New York State Independent Redistricting Commission

Leo
February 21, 2023
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Joshua
February 21, 2023
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Jacqueline
February 21, 2023
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Elisa
February 20, 2023
I strongly oppose splitting the neighborhood of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. My husband and I have lived in Greenpoint, Brooklyn for 22 years and raised our children here. Greenpoint has always felt like a wonderful community, a small village within a large city. As Greenpointers we have come together to advocate for the health of our community, whether it is fighting against the oil spill, fighting off a large polluting power plant on the East River, or trying to curb the noxious gasses emitted from the sewage treatment plant that we all experienced wafting over as our children played in McGolrick park. We are now battling for safer streets as too many people have been struck down by cars and trucks barreling down McGuinness Boulevard and running red lights. Why on earth would anyone in their right mind consider dividing our community in this way, except for to perhaps kneecap us and shut us up? Greenpoint is not in Queens, it is North Brooklyn, we are a Brooklyn community. Keep us whole.

Kris
February 20, 2023
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Keep NYS IRC AD 24 intact! Otherwise, it will be a gerrymandering move that the Judge of the Manhattan Supreme Court struck down, do not waste the 5 million tax payer dollars spent on this historic redistricting initiative!

Robert Millman
February 19, 2023
I’m writing to express my appreciation for the simple fact that a redistricting commission exists in New York State, and to make a few general points about the importance of voting districts mapped with as little bias as possible. First, that the omnipresence of computers and digital media ,makes the “secret ballot” a “secret” in name only. A data trail exists on every single voter to know everyone’s political preferences; everything from every their precinct level voting history to what social media they consume, what products they consume, where they drive, and on and on. This trove of personal data, and software to crunch that data is readily available on every single voter in the country. Gerrymandering itself is not new, but the potential to rig elections through data and software is new, and unimaginable compared to the partisan tools available only 30 years ago. Second, that the explicit citizen right to vote is ONLY found in state constitutions. No comparable language exists in federal law or the United States Constitution. To repeat, the explicit right of citizens to vote is absent from federal law, or the U.S. Constitution. The basic cheat in gerrymandering is pretending that (roughly) equal number of voters in each district is equal treatment, when it is plain that the math cheat of “packing and cracking” allows legislators to distort a state with an evenly split electorate to “elect” a legislature that favors one party with a supermajority to enact laws. The explicit right to equal treatment of voters must be protected at the state level, because at present, that is the only place the right exists. Third, that while New York State has a specific constitutional amendment about redistricting, all 50 state constitutions in this country enumerate the explicit citizen right to vote, AND the explicit right to equal treatment of the law. Legislators manipulating legislative elections through the sorting and selecting of voters is plainly unequal treatment of a citizen’s right to vote. In the New York Constitution, the right to vote, and to equal treatment are enumerated in: Article II: Suffrage, Article I: Bill of Rights "Every citizen shall be entitled to vote . . . No member of this state shall be disfranchised, or deprived of any of the rights or privileges secured . . . No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state" With variations in phrasing, all 50 state constitutions say the same thing about the right to vote, and equal treatment of rights, believe me, I looked. I close by posting a link to a free film about gerrymandering and state constitutional voting rights. The film is about a landmark redistricting case in Pennsylvania where they instituted a simple nonpartisan guideline – compact and contiguous voting districts, roughly equal in population which make the fewest splits to existing cities, counties and towns when equalizing district populations. Film Link - https://youtu.be/HO3de7d-PXU And again, I thank the commission for their vital work on this bedrock idea of representation, the equal treatment of qualified voters. Robert Millman lineinthestreet@gmail.com

Yvonne
February 19, 2023
I live in the Town of Lapeer. We were very disappointed when we were shifted to the district that includes Ithaca etc. We would be VERY HAPPY to be shifted back to a district with Marathon and other like minded towns. We are better represented when we are not grouped in with more liberal minded areas. Thank you for considering this !!

