New York State Independent Redistricting Commission

JoAnne
February 14, 2023
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Emily
February 14, 2023
I am writing to share my concerns about the proposed changes to Assembly District 44 in Brooklyn. As a Kensington resident whose activities routinely involve going to Windsor Terrace, I strongly disagree with the plan to split Windsor Terrace between two districts. It is a uniquely located community already disadvantaged by an expressway cutting through it. Despite this division, the concerns of the neighbors on both sides of it are the same. Their voices will be weakened by being in separate districts that are dominated by larger neighborhoods with different concerns. I strongly urge you to reconsider the proposal. Thank you.

Jamie
February 14, 2023
The Windsor terrace redistribution map doesn’t make any sense and should be kept as is. Changing who is districted for PS 139 when the lower school is on one side of the expressway and the upper on the other is nonsensical and will disrupt the neighborhood and community.

NATHAN
February 14, 2023
I am writing regarding the proposed redrawing of the 44th Assembly District. The current plan cleaves a neighborhood with a strong identity and sense of community in two. Please keep the entirety of the Windsor Terrace community within the 44th Assembly District. Specifically, I am asking that you make Greenwood Cemetery along 20th Street the western border of the 44th AD not the Prospect Expressway as in the draft plan, and Greenwood Cemetery along McDonald Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway out to 39th Street the Northern boundary between the 44th and 51st ADs.

Tim
February 14, 2023
Windsor Terrace is one neighborhood and should not be spilt into different districts. We will not be able to vote for items 2 streets away with the current proposal. This makes no sense and is absolutely ridiculous

Yehuda
February 14, 2023
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The attached is a joint submission from Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein (41st A.D.) and Assemblywoman Jaime Williams (59th A.D.)

Bowie
February 14, 2023
To Whom it May Concern, I am unable to attend the public hearing this week as it conflicts with my work schedule. However, I want to submit a comment regarding my frustration and opposition to the proposed redistricting plan as it affects my neighborhood, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. The proposed plan would slice my neighborhood in half, effectively separating my home Assembly District from the rest of my neighbors, my children’s schools, and our local library and businesses. We live on E. 5th St between Vanderbilt and Greenwood Avenues and see that the Commission is proposing to cut off the 44th AD using the Prospect Expressway as a dividing line. Our home faces the expressway and although the expressway may look like a natural division line to someone studying a map, I can assure you as someone who lives in the neighborhood that it is not. We can see our neighbor’s homes across the expressway and our kids go to the same schools, daycares and after school programs. We frequent small businesses across the expressway and share the same local library, playgrounds, public parks, lines of public transportation and places of worship. Therefore, our neighborhood fits the NYS Independent Redistricting Commission’s definition of a “community of interest.” To divide it into two separate Assembly Districts would be a travesty to say the least. It would weaken our ability to advocate for our collective interests. We do not however, have anything in common, or count as “community of interest” with any of the neighborhoods in the proposed new 51st AD. We are separated by distances of miles and the vast 478 acres of Green-Wood Cemetery. We cannot “see” these geographic neighborhoods of Red Hook, Sunset Park and Bay Ridge when we look out of our windows or walk down the street. We do share schools, parks, or lines of transportation with them. I respectfully ask the Redistricting Commission to restore Green-Wood Cemetery along 20th Street to be the Western border of the 44th AD, not the Prospect Expressway as is proposed, and Green-Wood Cemetery along McDonald Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway out to 39th Street as the Northern boundary between the 44th and 51st Assembly Districts. This is a small change of only a few blocks but makes sense geographically because of the cemetery. It also makes sense politically by preserving Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn as a “community of interest” using the Commission’s own definition. Without this change the portion of Windsor Terrace cut out of the 44th AD will be a small afterthought to the Assembly Member representing the 51st AD as we are completely divided from the rest of that district geographically. I hope the Commission will take these changes into consideration. Sincerely, Bowie M. Fu 56 E 5th St, Brooklyn, NY 11218

Benjamin
February 14, 2023
As a resident of Greenpoint, I think the new map is a terrible decision and one that will intentionally harm this community for years to come. It would split the community and lump it in with two districts that have vastly different priorities than Greenpoint, effectively killing our ability to self-govern and giving our community little, if no, recourse about decisions pertaining to us. We are a community pushing for change to make our neighborhood safer, cleaner, and more welcoming to all, and with the proposed changes all of that is threatened at the least, and opposing changes to make the neighborhood more dangerous and more polluted is a distinct possibility. The map should remain as it is for our Assembly District. Thank you.

