New York State Independent Redistricting Commission

Alison
January 23, 2023
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Co-Executive Directors: Karen Blatt - blattk@nyirc.gov and Douglas Breakell - breakelld@nyirc.gov Directors of Public Engagement: Miranda Goodwin Raab - goodwinraabm@nyirc.gov and Patrick Cameron - cameronp@nyirc.gov Attention: Submissions, Independent Redistricting Commission 250 Broadway, 22nd Floor, New York, New York 10007 Dear Co-Executive Directors and Directors of Public Engagement, I write to express my strong opposition to the Commission’s draft plan that would move portions of the East Sixties, Sutton Place, Roosevelt Island and other parts of the east side into Assembly District 36 in Queens. The draft proposal clearly violates several New York State Constitutional districting requirements. Specifically, the draft (1) is not contiguous and compact; (2) fails to consider pre-existing political subdivisions and communities of interest; and (3) defies citizens’ reasonable expectations of rational line drawing. Even the location of an Assembly District Office is complicated by this irrational two-borough district plan. Will the Assembly Member have district offices in Manhattan and Roosevelt Island to serve the needs of the extraordinarily high percentage of seniors in Community Districts 6 & 8 & Roosevelt Island? Manhattan and Queens residents may hold vastly different positions on important matters of public policy, including but not limited to congestion pricing. The various communities of interest on both sides of the East River face different issues regarding housing, tax policy, transportation, open space and other matters. The draft proposal would create practical difficulties in the provision of governmental services. A defining element of the East Side’s neighborhood character is the presence of numerous medical and research facilities with sprawling, densely populated campuses. Among those institutions directly impacted by the proposed new lines are: Hospital for Special Surgery, New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, Rockefeller University and Cornell Tech. Manhattan elected officials have years of experience and expertise in addressing the compatibility of these institutions with surrounding residential areas. How effective will a Queens Assembly Member be in this regard? I and my neighbors successfully beat back a similar proposal involving City Council districts this past summer. While the law and the process may be different, the essential concepts of good government and rational line drawing remain the same. I strongly urge you to scrap the draft plan and not create a two-borough district. Respectfully, Alison Kliegman

Rachelle
January 23, 2023
It does not make sense to put Guilderland and Bethlehem in a rural district. These are not rural areas and should not be treated as such! Please do not change the Capital Region Districting. We have seen how unfair other redistricting has become. Stop making this a political game and keep this fair and non-partisan. Thank you.

Robert
January 23, 2023
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Katherine
January 23, 2023
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony. I have lived in Niskayuna for almost 20 years, raised two children in the Niskayuna school district. Our tight knit community is civically engaged and shares many common interests, from small business development to the education of our children. I do not understand the logic behind splitting up Niskayuna’s assembly district and am very concerned about the effect of this proposal on our ability to advocate for the needs of Niskayuna’s children and the future of our town. This proposed division would only serve to weaken the voices of Niskayuna’s community members who look to our Assemblymember to represent our common concerns and advocate for solutions. Our communities thrive when we have civically engaged citizens who are able to come together to solve shared problems. As we work to encourage young members of our community to engage with our democracy and participate in advocating for themselves, this arbitrary assembly district division will only make it harder for our community to do so.

Charles
January 22, 2023
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Thank you for your consideration

Gail
January 22, 2023
I wish to express my deep concern about the assembly district lines submitted for Delmar and the Town of Bethlehem. They do not serve my community well. Delmar is split up into two districts, 1/3 in a rural district with Guilderland. I thought one of the NYIRC's guiding principals was to keep communities of interest together as well as respecting political boundaries and town lines. The current proposed map does not do this. Delmar is a suburban community with ties to the Capital District and similar interests and needs as others in the Capital District. Historically, we have always been a Capital region assembly district and we need an elected representative that understands suburban issues and needs, not someone versed in rural and farming interests. All of Delmar must be returned to Pat Fahy's Capital District for the assembly line to be fair. Thank you for taking my comments into consideration.