Robert
February 19, 2023
I am the President of Glen Oaks Village, the largest garden apt co-op in NY with 10,000 residents. I am glad to see the new Assembly map incorporates our entire property into a single Assembly district. We think the area of Bay Terrace which has been taken out of the new district needs to be put back in. The area of Bay Terrace consists of many similar co-ops as ours and we have worked together on many political issues. In the past Bay Terrace and Glen Oaks Village were within the same Assembly District. We think the commission made an error in separating us. Please reconsider putting the Bay Terrace area back into our Assembly District so that we can work together on similar issues. Thank you. Robert Friedrich 917-604-4273

Heather
February 19, 2023
Re: Greenpoint being split into two assembly districts (AD50 & AD38) It has been really interesting to see how this has been received by some members in my community. "There is one Greenpoint", many say. Not infrequently the ones using this slogan are the ones who have fomented division and hostility within my community. Greenpoint is already divided--- all this plan is are lines on paper. Rather, what many who criticize this plan do not want is to lose their disproportionate influence as power brokers and gatekeepers. They do not like to share. They do not like to compromise. They will only do this if someone with actual power *forces* them to do so. Many here seem to be blind to the optics of a(n increasingly) white, certainly affluent "progressive" community performatively objecting to being incorporated into a district that is less white, less affluent, represented by a WOC which also abuts Newtown Creek. I am not. We have a shared environmental legacy. Joining forces strikes me as being the better thing to do. The population in north Brooklyn has exploded. Cuts have to be made somewhere. I can think of alternatives which would posit much worse outcomes than this plan. We may actually benefit from greater diversity in representation.

Mark
February 18, 2023
Testimony of Mark Glogowski, presented to the Independent Redistricting Commission on 2-16-2023 Thank you, Commissioners, for the opportunity to present testimony again. There is no way the current maps you have proposed accomplish the goals that have been set for you. Two objectives you are not going to reach One: “Districts must consist of contiguous territory and shall be as compact in form as practicable” Two: Maintaining existing “districts …including counties, cities, towns and communities of interest” These goals are definitely not being achieved. Towns, and villages, and the counties are chopped up helter-skelter. For the record, the US Supreme Court has found that a redistricting plan violates the Voting Rights Act if a group "does not have an equal opportunity to participate in the political processes and to elect candidates of their choice."[24] The Supreme Court identified three factors that together demonstrate a violation of the “equal opportunity to participate in the political process” directive. But there are other conditions that will result in a violation of this aspect of the Voting Rights Act I claim - The failure to assign assembly seats to counties creates one of those violations of the Voting Rights Act. The current proposed maps disrupt Towns, villages and communities all across the state and prevent cooperation within minority groups. That is why I propose assigning assembly seats to counties, and allowing overlapping county wide Assembly Districts. It will remove the artificial division of communities; and is a solution that will eliminate almost every claim of a disrupted town, village, or community that has been presented to you. More importantly, county wide Assembly Districts will open up the potential for members of minorities groups of every type to become involved in the political arena. Why? Small minorities have members that are often spread all across the county. These groups are not able to work together to nominate and elect candidates of their choice because, for example, take Queens, their minority groups are arbitrarily broken up into 12-plus Assembly districts. Their efforts are divided and thus diluted Overlapping Assembly Districts will empower minorities to work with their members all across Queens. That will improve greatly their ability to nominate and elect their candidates I propose to go one step further – In counties with multiple overlapping county wide districts, permit the voter to choose their Assembly representative by voting for just 1 Assembly District representative. Let the top county wide vote winners receive the Assembly positions. That feature would produce a dramatic increase in the ability of smaller groups to not only meet the nomination requirements, but would increase dramatically the ability of minorities to elected their representative. If you assign the Assembly seats to the counties and allowed the counties to have overlapping assembly districts, all of the divisions and artificial barriers that have been brought to this commission would disappear, and you would actually meet the two mandated conditions first mentioned. Specifically, Contiguous Territories in compact in form, and, maintenance of intact counties, cities, towns & communities This is the only proposal you have received that is compatible with these two objectives.

Bertino
February 18, 2023
The bisection of the 52AD (Carroll Gardens from Gowanus) has to be one of the most inappropriate proposals ever. These two communities have always shared common concerns, the clean up of the canal being one of the most prominent, Separating them now, before the clean up is accomplished, will do little more than pit them against each other, ultimately producing a less than desirable clean up plan!

Georgina
February 18, 2023
I've lived in the town of chester since June 1984. I do not understand why according to the map you wish to spilt the town of Chester. The town and village belong together as do our neighboring towns such as Sugar loaf, Warwick and Goshen. Please explain why the map is being drawn as such. We have so much in common as we are in the same area and one piece of Chester should not be in one district and another piece in a different one. Please consider keeping us as one. Thank you Georgina Esposito

