantasha Williams of District 27, which currently covers Cambria Heights, Hollis, Jamaica, St. Albans, Queens Village, and Springfield Gardens. 

Among their concerns:

• The removal of downtown Jamaica from District 27, and the inclusion of  parts of Springfield Gardens, which cuts across “the middle of different ethnic communities and neighborhoods,” according to the letter writers;
• The removal of Rochdale Village from District 28, which is home to a minority-owned Mitchell-Lama cooperative: a 20-building complex housing 25,000 working-class residents, most of whom are Black;
• The removal of parts of Springfield Gardens that are mostly Black from District 31, which would “misalign the community’s collective voice,” according to the letter-signers. The district would gain parts of the Rockaway peninsula that have a white plurality and of South Ozone Park that have an Asian plurality, according to an analysis by THE CITY.

Some community members shared similar concerns in a virtual town hall convened by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards on Wednesday night. Community Board 12 Chairperson Rev. Carlene O. Thorbs, for one, was firm that Rochdale should stay whole and intact.

“It doesn’t even make any sense that anybody even entertains that. The historical value in our area needs to stay the same,” Thorbs said. “We are still the largest voting bloc — we can’t even ignore that.”

 

Gerrymandering Nikki

 

 NY Post

Democrats who control the state Legislature are plotting to knock off Rep. Nicole Malliotakis — the only Republican member of New York City’s congressional delegation — by redrawing a legislative district to add liberal Brooklyn precincts to her Republican stronghold, sources told The Post Wednesday night.

The Democrat’s plan would drastically alter the 11th congressional district, which combines Staten Island, her political base, with some more conservative areas of southern Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge, Bath Beach and Dyker Heights.

Under the redistricting plan that would go into effect for elections later this year, the district would include Bay Ridge but then snake northwest and take in the more heavily liberal Democratic neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Red Hook, Gowanus, Windsor Terrace and Park Slope, legislative sources said.

“Those are big Democratic areas,” one legislative source said.

Legislative insiders said if a Democratic candidate can run up the score with 80 percent of the vote in the Brooklyn side of the district, he or she can win by capturing about 40 percent in more conservative Staten Island.

The 11th CD is considered a purple or bellwether district as currently constituted. 

 Malliotakis defeated one-term Democratic incumbent Max Rose in the 2020 elections, aided by a strong showing by former President Trump in the district. Rose is seeking the Democratic nominations again in a potential rematch.

Brooklyn Democrat Assemblyman Robert Carroll, whose district takes in all of Park Slope and who graduated from Xaverian HS in Bay Ridge and has family roots there, has told politicos he is considering running for the redrawn congressional seat, sources said.

The Democratic primary also includes Democratic socialist Brittany Ramos DeBarros, who, like Rose, is an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan.

Malliotakis told The Post she’s a victim of a partisan hit job. 

“The people of this district and the state of New York voted not once, but twice, for non-partisan redistricting. To gerrymander a blatantly partisan map dilutes the voice of my constituents, defies the will of New York’s voters, and is a direct assault on the state constitution,” Malliotakis said.

Battle of the maps

 

THE CITY

 

New York’s crucial once-in-a-decade redrawing of congressional and state legislative boundaries broke down along party lines as an “independent” redistricting commission for the second time proposed two competing sets of maps.

The impasse paves the way for lawmakers in Albany to take over the process, with no pretense of bipartisanship.

The 10-member commission –– created via a constitutional amendment approved by state voters in 2014 –– was meant to wrestle control of the map-making out of the hands of politicians after civic groups and Democrats expressed dismay over what they viewed as Republican gerrymandering following the 2010 census.

The group, made up of five Democrats and five Republicans, already had failed to coalesce around one set of maps in September.

At a public meeting on Monday, both sets of appointees complained that the other side wouldn’t compromise enough to make consensus maps possible. 

 Vice Chair Jack Martins, a Republican appointee, charged that Democrats stopped meeting with the GOP commissioners after Dec. 22.

Chair David Imamura, a Democratic appointee, said that Republicans never sent back counter proposals when his side asked for changes to their maps.

