Submissions

Public Comments Return to Archived Submissions Page

• Matthew
  January 21, 2023
  I am asking for Cortland County and the surrounding areas be separated from the 125th district particularly the City of Ithaca. It is a well-known fact that Ithaca picks the person to represent the district and all they care about is how far left the candite is. The majority of the area that makes up the 125th is rural and our beliefs and priorities are not anywhere close to be aligning with the City of Ithaca.
  
• Denisevog
  January 21, 2023
  By no stretch of the imagination should Guilderland be part of the rural district of the Hilltowns, Schoharie, Montgomery counties. Guilderland is a suburban town, experiencing growth and development all the time. We have very different needs than the rural areas it is proposed we be lumped with. We have much more in common with Albany and Colonie. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the present draft. Guilderland needs to be kept part of Albany and Colonie.
  
• Janet
  January 20, 2023
  I’m Janet Chen, the present Chair of the non-profit organization known as the Friends of the Woodlawn Preserve (FWP). The Woodlawn Preserve is approximately 135 acres within the City of Schenectady. It has always been an area of wetlands, and is the headwaters of the Lishakill Creek. In the early 1970s a retention pond was created in this area to help alleviate flooding that was occurring in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Schenectady. Many development efforts have been attempted in the past; the most recent effort was around 2004, when a developer noticed the paper streets in the city’s maps and proposed a housing development named ‘Locust Grove’. A group of concerned citizens began a lobbying effort to convince city officials to not allow any development in this sensitive area, and out of that grew the group now known as ‘Friends of the Woodlawn Preserve’ (FWP). The City of Schenectady heard the concerns of the citizens and declared the area off-bounds for development. Efforts went underway to redraw the map of the area, removing paper streets and foreclosing on area properties that had not paid taxes to add back into the Preserve. Through these efforts the area is now considered a protected area with city park designation. The loosely organized FWP became a 501c3 organization in 2012, and began meeting monthly to organize educational events and continue to lobby for improvements within the Preserve. In 2013 Assemblyman Phil Steck attended one of our meetings and proposed we work with the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission (APBPC) to help bring the area back to its original Pine Barren environment. He was able to allocate $100,000 appropriation for the APBPC to assist the City of Schenectady to that goal. The FWP, City of Schenectady and the APBPC then entered into a Cooperative Agreement to work together for that purpose. The first appropriation was for a survey of the areas in Schenectady, Rotterdam and Niskayuna (Stanford Park) that comprise the Schenectady portion of the remnant pine barren environment. Our next project is the ‘Pine Barren Restoration Project’. Funding was allocated for 21 acres to be cleared of invasive and superfluous trees to create a savannah like environment which is the hallmark for a pine barren environment, and was completed in the summer of 2021. Funding has now been allocated to complete the next step: stumping and recreating trails within this area. The APBPC will then assist us with reseeding native species to create a habitat suitable for the re-establishment of the Karner Blue butterfly, which hasn’t been seen in this area since the early 1970s. Schenectady is not currently eligible to be a part of the Albany Pine Bush Commission, as it lies outside of the County of Albany, but thanks to its Inclusion in the 110th Assembly district and the assistance of Assemblyman Steck it is no longer the woefully neglected area it once was. Although the City of Schenectady recognized the area as one deserving of preservation, it lacked the resources to maintain it, whereas the Albany Pine Bush Commission receives ample State funding as a Preserve of a highly significant environmental ecosystem unique in the Capital Region. There are economies of scale in having both under the jurisdiction of the APBPC. Keeping Woodlawn in the 110th will assure that the representative of that district continues to focus on that important environmental project. The residents of Woodlawn who live adjacent to the Preserve are the most frequent users of its trails, and the neighborhood has long been supportive of any efforts to deter development and keep it as a Preserve. The Preserve has long been on the DEC Regional Conservation Open Space Priority list ‘as the area includes several remnant features of the Pine Bush, including sand plain and dune formations, pitch pine - scrub oak barrens, and historic Karner Blue butterfly habitat which, while currently unoccupied, is planned on being restored as a future re-introduction site. The area also supports several important wetlands forming a unique complex of pine barren and wetland habitats.’ We were greatly relieved in the last redistricting that Woodlawn was still included in the 110th Assembly District. The current proposal, to remove Woodlawn from the 110th AD is worrisome. We are concerned that by joining with Saratoga County we will be competing for Assembly and EPA funds with much larger state-subsidized entities, including (but not limited to) Saratoga State Park, the Casino, Racino and Racetrack, Global Foundaries, etc. If Saratoga displaces Woodlawn in the 110th district it is highly likely that the Woodlawn Preserve will once again be forgotten.
  
• Katy
  January 20, 2023
  I am a resident of Red Hook in the 103rd district. I worked hard, along with fellow volunteers from my district, to help elect our current Assemblymember, Sarahana Shrestha. I am extremely proud of her victory and feel that she best represents my values and the values of my neighbors and friends. I am distraught by the thought of Red Hook being removed from the 103rd district and losing the representation of Sarahana. Please do not remove Red Hook and Rhinebeck from the 103rd district.
  
• James
  January 20, 2023
  I am a resident of Beacon. I believe that Beacon should remain in AD-104 with Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. Our city deserves to remain in a district with communities that it already has ties to. Newburgh and Beacon are connected by a bridge, commuters from Newburgh come to Beacon to get on the Metro North. Beacon and Poughkeepsie are both in Dutchess County. Separating our city from our neighbors across the river and our neighbors in the only other city in Dutchess County is a shame.
  
