Public Comments Return to Archived Submissions Page
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Chloe
February 13, 2023
The neighborhood of Greenpoint should NOT be redistricted into two separate areas! Doing so will further divide a neighborhood that is actively fighting gentrification. Additionally, the division makes no sense - why would a Brooklyn-based neighborhood be split in two, only to have one half represented by an entirely other borough while the other isn't? The idea of splitting Greenpoint into two separate halves is foolish and misinformed, and should not be done.
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Ivan
February 13, 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 McDonald Avenue, between Ft. Hamilton Parkway and Greenwood Avenue 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 change would negatively affect our representation. 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 friends. 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. 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. Sincerely, Ivan Pereira
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Susan
February 13, 2023
DO NOT RE-DISTRICT WINDSOR TERRACE!!! I’ve lived my whole life on McDonald Ave& Greenwood Ave in Windsor Terrace! Get on this Bob Carroll!!!
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Marivi
February 13, 2023
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Please make Greenwood Cemetery, not the Prospect Expressway the boundary between the 44th AD and the 51st AD. Please keep Windsor Terrace and Kensington intact.
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Marilyn
February 13, 2023
Monday, February 13, 2023 Independent Redistricting Commission 250 Broadway, 22nd Floor New York, NY 10007 To IRC Members of the Commission RE: Windsor Terrace/Kensington My name is Marilyn Ackerman. I reside in Windsor Terrace/Kensington in the 44th Assembly District. I am very concerned about your plan for the 44th Assembly District and specifically your decision to place portions of the neighborhoods of Windsor Terrace and Kensington in two different Assembly Districts, the 44th and the 51st. Both neighborhoods should be wholly within the 44th AD as they have been historically. 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. Simply stated 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 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. The 51st AD contains the entirety of the 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. The proposed plan also dilutes the ability of vital neighborhood institutions to advocate on behalf of their respective constituents. Multiple local elementary schools including PS 154, PS 130, PS 179 and PS 230, 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. This is especially troublesome with respect to the Mosque’s 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 entirety of the two discrete, cohesive and well-defined neighborhoods of Kensington and Windsor Terrace have been in the same Assembly district. This is true since at least the reapportionment following the 1970 census. Please make Greenwood Cemetery, not the Prospect Expressway the boundary between the 44th AD and the 51st AD. Please keep Windsor Terrace and Kensington intact. Thank you. Sincerely, Marilyn Ackerman
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Amy
February 13, 2023
Dear members or the Commission, While I understand the need to redistrict I do not understand the need to take small swaths of Windsor Terrace and Kensignton Brooklyn out of the 44th AD and add them to the 51st AD. We are a small neighborhood with little power to begin with. Taking us out of a district that includes a large portion of Park Slope and the rest of Windsor Terrace only serves to diminish any power we may have wielded and to muzzle our voice. The 51st AD is made up mostly of Sunset Park, which is located more than a mile from our neighborhood and has vastly different needs, wants, and issues than we have. You are doing a disservice to the few blocks of Windsor Terrace and the majority Bangladeshi population of Kensington blocks that would be annexed from the 44th and added to the 51st. In essence, you would be disenfranchising thousands of voters from any real representation. I want to urge you to rethink this plan and make the correct choice. Do not split these neighborhoods up, it will serve no one.
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Karen
February 13, 2023
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larry
February 13, 2023
I have been a resident for over 30 years and I am upset to hear that the NYSIRC is planning to break up the 44th AD. This has been the only district I have known while living in Windsor Terrace. It is an area made up of people who know and care about the community. We share a common interest that extends beyond schools and houses of Worship. By dividing us, you divide our voice in government and marginalize our community. Please don't let this happen in the 44th AD. larry fischer
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Nancy
February 13, 2023
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Aline
February 13, 2023
Please keep Windsor Terrace, the neighborhood between Prospect Park and Greenwood cemetery in one district. Cutting half of the Windsor Terrace neighborhood out of its current district makes no sense. You would include that excised portion within a district that is on the other side of the Green-Wood cemetery - worlds away from the daily lives of the residents. This will surely disenfranchise the residents of this small neighborhood already harmed and divided by the unfortunate location of the Prospect Expressway and make their voices even harder to hear.
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Nancy
February 13, 2023
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Please see attached on new map for AD41 and thoughts on redistricting.
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Mary
February 13, 2023
I"m a life long resident of Park Slope/Windsor Terrace and I am very upset to hear that the NYSIRC is planning to break up the 44th Assembly District. This has been a cohesive district for over 30 years with people who know and care for our community. We share a common interest that is not limited to our schools, houses of worship and day to day issues that occur in the community. By dividing us, you divide our voice in government and marginalize our community. Please don't let this happen to the 44th AD. Mary Fischer (81 Sherman Street, Brooklyn, NY 11218)
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Jacob
February 13, 2023
Hello, My name is Jacob Shipley and I am a resident of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I would like to comment about the potential redistricting to split Greenpoint into two districts with the eastern half (where I reside) being moved into a shared district with parts of Queens. As a member of the Greenpoint community, I urge you not to split up the governance of our home. Queens is a completely different borough across the Newtown Creek and has a completely different culture about it. Greenpoint is a unified neighborhood, east, west, and north and we need it to be treated as such. If we are split, I fear that this will begin a disconnect in the way our roads are taken care of, businesses are supported by their councilmembers, and will threaten the cultural unity that has been so longstanding. Please keep Greenpoint one district as it should be. Thank you very much, Jacob Shipley
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Alex
February 13, 2023
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Please see the attached file for my thoughts.
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Danica
February 13, 2023
Hello, I live in north Greenpoint Brooklyn (on Clay street) in New York's 50th district. I've seen the new planned assembly lines and seen that they cut right through the neighborhood along McGuinness Avenue. This makes little sense as east of McGuinness is still very much in Greenpoint, whether we are talking about the water treatment plant, the Newton Creek nature walk, or the thriving business corridor on Nassau Avenue near McGolrick Park (which includes a monument to Greenpoint residents who fought in WWI). This Brooklyn neighborhood is a cohesive unit both east and west of McGuinness and half of it should not be put under the jurisdiction of a district that serves mostly Queens. Thank you for taking my thoughts into consideration.