“It disturbs me to no end to see it end on this particular note,” said Elaine Frazier, a Democratic appointee to the commission. “We all worked very hard and I think we came so very close to agreeing with each other — we were surprised and in our surprise we pulled back from a consensus vote.”

Charter changes up for discussion

This is to let you know that the city's Charter Review Commission is having a series of meetings in the boroughs next week, Queens' turn is Thursday evening, July 26 at Queens Borough Hall. The Charter is basically New York City's "constitution" that lays out the broad parameters for administration and operation of the city. Please see the attached flyer for additional information. - Jessica Douglas, Queens Borough Director of the Mayor's Community Affairs office

Community Boards:
1) Whether to place term limits for Community Board members as a method to encourage diversity.
2) How to Standardize and enhance the existing appointment process
3) Provide additional support in resources; particularly as it relates to urban planning
4) Things to adopt methods to ensure Community Boards are representative of the community they serve.

Campaign Finance:
1) The Reduction of spending limits (no amounts provided).
2) Increasing the public match ( no ratio provided).
3) Look into the timeline for implementation given that candidates are raising money under the current system.

Elections
1) Language accessibility ( providing interpreters, translation of ballots and materials, and community advisory groups)
2) Instant Runoff Voting - Look to implement within local primary elections and for citywide elections (where runoffs is provided) or to extend to all offices (Borough Presidents and City Council offices)

A Citywide Civic Engagement Program
1) how such an entity or office could support, supplement, or coordinate the City’s existing efforts in this area, including the recently announced DemocracyNYC initiative.
2) how such an entity or office could facilitate the expansion of participatory budgeting while working within legal and operational constraints
3) where such an entity or office should be situated;.
4) whether such an entity or office should be independent and non-partisan.

Redistricting for City Council Seats
1) In light of the lack of DOJ oversight, solicit testimony from experts and affected communities about the effects of districting process on racial and ethnic minorities and their voting power.
2) Look at altering the Districting Commission to promote independence, including the appointment process.
3) Studying whether there are ways to counteract effects of an undercount in the next census.

City enters Supreme Court fight re: voting district lines

From the Daily News:

The de Blasio administration has joined a Supreme Court fight that could change the way voting districts are carved up to exclude residents like immigrants and felons from the population count, the Daily News has learned.

If successful, Evenwel vs. Abbott would dramatically change the political landscape in immigrant-rich communities like New York, because it would draw districts to include only eligible voters.

Immigrants, felons who have lost the right to vote and children would be excluded.

In court papers filed last week, the city’s Law Department said rewriting the rules would punish New York City for its diverse population.

It would “effectively wipe millions of individual residents and entire families off the map, rendering those residents and their unique needs invisible to our local democracy,” the brief read.

The brief argues that the city’s use of total population in apportioning districts “conforms with fundamental tenets of representational democracy.”

It ensures that “all residents are entitled to equal representation, a principle of particular importance given the nation’s historic commitment to diversity, inclusion and robust civic involvement and debate,” the brief adds.

Zachary Carter, head of the city Law Department, said that counting everyone in an electoral district is important because all residents use city services, not just those eligible to vote.

Lawsuit over 2022 redistricting

From Epoch Times/AP:

A government watchdog group is challenging the wording of a ballot question on redistricting, saying the referendum on this fall’s ballot is deceptive.

Common Cause-New York announced the lawsuit Tuesday. The organization is one of several that have criticized the ballot question, which will ask voters to authorize a new commission to handle redistricting beginning in 2022. That’s the next time the state’s political districts will be redrawn to account for population changes.

The referendum says the commission will be independent, even though top lawmakers would pick eight of its 10 members, and the Legislature would have the power to reject any commission proposal it didn’t like.

Common Cause Executive Director Susan Lerner, a plaintiff in the suit, says the proposition is misleading and should be rejected.

Groups fight phony redistricting reform

From Crains:

Good-government groups have long sought to change the once-a-decade redistricting process in Albany that has resulted in oddly shaped legislative lines favoring incumbents. But with a proposal on the November ballot to finally and dramatically alter the process, the reformers are launching a campaign against it.

