A New York State Redistricting Commission, is preparing to meet next Thursday, to start Drafting New Boundaries for the New York Assembly and Senate, and Congress. But some New York City Senators, whose Districts stand to Shift said they’re Not ready to Accept whatever Lines the Commission Draws.

They include: State Sen. Roxanne Persaud (D 19th District, Brooklyn), and State Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-10th District, Queens), who said he’d like his Queens District to remain Exactly how it is and that the Commission should have been reaching out to Incumbents.

Seven other State Senators did Not respond to whether they would accept Lines Drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission, which can be Approved by a Two-Thirds Vote of the Legislature, or Bypassed if Members choose.

All of them have Districts whose Population is now well Above the Average for Senate Districts Statewide, meaning they’ll have to be Whittled Down. The District Boundaries must Change partly because of Population Growth in the City and Shrinkage Upstate, but also because in a Partisan Redistricting Process a Decade ago, Senate Republicans crammed the City with Fewer, Fatter Districts, in order to Squeeze in a GOP Seat Upstate and Maintain Control, say Analysts.

Meanwhile, since New York’s Census Count fell short of just 89 People, the State will Lose one Seat in Congress, now likely somewhere Upstate.

The 10-Person Independent Redistricting Commission is part of a New Process Approved by Voters Statewide in 2014, for the once-a-decade Reapportionment. It’s supposed to work apart from Elected Officials, using the 2020 U.S. Census’ Population Count to Apportion New Yorkers for Fair and Equal Representation by Lawmakers.

The Public Meeting, on Sept. 9th, starting at 4 p.m., will be the Commission’s First, since a series of Virtual Hearings, seeking Input from Regions around the State, including Two for New York City. And it will be the Last before the Commission Releases its Draft Llines, which must happen around Sept. 15th, according to the Law.

Lawmakers are Permitted to Testify to the Commission like Anyone else, but have No Role in Drawing the Lines that decide which Voters get Assigned to them.

“I want to see if there’s any way we can keep the district as it is. We’ve kind of grown used to one another and we’d like to keep it the way it is,” said Sanders. “If they can’t, I want to see what their proposals are. It’s hard to make a judgment when I haven’t seen what they’re suggesting.”

The 2014 State Constitutional Amendment, Approved by Voters to Create the New Independent Commission, says that the District Lines can’t be Drawn to Favor Incumbents or Political Parties. The Districts must also be relatively Equal in Population, Not Break-Up Racial Groups, to Limit their Participation, and be Compact and Continuous.

The Ground Rules leave Open the Possibility that some Lawmakers will have their Residences drawn into a Neighboring District, severing them from their Main Base of Support or Transforming the Demographics of their District.

In the GOP-Controlled 2002 Senate Redistricting, that happened to then Sen. Eric Schneiderman, who Headed the Democrats’ Fundraising to Win more Seats. The New Lines included Washington Heights, a largely Dominican Community, and Severed Schneiderman from much of his Largely White Upper West Side Constituency.

“No, the lines drawn by the commission must be reviewed and discussed to ensure favorable outcomes with input from stakeholders,” said Persaud. Her District has 8% more Population than the Sstate Average, meaning they will have to Shrink as the lines shift.

Among New York City’s 26 State Senate Districts, All but one Exceed the Average Population among Districts Statewide, every Single Upstate District has a Smaller Population than Average.

Redistricting Experts said that the Five City Boroughs could Gain, at least One more Senate Seat, depending on how the Lines get Redrawn. “New York City would be in line for an additional Senate district, but it remains to be seen,” said Steven Romalewski, Director of the Mapping Service at the Center for Urban Research at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Under past Practices, any One State Legislative District can have a Population as much as 5% Above or 5% Below the Average District’s Population, Romalewski noted, giving Map Makers “a lot of leeway” in how Districts are Drawn. But that could Change under the New Rules.

The Commission’s Co-Executive Director, Karen Blatt, said in an Email, that just how much wiggle room to allow, is one of the Items up for Discussion by the Panel in the next Two weeks. “The commissioners have not yet decided on the appropriate deviations of districts,” she wrote.

But there’s a chance the Redistricting Commission Won’t have the Final Word on where Lines are Drawn. That’s because the New Process gives State Lawmakers the Power to Reject the Commission’s Lines and ask for a Redo. If the Commission’s revised Proposals for Assembly, Senate, and U.S. House Districts, get Rejected by the Legislature a Second time, Members take over the Map making themselves in a Process where the Majority Party Controls the Outcome.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker