Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Dinowitz says Common Cause proposed redistricting lines are anti-reform

The Bronx has begun speaking as one voice, borough politicians have been noticing. But that will all disappear if Common Cause had its way.

Proposed Bronx Assembly districts by Common Cause.
Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is highly critical of proposed redistricting lines drawn by Common Cause, a government watchdog group. He says the lines make things worse for the Bronx; it would dilute the Bronx's ability to influence government, both at the state and federal level, he says.

His northwest Bronx district, currently all of which is in the borough, would become a 'Hispanic district' and expand into northern Manhattan. Another district would also go into Manhattan, and two Assembly districts would reach into Westchester (see the photo, right).

He also rips into the Congressional lines, calling them "absurd."
Their “reform” proposal would give the Bronx parts of four Congressional districts, yet none would be totally within the borders of the Bronx. One only has to look at the Brooklyn-Queens-Manhattan district they drew for Nydia Velasquez to realize that racial- and ethnic-based gerrymandering in their plan trumped the neighborhood integrity that they claim is so important.
Jump below for the full statement, as well as photos of the Congressional districts in the Bronx, the state Senate picture and Nydia Velasquez's doozy of a district.


From Assemblyman Dinowitz:

The definition of “reform” is “to make changes in order to improve it.”  Based upon that definition, the proposed new district lines suggested by Common Cause is actually anti-reform because their lines, at least in the Bronx, make things worse.

Currently, the Bronx has 11 assembly districts, all wholly contained in the Bronx.  The Common Cause Reform plan calls for the Bronx to have 9 whole districts and four partial districts, two shared with Manhattan and two with Westchester.  Currently there are no assembly districts that are partially in the City and partially outside.  Common Cause would create at least two such districts.  Their claim is that their plan keeps neighborhoods, such as Norwood, together, but it needlessly divides boroughs and cities.  What it does is to divide the Bronx and dilute its political power.  My own district, which includes the communities of Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Van Cortlandt Village, Norwood, Woodlawn and Wakefield, would instead include Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Van Cortlandt Village, Woodlawn, Marble Hill and Inwood.  The geniuses at Common Cause decided that the community of Woodlawn has more in common with Inwood than with neighboring Wakefield.
 
Their proposed Congressional lines are even more absurd.  Currently, the Bronx contains Congressman Serrano’s entire district and approximately half of Congressmen Engel’s and Crowley’s districts.  Their “reform” proposal would give the Bronx parts of four Congressional districts, yet none would be totally within the borders of the Bronx.  One only has to look at the Brooklyn-Queens-Manhattan district they drew for Nydia Velasquez to realize that racial- and ethnic-based gerrymandering in their plan trumped the neighborhood integrity that they claim is so important.

I'm certain this anti-reform plan is a non-starter, undoubtedly drawn up in someone's back room without serious public input, but it does raise some real issues as to the definition of "reform." Mereley saying you're for reform doesn't make it so.






 And here are the proposed state Senate lines, where the Bronx only has two senators entirely within the borough:



Velasquez's new district (right), compared with her old one. Not much difference, but it's still poorly drawn.



1 comment:

  1. I'm disappointed in the Riverdale Review's lack of fact-checking Assemblyman Dinowitz's comments.

    For one -- NY CD 12 (Velasquez) is a highly litigated voting rights district in Brooklyn -- an area covered, like the Bronx and Manhattan, by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. NY 12 is drawn to unite the Hispanic communities in Brooklyn (Williamsburg-Bushwick and Sunset Park) as well as the Lower East Side and Sunset Park Chinatowns. Drawing this district in any way that does not continue to do so would undoubtedly be found a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.

    In the Assembly, Mr. Dinowitz may have a fair point about Woodlawn being in the Riverdale district vs. the Wakefield district, the Common Cause Plan clearly does a much better job keeping neighborhoods from being divided than the current lines do. The communities in Wakefield and Mount Vernon do not stop at the county line and anyone who's spent time in these areas would know that Wakefield and South Mount Vernon belong in the same district, as they are in the Senate.

    Regarding Congress in the Bronx, the Common Cause Reform Plan is a remarkable improvement on the current lines which pack Latinos into a single district (Serrano), and connect the North Bronx in an absurd district shape that runs up the Hudson riverfront and then crosses over to Rockland County all the way to Ramapo (Engel).

    The CC Reform Senate Plan is also a remarkable improvement in keeping neighborhoods across the borough whole.

    We should call a spade a spade when an incumbent politician hides an attempt to defend the power of incumbents and the county party organization in such a misinformed and baseless critique.

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