Common Cause New York, NYPIRG and others are opposing what they call "fake redistricting reform" that would be enshrined in the state's constitution if a majority of voters back it. The groups say the proposal is a far cry from truly impartial redistricting, which has been adopted in states such as California, because final approval of the district maps would remain in the hands of the Legislature.

"In the end, this is an attempt to constitutionally memorialize a system where both parties run roughshod over the voters," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York.

But some fear that reformers' solutions would run roughshod over the business community instead by facilitating a Democratic takeover of the state Senate, which could lead to more regulation and mandates for employers. Democratic voters outnumber Republicans two-to-one statewide, requiring the GOP to gerrymander to keep its numbers up.

Common Cause plans to raise money for a grassroots advocacy effort, though its funding is expected to be relatively modest.

Redistricting still leaves some gerrymandered

From the Times Ledger:

Queens activists and civic associations were upset and dumbfounded about two specific areas Tuesday when the commission released its final draft of the new lines ahead of the vote.

Just north of downtown Flushing lies the border between areas represented by Councilmen Peter Koo (D-Flushing) and Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone). The Northeast Flushing Civic Association, the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners Association and the Queens Civic Congress, along with Koo and Halloran, had united over a plan to fairly divide the two districts along neighborhood lines, keeping low-density housing in Halloran’s domain and high density housing in Koo’s.

The coalition formed in response to a draft map released by the commission that put some high density co-ops into Halloran’s district and a section of single-family homes into Koo’s. The ensuing outrage was so great that the executive director of the commission made a motion to correct what he called a mistake, and stuck the co-ops back in Koo’s district.

But the final maps did not follow the coalition’s recommendations and drew a significant chunk of low-density blocks in north Flushing into Koo’s district, a move that had not been reflected in any of the commission’s previous drafts.

Halloran called the lines a compromise, noting that Broadway, Flushing and Auburndale were largely kept together in his district.

But Paul Graziano, an urban planner who lives in North Flushing, used software on the commission’s website to show the lines could have easily followed the lawmakers’ suggestion while making sure the districts had the correct populations.

The final map is here: Queens

How's this for tweeding?

The Districting Commission's latest round of maps includes gerrymandering Broad Channel into two districts. West of the black line is Council District 32 and east of the line is 31.

It's hard to believe that the tiny population of the island couldn't be kept together in one district. The row of homes east of Cross Bay Blvd and north of East 6th Road will now be in James Sanders' current district while the rest of the island is in Eric Ulrich's district. I suppose the Commission figured that no one in Broad Channel would catch this since they are still recovering from the storm damage. Nice try, guys!

Districting Commission makes withdrawal official

From NY1:

The city's districting commission, charged with redrawing the lines that make up the 51 City Council districts, voted to withdraw their original plan Tuesday and hold more public hearings before coming up with a new one. NY1's Zack Fink has the story.

The hastily called meeting came amid questions about whether the commission had the authority to withdraw the maps it had already submitted.

After receiving assurances from the the city's law department, the commission voted unanimously to take back its maps and hold a new round of public hearings.

But that wasn't all. The commission also voted for two changes to the maps.

One change addressed a controversy involving the embattled Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

After the maps had already been voted on by the commission, Lopez's ally, City Councilman Erik Dilan, requested that Lopez's home be moved to the neighboring 34th district where it would be easier for Lopez to run for City Council.

"My concern was that in voting on these several changes, which I don't disagree with, we leave the perception that that's all we are going to do," Padavan said.

Several organizations are seeking additional changes to the maps and their concerns were not addressed.

"I just wanted to make sure that it was understood that this plan isn't adopted because we just revised it," Ognibene said. "There still needs to be public hearings, this is not part of the adopted plan, and I wanted that clear."

The new round of public hearings are expected to take place in January.

N.B. The word unanimously is crossed out because Padavan actually abstained from voting.