Herberta Theresa
February 18, 2023
Dear Independent Redistricting Commission, I write to you today to oppose the maps which would divide the town of Chester, NY in half. I am an African American homeowner who can attest to the ridiculous impact your maps would have on my town. I live in Whispering Hills. The major dividing line of your map runs down my street. As it stands, your map would place me in the 98th Assembly District and my neighbor directly across the street into the 101st Assembly District. We live in a condominium development that is considered a closed road community—meaning there are no public access roads running through it. It is as if you have drawn a line through our homes to separate the front lawns from the front doors. Your maps not only unnecessarily divide a residential community, but doubles down on disenfranchising the many women-led households, interracial families and African American, Latino American, LGBTQ, as well as recent immigrants, starting families all over the town and village of Chester. What you may not know is that while Chester, NY is demographically majority white and pre-retirement age, the COVID-19 spurred movement of New Yorkers has resulted in the growth of ethnic and economic diversity which are a source of pride for the town. New people have chosen to move here and have fallen in love with the town as it is. Everyone is hardworking, caring as neighbors, and committed to preserving the unique geographic characteristics of Chester—open skies, “Black Dirt” family farms, new growth forests, thriving artists/maker community, and small-town family businesses, all with a light touch of suburban living. Dividing us across two Assembly Districts threatens our ability to communicate and advocate for our town’s needs to say nothing of my condominium community. It also jeopardizes the ability of all Chester residents from being able to lift up new leaders and gain effective, supportive representation in the Assembly. Chester is a beautiful community that needs representation from elected officials who understand its history, its residents, and natural resources- which require protection from external, competing special interests. Having two Assembly representatives cut Chester in half would more than double the harm special interests could inflict on the town through uneven policymaking and cynical “home rule” demands. There is a map that has been circulating in the community, designed by a Chester resident named Josh Koff. His map keeps Chester in a cohort of like-situated towns within a redrawn 101st Assembly District. I support his map. Based on the likely negative impacts of your maps, I urge you to review the Koff map and implement it to keep Chester intact within the boundaries of just one Assembly District.

Gwen
February 18, 2023
To Whom it May Concern, I am unable to attend the public hearing this week due to my work schedule, but I am reaching out to express my dismay with the proposed redistricting. My family and I were upset to see the proposed redistricting of our neighborhood. We live on Ft. Hamilton Parkway between E. 4th & E. 3rd Streets in Kensington-Windsor Terrace and see that the Commission is proposing to cut off the 44th AD using the Prospect Expressway as a dividing line. Anyone who has spent any time at all in our area would understand that this simply doesn't make sense! The area West of the Expressway is very much part of the area to the East-- our children attend schools together on both sides of the Expressway; we worship at churches, synagogues and mosques together; we cross this border regularly to shop, dine, visit. Our closest subway stop, the Ft. Hamilton F/G, has exits on either side of the Expressway, so this redistricting would split that single subway station in half!! In short, in every sense of the word, this area is a united neighborhood and we share the same concerns and issues. The 51st AD, a vibrant district located to the West containing Sunset Park and Red Hook, is on the other side of Green-Wood Cemetery and is very much a distinct neighborhood from ours. The Cemetery creates a very real boundary of hundreds of acres-- one that can not be easily crossed. (It is quite literally closed to the public after dark.) We in our neighborhood fear that if we were redistricted into the 51st AD, our tiny sliver of a neighborhood would be an afterthought. I am respectfully asking the Commission to restore Green-Wood Cemetery along 20th Street to be the Western border of the 44th AD, not the Prospect Expressway as in the draft plan, and Green-Wood Cemetery along McDonald Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway out to 39th Street as the Northern boundary between the 44th and 51st ADs. This is a shift of only a few blocks but makes complete sense geographically. Without this change the portions of Kensington and Windsor Terrace cut out of the 44th AD will be a small afterthought in the 51st AD divided from that district by the hundreds of acres of Green-Wood Cemetery. I hope that the Commission will consider visiting our sliver of a neighborhood. I know you will quickly understand that this proposed new map needs to be adjusted. Thank you for your consideration.

Myra
February 18, 2023
I live in Rochester New York. As a registered voter it is important in redistricting to consider drawing maps that provide proportional representation for those of us in the city of Rochester, Monroe County and the state of NY. It is also important to create a map that honors the needs of the communities. There are many elected officials who have no proven track record of attending to the needs of minority communities. To reward these kinds of track records in essence creates systemic approval for neglect thwarting the intention of public servant. Minority communities are experiencing high levels of poor education, economic, and security outcomes so resources are vital to its health and well being! Rochester proved recently in its county fight for Black voter rights the importance of redistricting coupled with proportionate representation. We freed the Black vote from incarcerated minority majority voting districts. It is my hope that you will choose maps that will honor the whole of our community without leaning toward the will of power brokers who have no concern for equity, and proportionate representation of minority communities!

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