Lorry
January 22, 2023
Dear Committee members: As a parent and School Board Member in the Amherst Central School District, I am surprised and concerned with the redistricting proposal that would split our school district into two separate Assembly districts. The proposal places one of our four schools into a different district and we need to ensure representation as a whole. In order to receive fair and effective representation, we should have one Assembly member to advocate for our educational needs. Sincerely, Lorry L. Goldhawk, 129 Ivyhurst Road, Amherst, NY 14226

John
January 22, 2023
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Thank you for considering Roosevelt Island’s needs when determining the redistricting map for New York State’s Assembly. I strongly oppose the current proposal which removes Roosevelt Island from Manhattan’s District 76 and places it in Queens District 36. New York State’s redistricting rules require: Districts must consist of contiguous territory and shall be as compact in form as possible. Our Manhattan Island’s contiguous territory is Manhattan, not Queens. The proposed change to our district is sprawling, not compact. The commission must take into account the maintenance of existing districts, pre-existing political subdivisions, including counties, cities, towns, and communities of interest. Roosevelt Island is being severed from long established communities of interest. Our political subdivision is not being respected. The City Charter of New York City recognizes Roosevelt Island as a Manhattan community. The Constitution of New York State specifically provides two State legislators for each district, a Senator and an Assembly Member. Roosevelt Island, a Manhattan community, has a unique form of local governance. We are governed by an unelected, State appointed Public Benefit Corporation, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC). All of our local services are administered by RIOC, not by New York City. The Board of Directors for RIOC is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Governor of NY. Because of this unique relationship with the State of NY, in which our residents do not have a voting voice in their local government, it is imperative that we, a Manhattan community, have the combined efforts of both of our Manhattan based representatives, working together on our behalf, to provide us with responsive and fair dealing by RIOC.

Dustin
January 22, 2023
Dear Commissioners, I am writing to express my opposition to the draft assembly map concerning the town of Guilderland and assembly districts 102 and 109. I believe the maps as drafted controvert two crucial guidelines redistricting is required to abide by when drawing new districts. Redistricting should maintain ‘the cores of existing districts, pre-existing political subdivisions, including cities, towns, and of communities of interest.’ The town of Guilderland has historically been a part of an Albany County urban/suburban district including the city of Albany and similar suburbs such as Bethlehem and New Scotland. The districts Guilderland has been a part of make sense – at the Eastern end of Guilderland the hamlet of McKownville and the Western end of the city of Albany seamlessly border one another. In fact, if it weren’t for a local restaurant named ‘City Line Bar and Grill’ no one, except those that study/need to know town boundaries would be able to tell where Albany ends and Guilderland begins. Guilderland is connected to New Scotland in the same way through Routes 85, 85A and the village of Voorheesvile in the current assembly map approved last year and was connected to Bethlehem in similar fashion in the last assembly district before the current iteration. The current assembly draft map rips apart and completely erases the core of the existing 109th assembly district and where Guilderland is situated in the draft map. It’s not just the political core of an existing assembly district that is not being followed in the draft map. Guilderland and the municipalities it’s connected to are strongly shared communities of interest. Through SUNY Albany, Albany Med, and St. Peter’s and CDTA a vast network of shared economies, educational institutions and work forces coexist within Guilderland, the city of Albany, New Scotland and Albany County suburbs. The draft map is also deficient in placing Guilderland outside of it’s direct communities of interest. The result of the draft map, as drawn for the town of Guilderland, would destroy the core of an existing assembly district and remove a town from its direct communities of interest. I urge the commission to consider changing this in its next assembly district map draft. Thank you, Dustin Reidy