Districting commission to redraw maps

Letter From Chair Romano to Speaker Quinn
From the Daily News:

...Romano's response letter...says the Commission will hold a vote on whether to withdraw, update and resubmit the maps. As the story explains, though not everyone agrees, the Commission believes it can by law go ahead and do that without any Council action.

Randall's Island tossed into Queens Council district

From Crains:

Randall’s Island, a tract of less than a square mile in the East River, is part of the borough of Manhattan.

Yet a panel that recently drew New York City Council district lines, which are set to stand for the next decade, moved the sparsely populated island from its current Manhattan council district into a district that is otherwise entirely in Queens. That’s even though Queens is geographically farther from the island than Manhattan and the Bronx are.

And East Harlem and South Bronx community activists call the move politically motivated, arguing that Randall’s Island was corralled into Queens because the island’s current council member, Melissa-Mark Viverito of Manhattan, and local activists have emerged as thorns in the side of city officials who are pushing private development on Randall’s Island.

For years, community activists in the South Bronx and East Harlem have argued that the island should be the public backyard for their communities, where quality parkland is scarce. Instead, they argue, the Bloomberg administration has attempted to turn Randall’s Island into a country club for the rich, full of golf courses and tennis courts.

The 15-member Districting Commission was appointed by the City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. At public hearings, South Bronx and East Harlem activists argued for the island to remain in a Manhattan-based district. There was little public support for moving it to Queens.

Quinn divorcing herself from Vito

Here's the latest on the redistricting pickle that Christine Quinn got herself into:

From the Daily News:

In an effort to eliminate a growing political problem, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is desperately trying to convince city lawmakers to vote down the proposed new map by arguing it will help their chances of staying in office, a source said.

Many of the Council’s 51 members are reluctant to go back to the drawing board to reshape one messed up district that was secretly drawn to help the embattled Assemblyman, the source said.

In response, Quinn's top aides are frantically calling Council members arguing that voting down the proposed lines would help them win re-election by stalling the final maps release until March or April, the Council insider said.

Leaving the lines in limbo until that point would handcuff potential City Council challengers who would be left with just a few weeks to figure out what district they reside in and who they are running against before the likely June Democratic primary.

From the NY Post:

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn insisted yesterday she had nothing to do with a proposed map change by the city Districting Commission to help embattled Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

“I’ve never spoken to a member of the redistricting commission about any lines. I wouldn’t know the chairman if I saw him tomorrow,” a testy Quinn told reporters.

“I’ve not spoken to my appointees, to the mayor’s appointees, to [council Minority Leader James Oddo’s] appointees.”

The speaker has tried to distance herself from a proposed move by the Districting Commission — a 15-member body assigned to redraw council district lines this year — to shift Lopez’s home block of Stanhope Street in Brooklyn into a neighboring council district, where his power base lies.

From the Politicker:

Although the Districting Commission’s proposal for new City Council lines was initially expected to easily pass with no changes, Council Speaker Christine Quinn has officially thrown a wrench into that process. In a letter to the Commission’s chair, Ms. Quinn said she is “requesting in the strongest possible terms that the Commission withdraw its submission to the Council to receive additional input from the public.”

“[I]n reviewing the lines, I have a few concerns that I believe would have been vetted and addressed during another round of public hearings. The most significant concern I have relates to the new lines for District 34,” Ms. Quinn explained. “I am requesting in the strongest possible terms that the Commission withdraw its submission to the Council to receive additional input from the public. After you have satisfied your benchmarks for review and public comment, the Commission should then resubmit a plan to the Council with new district lines. I recognize that the Charter still affords the Council the opportunity to vote on the plan after this formal submission.”

It’s not immediately clear if the process described in the letter, whereby an up-or-down City Council vote is seemingly skipped by simply withdrawing the map, is technically correct. A Commission spokeswoman told Crain’s Insider the legislative chamber needs to reject the map first.

Hat tip to True News.

Quinn getting cold feet about helping Vito

From the NY Post:

Sources said Council Speaker Christine Quinn wants to undo the map proposed by the Districting Commission that moved the embattled assemblyman’s home into the district represented by Councilwoman Diana Reyna.

