New maps under-represent City voters

The proposed maps for the state Senate released today by New York’s legislative task force on redistricting (LATFOR) systematically under-represent voters from New York City, New York World has found.

And they put together this nifty map showing just that. Under the proposed new lines, the average state Senate vote by a New York City resident weighs 7.3 percent less than the average vote cast upstate. The population of almost every district north of Westchester is more 4.5 percent smaller than the average-sized district.

The principle of “one person, one vote” is a cornerstone of American election law, and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there must be no more than a 10 percent difference between the largest and smallest districts in a state. But even this margin allows room for manipulation. By creating systematic discrepancies in the sizes of districts, parties can create additional districts in regions that support them and dilute the voting power of regions that favor their opponents.

You can see all of our coverage on the LATFOR maps here.

Redistricted Bronx lines for Senate and Assembly (UPDATE)

There's a handful of days that resemble Christmas morning for diehard political fans (filing days, primary elections, general elections), and this is one of those days. The first draft of the state Senate and Assembly lines have been released by the legislative task force (LATFOR).

We'll go through each one in separate posts, which will all be linked from here (and they are all available to download at LATFOR's website).

29th Senate-Jose Serrano Jr.
32nd Senate-Rev. Ruben Diaz
33rd Senate-Gustavo Rivera
34th Senate-Jeff Klein
36th Senate-Ruth Hassell-Thompson

As for the Assembly, you can look at the individual maps here, but I'm not going to both going through each one because there are 11 of them and they don't drastically change. However, I have been able to speak with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who briefly talked about his district and the Bronx as a whole:
81st Assembly-Jeffrey Dinowitz

If you love or hate these lines and want to tell LATFOR about it, Tuesday will be your chance.

And here are the citywide maps of both the Senate and Assembly:

There is mostly just minor adjustments for the Bronx Assembly districts. The biggest change is Peter Rivera's district would no longer be the 76th, it would now be the 87th. The new 76th ends up on the Upper East Side somehow. Oh LATFOR, you and your crazy ways.

Here's what the Assembly looks like now:

Jump below for the Update, the Senate lines, as well as a response blasting the Senate lines.

The proposed 81st Assembly district (UPDATE)

Maps of Assembly districts drawn by the legislative redistricting task force (LATFOR) have been sent to the relevant Assemblymember. We've reached out to the Bronx members and are waiting to hear back to get each one. Here's the first we've gotten, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz's 81st. 

UPDATE: All the lines are out now on the LATFOR site, and you can check another post on Bronx Press Politics to see our breakdowns of the Senate. 

The proposed lines add the rest of Van Cortlandt Village, the Jerome Park Reservoir, Clinton HS, Bronx HS of Science, Harris Field and Lehman College, much of Kingsbridge Heights, the four buildings from the Marble Hill Houses that are in the Bronx, and returns the one election district at the bottom of Riverdale (2400 and 2500 Johnson Ave) that was taken away in 2002. Several election districts in Norwood were moved to the 80th Assembly District. The population of the new district is 126,402, a -2.08 percent deviation from the statewide average. The current district has 119,653. 

Every single Bronx AD is within 31 people of one another.


Dinowitz said he absolutely loves this proposed district because it puts nearly all of Community Board 8 in his district. It also gives him Lehman College and Bronx High School of Science, both which he attended, as well as a junior high school that goes by a different name now. It also has a good portion of Kingsbridge Heights, which is the neighborhood he grew up in.


In terms of the overall Bronx Assembly districts, "they're very reasonably drawn," he said. There aren't many "zig zags" but instead you see a lot of straight lines that keep communities together.

"To the extent that you can not divide neighborhoods," LATFOR did a good job with the Bronx.

For your consideration, here is Dinowitz's district as it looks now, drawn up in 2002:

Proposed 36th Senate District, Ruth Hassell-Thompson

Here is LATFOR's redistricted lines for the 36th Senate District, occupied by Ruth Hassell-Thompson.

Her district is much more compact now, no longer weaving along the Bronx River Parkway.

And her district as it is now:

Proposed 34th Senate District, Jeff Klein

Here is LATFOR's redistricting of the 34th Senate District, occupied by Jeff Klein. This is one of the more drastic changes for the Bronx. Klein's Westchester portion has been nearly completely destroyed, but the district itself is now actually legal. A rule, that not many people know, does not allow districts to cross county lines in two separate places. Klein's district does that now, but under the proposed lines, his district would run through the Bronx and only goes to Westchester one time.

He gains the Hunts Point Market, all of Riverdale--which previously had three senators--Norwood, and actually makes the connection in the central Bronx. The massive additions in the Bronx, as we reported earlier this week, was to make room for Republicans to gain votes to help win the soon-to-be vacated 37th District in Westchester.

And here is what Klein's district looks like now:

Proposed 33rd Senate District, Gustavo Rivera

Here is LATFOR's redistricting of the 33rd state Senate District, occupied by Gustavo Rivera.