Charles
January 21, 2023
To whom it may concern, Maryanne and I have lived on rural Meadowdale Road in Guilderland for 43 years. Both of us are retired state employees, I with the Department of Social Services (Having previously been a child protective employee in Chemung County) and Maryanne with the Comptrollers Office and on the Second Floor of the Pataki Administration (Retiring as the Executive Director of the Dormitory Administration). I am a Guilderland Democratic Committee member and have served on the Guilderland Conservation Advisory Committee and Zoning Board of Appeals. We are both vehemently in opposition to the proposed NYS Assembly redistricting map in general and for District 102 in particular! Guilderland is a suburban Town of 35,752 people. (2018) Most of its population lives east of Route 155 bordering the City of Albany and Colonie to the north and Bethlehem to the east. The Village of Altamont with a population of about 1,779 is the only population center in Western Guilderland. Due to the neighboring Helderberg Escarpment, the focus of interests of the residents of Altamont is similar to those of the rest of Guilderland. The only other population clusters are Guilderland Center, centrally located in Guilderland but in a rural area, McCormack Corners, and Fort Hunter on the northern side of Route 20, and between Route 20, Schenectady County and Colonie are also small population clusters. Due to the proximity to shopping centers and the State Capital, a major employer of Guilderland residents, and North, South, and East Highway systems in Eastern Guilderland and Colonie and Bethlehem, Guilderland should be part of a single Assembly District or a single Assembly district including consensus selected portions of Colonie and/or Albany or Bethlehem. It should be noted that CDTA routes throughout the areas servicing Colonie and the State University and Western portions of the City of Albany seem to support our view. I believe the cooperative relations developed within Next/Door's Universe of relations also are confined to the area described. We in Guilderland involved in developing our Comprehensive Plan have also developed cooperative relationships with Colonie and Bethlehem. Guilderland neither borders nor has any interaction with ultra-conservative, very rural, Schoharie or Montgomery counties and other areas west and south of Guilderland included in proposed Assembly District 102. Every effort should be made to avoid continuing the counter-productive gerrymandering aspect of former redistricting maps Respectfully, Charles Klaer and Maryanne Gridley 829 Meadowdale Road Altamont, N.Y. 12009 518-861-8128 cklaer32@gmail.com Not cklaer1@nycap.rr.com my old email address

Brahvan
January 21, 2023
Hello, My name is Brahvan Ranga and I am the Political Director at For the Many. We are a grassroots organization that represents thousands of people across the Mid-Hudson Valley, from students, to recent immigrants, to folks across the multiracial working class. I am also a resident of Beacon, NY. I firmly believe that Beacon should remain in AD-104, to stay with the cities of Poughkeepsie and Newburgh. These cities have deep historic roots as part of the Mid-Hudson Valley, and have ties that span generations. They ought to be kept together in one Assembly district, and represented by one elected Assemblymember.

Howard
January 21, 2023
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Jamie
January 21, 2023
Commissioners, I would like to express my concern over the Town of Guilderland’s (Albany County) placement in an Assembly District with Schoharie, Montgomery, and Fulton Counties. Guilderland would easily be the largest municipality in this Assembly District, but it shares no common interests or characteristics with any other part of the proposed district. Guilderland is an inner suburb of Albany, closely tied with Albany, Colonie, and Bethlehem. Many Guilderland residents work in the City of Albany or Town of Colonie, and many spend most of their time in those two neighboring municipalities. Guilderland is a higher educated, somewhat diverse suburb with no commonality with the counties as proposed in the latest Assembly plan. I urge the commission to put Guilderland back in a district with either the Town of Colonie, making an inner suburbs of Albany district, or with the City of Albany. There is no other solution that makes sense to the residents of Guilderland. Thank you for your consideration.

Ellen
January 21, 2023
NY State Assembly and Senate compositions show clearly that the Democrats are in the majority in NY State. How is it that we have so many more Republican federal lawmakers in the House of Representatives as of this last election? My family lives in Ithaca. Our new Congressional district, 19, extends from the Hudson River all the way across half of the state! The district spans a much too large area. Tompkins County, largely Democratic, is currently not represented. As was the case for so many years with Tom Reed as our Congressional Rep. for district 23, our County is once again de facto disenfranchised.

Oskar
January 21, 2023
NY State Assembly and Senate compositions show clearly that the Democrats are in the majority in NY State. How is it that we have so many more Republican federal lawmakers in the House of Representatives as of this last election? My family lives in Ithaca. Our new Congressional district, 19, extends from the Hudson River all the way across half of the state! The district spans a much too large area. Tompkins County, largely Democratic, is currently not represented. As was the case for so many years with Tom Reed as our Congressional Rep. for district 23, our County is once again de facto disenfranchised.

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