Lopez is being investigated for sexual harassment against female staffers and has been stripped of his leadership posts as a result.

With nowhere to go in Albany, he’s told friends that he might just take a stab at the council seat held by Reyna, a one-time ally and now a bitter rival who’ll leave in 2013 because of term limits.

Reyna, who has become something of an obsession for Lopez, is backing her chief of staff as successor.

The commission’s secret little favor — exposed last week by The Post’s Sally Goldenberg — presents Quinn with a pounding political headache.

She’s running for mayor next year as the only woman in the race — and being linked to an accused groper is the last thing she needs.

Quinn messed with the maps

From the Daily News:

A controversy has erupted over the City Council’s redistricting plan, with critics charging the new district lines were drawn to help Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s bid for mayor.

The new map slices and dices the East Harlem district of Democratic Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, who has been preparing to make a bid for Council speaker.

The new lines remove a big chunk of East Harlem from her district while adding tens of thousands of voters from the Bronx - weakening her politically and leaving her vulnerable to a potential challenge for re-election.

Sources said the move could solidify Quinn’s standing with both the Bronx and Manhattan Democratic leaders as she courts their support for mayor.

Districting Commission kept maps hidden from its own commissioners

From Crains:

Commissioners who unanimously approved new City Council district lines last week were not provided with maps showing last-minute tweaks until an hour before voting for them, one commissioner told The Insider.

Former state Sen. Frank Padavan, a Republican member of the New York City Districting Commission, said the first time he saw last-minute changes that will stand for the next decade came at an hour-long meeting last Thursday — and that he now regrets his vote in favor of the lines at that meeting. Mr. Padavan said he had been unaware that the Broadway-Flushing neighborhood in Queens, which had been in Republican Councilman Dan Halloran’s district, had been split in two.

“When the final drafts were presented [at the meeting] I just didn’t have all the details,” said Mr. Padavan. “It was just cut out and I didn’t notice.”

Commissioners were not provided with copies of the revised maps, but were provided with the opportunity to physically come into the commission’s offices near City Hall in the four days leading up to the final meeting to peruse the final lines. Some of them did so.

“They had drop-ins where you could go down there and take a look at it,” said former Republican New York City Council Minority Leader Thomas Ognibene, another commissioner. “At least, you could have a private opportunity.”

A commission spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr. Padavan’s concerns.

Why weren't the maps e-mailed to the commissioners before the vote? This is 2012, not 1980. While one can blame Mr. Padavan for not taking his role seriously enough, it's kind of suspicious that such dramatic changes were made to the maps by the commission and the commissioners were not adequately informed.

Quinn will do anything to get elected

From the NY Post:

Christine Quinn, who wants to be the first female mayor of New York, is expected to give her blessing to a district change that would help the political career of Vito Lopez — who is accused of sexually harassing four female staffers, sources told The Post.

The redistricting could help elect the alleged lecher to the City Council. In return, Quinn would curry favor with what’s left of Lopez’s Brooklyn political machine for her mayoral campaign.

The district boundary change, expected to slide through the council in three weeks, will flip the disgraced pol’s Brooklyn house one district west, from the 37th to the 34th, by a half-block.

A district boundary change could help get disgraced pol Vito Lopez (above) elected to the City Council. the change would move his Brooklyn home from the 37th to the 34th district, where he has a better chance of winning a seat.
It was unanimously approved by the council’s redistricting commission Thursday, just days after the deadline for public hearings.

Lopez has a vastly better chance of winning the seat from the 34th District, which aligns better with his power base in Bushwick.

The seat is due to be vacated because of term limits next year by Diana Reyna, his former aide but now a political adversary.

“Anything that is done [by the redistricting commission] is done because Quinn wants it done,” said a source close to the commission. “I don’t know why anyone would be doing him a favor.”

Revised redistricting maps even worse

If you go to this link, you'll download the revised version of the NYC Districting Commission's proposed City Council district maps.