Troy
February 14, 2023
My name is Troy Martin. I live on McDonald Avenue between Ft. Hamilton Parkway and Greenwood Avenue and speak for myself and my community. I implore you not to amputate us from our fellow residents and community. Both communities should be wholly within the 44th AD as they have been historical. Your decision to put both Windsor Terrace and Kensington portions into different Assembly Districts makes both impacted ADs less compact and contiguous. Also, it divides two long-established and discrete communities with common interests, demographics, and a history of positive civic activism. It is contrary to many of the bedrock principles which should guide fair redistricting and good government. Specifically, we ask that you make Greenwood Cemetery along 20th Street the western border of the 44th AD, not the Prospect Expressway as in the draft plan, and Greenwood Cemetery along McDonald Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway to 39th Street the Northern boundary between the 44th and 51st ADs. Our proposal is a shift of only a few blocks, but it makes complete sense geographically. Without this change, the portions of Kensington and Windsor Terrace cut out of the 44th AD will be an afterthought in the 51st AD, divided from that district by the hundreds of acres of Greenwood Cemetery. The 51st AD contains the entirety of the thriving neighborhood of Sunset Park, and that neighborhood historically dominates that district. The inevitable result of the draft plan is that the few blocks of Windsor Terrace and Kensington attached to the vast bulk of Sunset Park will be underserved. We have long banded together in Participatory Budgeting projects to improve our schools, library, and parks. This division will weaken our voices and our tax dollars to go toward projects in the heart of our neighborhood. The proposed plan also dilutes the ability of vital neighborhood institutions to advocate on behalf of their constituents. Multiple local Elementary Schools, including PS 154, PS 130, PS 179, and PS 230, and several local places of worship, such as Immaculate Heart of Mary RC Church, The Flatbush Jewish Center, which despite its name, is in Kensington, and the Darul Jannah Masjid and Masjid Nur Al-Islam will all see their catchment areas, now wholly within the 44th AD, divided between the 44th and the 51st AD. The plan is especially troublesome concerning the Mosques which serve the growing South Asian community in Kensington and will now have to petition two different Assembly Members rather than having a single point of contact. Historically, the two discrete, cohesive, and well-defined neighborhoods of Kensington and Windsor Terrace have been in the same Assembly district. Please make Greenwood Cemetery, not the Prospect Expressway, the boundary between the 44th and 51st AD. Please keep Windsor Terrace and Kensington intact. Sincerely, Troy Martin

Deshant
February 14, 2023
The dissolving of this tight knit district built around the schools and strengthened by the people is an unnecessary and inefficient expenditure. Our assemblyperson and city council representatives have done a lot for this community and severing us does not help anyone. Please re-consider the redistributing of votes and redistricting of the people.

ANNA
February 14, 2023
I've been the resident of Windsor Terrace for a decade and the proposed plan of redistricting is going to affect me and my community tremendously. Windsor Terrace is a small, quaint neighborhood that is going to be sliced up and divided should the new plan take affect. None of the other areas in a proposed new district are contiguously connected to us, a new Assembly representative is going to be more concerned with the needs of the bulk of their constituents in Sunset Park and Red Hook than a slim sliver of Windsor Terrace. -we will lose power and voice in participatory budgeting and be unable to vote for projects in our soon to be former district which in the past have included improvements for our library and the schools our kids attend and are zoned for, PS 130, PS 154, PS 10 will are be outside our district. - commission cuts Windsor Terrace into two Assembly Districts, by making the Prospect Expressway the dividing line, rather than the natural boundary of Green-Wood Cemetery. Please 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. Without this change, the portions of Windsor Terrace cut out of the 44th AD will be insignificant, divided from that district by the hundreds of acres of Green-Wood Cemetery. We are proud to be the residents of Windsor Terrace, participate in its life and contribute to its development. Slicing up the neighborhood would destroy our sense of community.