The biggest change is that he loses Jerome Park Reservoir and a significant portion of land all directly below Van Cortlandt Park. That area been taken by state Sen. Jeff Klein, who was pushed farther into the Bronx to give the soon-to-be vacated 37th District seat a better chance to win for Republicans.

Rivera's new district would run much farther south, now having a solid chunk below the Cross Bronx Expressway.

And here is what Rivera's district looks like now:

Proposed 32nd Senate district, Ruben Diaz Sr.

Here is LATFOR's redistrict of the Bronx's 31nd Senate District, currently occupied by Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr.

He loses some waterfront access to state Sen. Jeff Klein, whose district was pushed farther into the Bronx to give the soon-to-be vacant 37th District in Westchester more Republican support. He also loses the Hunts Point Market

And here is what Diaz's old district looked like:

Proposed Senate District 29, Jose Serrano Jr.

Here is LATFOR's proposed new district for state Sen. Jose Serrano Jr., who currently represents the 28th district. It appears that by adding a 63rd district, some people's district number has changed.

In terms of the Bronx, just some minor adjustments it looks like. But he does pick up some prime real estate in Central Park. Enjoy having one of the most economically diverse districts on the planet, Jose.

And here is his district as it is now:

LATFOR meeting in the Bronx this Tuesday

As the maps designed by the legislative task force (LATFOR) continue to trickle out, there will be more and more debate over whether or not they were done fairly.

And if you have a comment on the lines and would like you voice to be heard, Tuesday, Jan. 31 will be the day to do it in the Bronx.

At 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, LATFOR will be at the Bronx Museum of the Arts to listen to constituents' and elected officials' ideas of the proposed lines. Unfortunately, we won't be able to attend due to a scheduling conflict, but we'll do our best to report back the main concerns expressed at the meeting.

At the first LATFOR meeting in the Bronx last year, residents complained about their neighborhoods being represented by multiple elected officials and asked they be consolidated into one. For example, the neighborhood association for Mosholu Parkway is represented by three different Assembly members. Judging by the only map we have thus far, it looks like they may have narrowed it down to two. Similarly, Riverdale is represented by three state Senators. Based on insider information, state Sen. Jeff Klein may now have all of the neighborhood.

Mostly, people at the first LATFOR meeting discussed congressional lines, which may not come out for a few more weeks. They mostly asked for either a black district or Latino district, which could combine parts of Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester counties.


2012 LATFOR Statewide Hearing Schedule -- Second Round

LATFOR lines dropping soon

The southern end of Oppenheimer's district.
The new lines reportedly give the district Eastchester.

The first public draft of the new state legislative lines will (probably) come out later today, drawn by LATFOR, the agency charged with the project.

We haven't seen a map yet, but from sources we've spoken to, state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer's (D) district will be expanded to include republican-heavy Eastchester. State Sen. Jeff Klein (IDC) will be giving up Eastchester and taking over all of the Bronx's Riverdale, which current is split between him and two other senators.

Oppenheimer is retiring this year, so Republicans hope by adding Eastchester to the district, they'll be able to snag the seat away from the Democrats.

From what one of our Democratic sources pointed out, if Klein had anything to do with this change, that would mean he has directly helped the Republicans expand their slim majority. Klein's creation of the Independent Democratic Conference and his involvement with the Republican party last year has already irked Democrats, so this move certainly wouldn't be of any help to mend relations.

Of course, this is just the first public draft, and there's also a chance Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoes the lines altogether and sends them to be drawn by a court, which could create chaos.

NAACP releases redistricting maps

The state NAACP has released a handful of maps they gave to LATFOR, the committee charged with redistricting the state.

The maps created are just the NAACP's opinions on what they would like see, which would be to ensure the African American population continues to be represented in Congress. They are not the final product.

"The big picture here is to preserve New York's black congressional districts and black New Yorkers' voting rights," NAACP State President Hazel Dukes said in a statement. "I urge our faith and civic leaders, grassroots activists, good government and legal defense groups, politicians and others to join with the NAACP in this fight."

This district would be the 15th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Charlie Rangel. They also created maps for Queens/Nassau and Brooklyn.

The new district would run from Manhattan's Upper West Side to Marble Hill, through to the reservoir, then up through Norwood and Wakefield to Mount Vernon, also spanning further east to Co-Op City.

This map takes away from Rep. Eliot Engel more than anyone else, which would push Engel--who is white--further into Westchester and Rockland counties. Engel would keep Rivedale, Woodlawn and Van Cortlandt Park but lose Jerome Park Reservoir and everything east and south of Van Cortlandt. He would also lose Mount Vernon.

It would take Co-Op City from Rep. Joseph Crowley, who has parts of the Bronx and Queens.

NYS-NAACP_PrelimPlan_BlackVtgRts_CD15