To summarize:

The Districting Commission's role is supposed to be to maintain communities of interest, which includes ethnic as well as well-defined neighborhoods with long-maintained boundaries. After the initial maps were drawn, the Commission came under great scrutiny for not doing very much at all and making all sorts of decisions that seemed contrary to their stated mission. They assured the public - and the elected officials - that the first map was "just a draft" and there would be great opportunity for the public to help to shape the process.

The maps as proposed by the Commission are quite damaging for Queens neighborhoods. Not only were certain areas not corrected as had been suggested, other areas that have always maintained cohesiveness within one district or another have been dramatically divided.

Here's a sample of what's wrong:

Mitchell-Linden - After putting the area west of Union Street into the 19th Council District, the Commission made a motion to place it back in the 20th, as per the wishes of the community. However, now the part of Mitchell-Linden east of Union Street has been placed in the 19th.

North Flushing - North Flushing north of 33rd Avenue west of 150th Street was placed in the 19th; groups had requested all of the R2A area, which includes a number of blocks between 33rd and 34th Avenues, again to keep the neighborhood intact.

Broadway-Flushing - Instead, the Commission dragged the 33rd Avenue boundary all the way to 169th Street, dividing Broadway-Flushing in two. Also, at 169th Street, the District line makes a right angle south all the way to Flushing Cemetery, severing off the most eastern blocks of Broadway-Flushing as well. It is scarcely believable that Broadway-Flushing, which has a clearly defined boundary at Northern Boulevard, has been divided in this fashion.

Station Road - Similarly, the Station Road area was previously divided north and south, mostly by Northern Boulevard. This is one of the few civic areas that straddles Northern Boulevard due to the entire area being zoned R2 or R2A. Now the area has been divided east and west at 169th Street, again with little rhyme or reason.

There are many council members who are unhappy with the way the lines were drawn. But if the council doesn't vote to reject this map by December 7th, the lines are accepted as is and will stay that way for the next 10 years.

Profiles in gerrymandering: Woodhaven, Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill

Redistricting Maps 3
From Queens Civic Congress:

Woodhaven / Richmond Hill / Kew Gardens

The Commission has proposed a wholesale shift in Council District representation for
Woodhaven, Richmond Hill and parts of Kew Gardens, moving well over 200 blocks
between the 28th, 29th 30th and 32nd Council Districts. The area is divided into five
neighborhoods (Figure 17): Woodhaven, Woodhaven North, Richmond Hill, Richmond
Hill North and Kew Gardens. All of Woodhaven and 1/3 of Woodhaven North is
presently located in the 32nd Council District, while the rest of Woodhaven North,
Richmond Hill North portions of Richmond Hill and Kew Gardens are located in the
30th. The rest of Kew Gardens and a portion of Richmond Hill are in the 29th, and the
remainder of Richmond Hill is located in the 28th (Figure 14).

The Council District boundaries proposed by the Commission (Figure 15) represents a
significant change in representation in what QCC believes to be not in the best interests of these important areas of Queens. The character of these neighborhoods is rather specific: Woodhaven North is comprised mostly of two-family detached houses, while the remainder of Woodhaven is more typically a mix of detached houses, rowhouses and small apartment buildings; Richmond Hill North is comprised mostly of one-family detached houses, while the remainder of the area is also similar mix to Woodhaven. Kew Gardens is largely split between areas containing large single-family houses, two-family rowhouses and six-story apartment buildings.

Richmond Hill North and Kew Gardens also have the distinction of being the first
suburban planned communities in Queens County, developed by the Man family between
1870 and 1930. These neighborhoods, which have tenacious civic organizations including the Kew Gardens Civic Association and the Richmond Hill Historical Society, are adamant about not being split between several Council Districts, and the Queens Civic Congress agrees with them.

The main natural and manmade boundaries in these neighborhoods are quite prominent
and obvious: The Brooklyn-Queens County line on the west; the Long Island Railroad
trestle between Woodhaven and Richmond Hill in the center; and the Van Wyck
Expressway on the east.