• Mayor Mike
  January 20, 2023
  View File
  
  
• Nicole
  January 20, 2023
  Hi! I live in Tivoli, NY and I recently learned that Red Hook (Tivoli) and Rhinebeck are being redistricted out of Representative Sarahana Shrestha's district. I'm incredibly disappointed by this and urge whoever is in charge of this to not make this decision. I voted for Sarahana as my representative and I would like for her to continue to do so.
  
• Cary
  January 20, 2023
  I am in Assembly District 103. I live in Barrytown, which is in the township of Red Hook. I don't like that the new district lines will put me in 106 and cut me off from the other side of the river where I am most involved. I've lived here for 41 years and I don't see why you have to make such drastic changes. I help elect people to the state legislature and I would like to not have to start all over again in a new district.
  
• Heather
  January 20, 2023
  I am writing to say that I am against the redistricting of the 103rd district which removes Red Hook and Rhinebeck from the district. As a long time Red Hook resident I want to be part of a district that shares my values and has elected officials that reflect those values.
  
• Heather
  January 20, 2023
  I am writing to say that I am against the redestricting or
  
• Brian
  January 20, 2023
  I reside at 83 Scism Road in Tivoli, NY. I pay real estate taxes to Red Hook. I am writing to express concern with the proposed NYS Assembly redistricting map. The proposed map is inconsistent with the map used to redraw our NYS Senate district last year. The Senate map accurately reflects new residents and more generally the changing population of the river towns of Red Hook & Rhinebeck. It should be used as a model to redraw the map for our Assembly seat. Thank you very much for your consideration. Brian Fuhr
  
• Lauren
  January 20, 2023
  View File
  Combining different boroughs that are different in so many ways with one representative is like trying to put water in a sieve and expecting it to stay: it'll never work. See attached letter for more thoughtful comments.
  
• Iris
  January 20, 2023
  View File
  
  
• Vincent
  January 20, 2023
  My name is Vincent J. Bono I am the Chairman of the Herkimer County Legislature. I testify today in support of the existing Assembly redistricting maps, which I believe are drawn in accordance with the laws of this State, whereas the proposed IRC draft plan appears to be drawn in violation of the current law. Under the State Constitution, the Assembly map should promote the maintenance of existing districts, pre-existing political subdivisions, including counties, cities, and towns, and of communities of interest. Under the current map, Herkimer County is almost completely contained within the 118th Assembly District. Under the IRC’s draft plan, Herkimer County is also kept within the 118th Districts. But the new new District breaks the Mohawk Valley up as a unifying principle which is inconsistent with economic development initiatives currently underway. Herkimer County also includes the gateway to the Western Adirondacks through Old Forge. The draft plan also combines its Adirondack communities with the eastern tip of Lake George but excludes Long Lake in Hamilton County. Thus there does not appear to be a unifying principle to the draft 118th District focused on the Adirondack Region as a whole. Under the Constitution, each district shall be as compact in form as practicable and consist of contiguous territory. In the current Assembly Map, the 118th is relatively compact and keeps Herkimer, Fulton and Hamilton Counties together. It is already one of the largest districts in the state, if not the largest. In the draft plan, the district of which Herkimer County is part is clearly the largest Assembly District spanning six counties that are not compact or contiguous. Oneida County to Saratoga from west to east and Otsego to Hamilton from north to south is a 2.5 hour car drive each way. Districts cannot be drawn to discourage competition or for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring incumbents. It would appear that the draft IRC map was drawn to disfavor incumbency since the current representative of the 118 th District has been drawn out of his district and placed into another district. The current Assembly map is a better example of one that promotes competition and consistency when compared to the IRC plan. To the extent practicable, districts shall contain as nearly as possible an equal number of inhabitants. Under the draft IRC plan, the draft 118th District has only a little over 135,000 inhabitants while the current 118th District has over 140,000 people. A modest change of including whole counties by not excluding single towns in neighboring assembly districts would be a better remedy for the current situation over the draft IRC plan. Questions for the Commission: Can you please provide an outline of the input and meetings that took place prior to the release of the draft map on December 1, 2022? How many times did the Commission meet prior to releasing a draft map? How is this draft map different from the 2021 draft plan which was resoundingly rejected by the Legislature? Can you outline the IRC’s next steps between the conclusion of the public hearings and the release of the first plan which is expected in April of this year? Thank you for your consideration in this important matter. Sincerely, Vincent J. Bono Chairman
  
• Christine
  January 19, 2023
  Dear Committee Members, Thank you for redistricting plans for Guilderland, NY. We have a family running our town that redistricting may help resolve. For over 20 years, Town Supervisor Peter Barber was the ZBA Chair then moved by appointment to Town Supervisor while his cousin Steven Feeney runs the Planning Board 20+ years and cousin Dennis Feeney sits on Albany County Legislature and County law committee. Peter Barber has been on the Albany Cty Democratic Law Committee. Many questionable actions have happened and 2 weeks ago, a town grassroots org questioned their closed door meetings. We need to be merged with Hilltowns rural areas because we have land use and solar issues on par with rural area residential concerns and we need the new map to help rid us of an entrenched political sandbox. It could go either way; maybe the Hilltowns are going to be forced to follow the way of Guilderland. Either way, we will all benefit from new points of views and people that want to enter political service but are shut out by the current political culture of the Capital District.