Noel
February 14, 2023
To the IRC Commission, My name is Noel and I live in Windsor Terrace–specifically the southwest corner of Windsor Terrace that runs along McDonald Ave, just north of Kensington (McDonald Ave between Ft Hamilton Parkway and Greenwood Ave). I am writing today to ask you to please keep the entirety of Windsor Terrace within the 44th Assembly District. Specifically, I am asking that you make Greenwood Cemetery along 20th Street the western border of the 44th AD not the Prospect Expressway as in the draft plan, and Greenwood Cemetery along McDonald Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway out to 39th Street 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 Greenwood Cemetery. I have lived in Windsor Terrace for 10 years and can tell you that the draft plan cuts the neighborhood in half in a way that does not make sense. We live most of our lives within Windsor Terrace and Park Slope–these neighborhoods are our community and the proposed plan would cut us off from representation within our community. My children attend PS 130 and K280 and their aftercare programs and summer camps take us over the Prospect Expressway daily. I want to be able to participate in the budgets that directly impact these areas. We visit Prospect Park weekly. We go to Park Slope for children’s classes and events every weekend (via the B67 and B69). We commute from the F/G at Ft. Hamilton Stop. We eat, shop, commute, play, and socialize primarily within the neighborhood borders of Windsor Terrace and Park Slope. The Expressway does not divide the soul of the neighborhood. It is an arbitrary dividing line from decades ago. Windsor Terrace is one community and should be represented that way. To be divided from representation by a few blocks does not make sense. My family and I would be divided from our representation by literal hundreds of acres of “dead space” of Greenwood cemetery. We would be alienated from our community. Please keep Windsor Terrace intact. Your decision to put portions of both Windsor Terrace and Kensington into different Assembly Districts makes both impacted ADs less compact and contiguous and also divides two long established and discrete communities with common interests, demographics and a history of positive civic activism. Thank you, Noel Hohnstine

Joan
February 14, 2023
I am writing in opposition to the Draft Assembly Plan which removes a portion of the the 52nd assembly district and places it in the 44th assembly district. The 52nd district is a community with shared interests and should remain intact and in one district - the 52nd. For almost thirty years, I have been a resident of the small neighborhood of Carroll Gardens which is a part of the 52nd Assembly District. During that time the adjoining neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill (sometimes referred to as BoCoCa) and the Gowanus corridor have been part of the 52nd assembly district. These neighborhoods are related and established communities with shared interests. We share the vibrant walkable commercial corridors of Smith and Court Streets, bus routes, parks schools, the police precinct, the libraries, medical facilities, stores and neighbors. Carroll Gardens contains a small historic district and this proposed plan cuts off the north side of President Street between Smith and Hoyt Streets and places it in another assembly district. Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens are close-knit neighborhoods and our district should remain intact. Additionally, the 52nd assembly district contains the entirety of the northern portion of the Gowanus Canal Superfund site corridor. Almost every lot along the canal has not only been designated a state brownfield but all are in a FEMA flood zone. Given the environmental and technical complexities of the Gowanus Canal corridor, it should be in one district as it has been for decades. This proposal lumps of large portion of the district with districts that have nothing to do with our challenges around the Gowanus re-zoning and the Superfund clean-up. This proposal to split the district appears to be nothing but a very transparent attempt to break up our voting power around issues that affect us, our children and grandchildren at a molecular level every day - now and into the foreseeable future. The plan also places what has been for many decades the district office for the 52nd in the 44th. This district office should remain in the 52nd along the above mentioned neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and the Gowanus Canal corridor.

Rebecca
February 14, 2023
To Whom it May Concern, Re: Windsor Terrace/Kensington 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. Our family lives on McDonald Avenue between Fort Hamilton Parkway and Greenwood Avenue in 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. Rebecca Jones, Sean Logue & Honor Logue 243 McDonald Avenue

Taylor
February 14, 2023
I have been a Greenpoint resident for only two years now, but have found a vibrant and connected community of care here that makes it very hard to ever imagine leaving. The current redistricting plan divides this community in half - a community that shares schools, gathering places, parks, and small businesses all across this line. We deserve the opportunity to be represented as one community, to continue political conversations in our public spaces, and share and pursue common goals as any community should. Please reconsider this inappropriately divisive plan!

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