From north to south, the boundaries are Forest Park and the Jackie Robinson Parkway;
Jamaica Avenue, which acts as both a commercial center and a visual dividing line
(including in housing type) due to the elevated subway; and Atlantic Avenue on the
south. Additionally, Richmond Hill North and Kew Gardens have a specific boundary
line delineated when the areas were developed over a century ago.

QCC has proposed certain common sense boundary adjustments based upon the
geography and natural boundaries of these neighborhoods (Figure 16) which will cause
decreased disruption to the shape and content of the current Council Districts. We believe that, for the most part, Jamaica Avenue should act as the boundary between the 30th and 32nd Council Districts as it is being proposed between the 28th and 29th Council Districts; the only exception to this is a section between the Long Island Railroad trestle and 111th Street that would continue south to Atlantic Avenue, which would remain in the 30th Council District (which represents most of that area presently).

Additionally, the QCC proposes that a section of Woodhaven between Woodhaven
Boulevard and the Long Island Railroad from Jamaica to Atlantic avenues would be
moved to the 32nd Council District, as would an area of South Richmond Hill south of
Atlantic Avenue and east of the Long Island Railroad trestle (Figure 16).
The 29th and 30th Council District lines between Richmond Hill North and Kew Gardens
would also be shifted to reflect the actual boundary between these two discrete
neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, the Woodhaven Residents Block Association has its own proposal.

Profiles in gerrymandering: Astoria, Maspeth & Woodside

Redistricting Maps 3
Ditmars / Astoria

The Commission has proposed moving a geographically large portion of the present 22nd Council District - including Rikers Island and LaGuardia Airport - into the 21st. These changes, while fairly significant, do not affect the residents of the 21st or 22nd Council Districts. However, a six-block portion of Ditmars near the Rikers Island Bridge and LaGuardia Airport has also been proposed to move from the 22nd Council District to the 21st. The QCC opposes this seemingly arbitrary move, which isolates a small portion of Ditmars from the rest of the neighborhood.

Woodside

The Commission has proposed moving several areas in Woodside from the 26th Council District to the 22nd. While QCC agrees with many of these changes, an 8 block area adjacent to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near Broadway should be retained in the 26th Council District, as it is an immediate continuation of the neighborhood to the south.

Maspeth

The Commission has proposed to radically alter the 30th Council District on both its northerly and southerly boundaries. This includes moving approximately 40% of Maspeth from the 30th Council District to the 26th (Figures 14, 15 and 16).

Prior to the 2000 census, Maspeth was divided between three Council Districts: the 26th, 29th and 30th. When the area was redistricted in 2003, a successful effort was undertaken by the Juniper Park Civic Association, which represents Maspeth and Middle Village, to unite 90% of Maspeth into one Council District - the 30th (Figure 17). The Commission's proposed redistricting will undo this previous work and once again divide Maspeth The QCC proposal supports Juniper Park Civic Association in its appeal to keep Maspeth mostly intact within the 30th Council District.

The geography and street grid of Maspeth are unique in that the Long Island Expressway literally plows through the center of the Maspeth commercial district, dividing the southern portion of Grand Avenue from the northern portion. However, the lines that the Commission are proposing use Grand Avenue itself as a significant dividing line, even south of the Long Island Expressway. Dividing Maspeth in this fashion will only complicate the ability of the community to get fair representation, as significant coordination will have to occur between elected officials, civic organizations and business groups in order to have any action taken on a particular issue.

The Juniper Park Civic Association and QCC have devised an alternate plan (Figure 15) that would remove less than 20% of Maspeth from the 30th Council District - keeping 62 blocks within the 30th and moving 52 blocks to the 26th - while guaranteeing that the commercial district along Grand Avenue on both sides of the Long Island Expressway remains primarily within one Council District.
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In other words, Liz Crowley doesn't want the half of Maspeth that includes the St. Saviour's-Martin Luther park sites that she fucked up so badly to be in her district anymore. Plus, her most formidable opponent lives in the excised area. So she got this stupid, gerrymandered plan proposed by her cronies on the board to protect her incumbency.