Submissions

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• Verda
  December 1, 2021
  View File
  Attached are 1) PowerPoint; 2) Testimony Text; 3) Support Data re: Distressed Families due to 6,199 Foreclosures in Jamaica, Queens; Testimony PPt Text Keep Jamaica Intact
  
• James
  December 1, 2021
  I would like the committee to remember that Jefferson and Lewis counties are very conservative politically. We live up here for a reason. I think including Jefferson county with downstate counties would be a mistake. Please keep Jefferson County and Fort Drum in Ms. Stefanik's district. Thank you.
  
• Christine
  December 1, 2021
  I live in Saugerties and am asking that 1) Saugerties remain as one in your final map and 2) that Saugerties is included with the rest of Ulster County in the Assembly District. As it is now, Saugerties is the only Ulster County town in NY Assembly District 102. Recently I contacted my District Assembly member by phone, asking for him or his chief of staff to contact me (I explained why I was calling). No one contacted me. The following week I emailed Mr. Tague's office again (about the same unresolved issue), asking for someone to contact me to further discuss my concern. Again, no one responded. I can't help but think that if I lived in Greene County, he or his staff would have contacted me because he wants the votes of Greene County. But since I am in the only town in Ulster County, which he doesn't depend on for votes, I was ignored. Saugerties needs to be included in Ulster County so our representatives care about us (even if they only care because they want votes). As a lone town in a county with several whole counties, our voice is at best diluted and at worst ignored. Thank you.
  
• Verda
  December 1, 2021
  View File
  "Keep Jamaica Intact" Thank you for hearing my Testimony at the NYIRC Hearing re: Jamaica, Queens on 11-17-2021. Attached are 1) PowerPoint; 2) Testimony Text; 3) Support Data re: Distressed Families due to 6,199 Foreclosures in Jamaica, Queens; and Proposed AD Map for CD-5.
  
• David
  December 1, 2021
  View File
  Dear Chair Imamura & Vice Chair Martins, As the Mayors of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, we write to urge the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission to ensure our three cities remain in the same Congressional district. The New York State Legislature tasked this Commission with crafting new Congressional maps as a result of the 2020 Census while also considering existing districts and communities of interest that share “enough social and economic interests of importance that suggest said community should be included in a single district for effective and fair representation.” Albany, Schenectady, and Troy comprise a singular media market, are the largest cities in our contiguous counties, and share many of the same opportunities and challenges. Our cities are home to the largest communities of color in our respective counties and as well as some of the poorest census tracts. These communities share social and economic interests that must not be diluted. As mayors, we continuously work alongside one-another to ensure we are advocating for those interests with a common regional approach in mind. Our cities have partnered numerous times to combat vacant and abandoned buildings, advocate for vital water, sewer, street, sidewalk, and broadband infrastructure funding, and secure the necessary revenue replacement to not only overcome the challenges of the ongoing pandemic but also make transformative investments to reverse decades of disinvestment in our cities. Our cities are also part of the same public transportation district - Capital District Transportation Authority - the same regional planning and resource center - Capital District Regional Planning Commission - and the same metropolitan transportation planning organization - Capital District Transportation Committee. Being divided into two districts and represented by two different Congressional members would not only fly in the face of the charge issued to the Commission by the New York State Legislature, but it would have a direct, negative impact on some of the most historically challenged Census tracts in our region. We implore this Commission to ensure our three cities remain in the same Congressional district and provide our residents with the most effective form of federal representation possible. Sincerely, Kathy Sheehan, Mayor, City of Albany Gary McCarthy, Mayor, City of Schenectady Patrick Madden, Mayor, City of Troy
  
• Barbara
  December 1, 2021
  My name is Barbara Epstein from Wantagh,NY. I've been looking at the proposed maps and see many odd shaped districts. More importantly some of the districts contain communities that have nothing in common. A good example is Westbury. In the ADO map it is linked with Brookville and other North Shore communities, and in the SDE map it is linked with Port Washington and Great Neck. Another community of concern is Hicksville. There is a large Indian population and it it should be in one Assembly and one Senate district instead of being broken up. Furthermore, it is important that no Assembly or Senate district lines extend into the borough of Queens. It is my hope that the commission can work together to come up with a single set of maps to present to the legislature. Really it is your responsibility to the residents of the State of New York.
  
• Sarah Jean
  November 30, 2021
  My name is Sarah Jean Avery and I have lived in the northern part of Park Slope for close to 50 years and been engaged in many civic initiatives including affordable housing, library protection and safe streets throughout my residency here. I served as a Trustee on the Park Slope Civic Council (PSCC) for 9 years (before being termed out) and still am co-chair of the PSCC Forth on Fourth Avenue Committee. While I recently have been the PSCC representative to the Gowanus Neighborhood Coalition for Justice, I submit these comments in my individual capacity. Park Slope has historically been both physically large and diverse with local communities within the bigger whole. Traditionally, the northern part of Park Slope has been in the 52nd AD and I believe it should continue to be so. Because of local issue focused civic engagement here, as well as the proximity to the larger Gowanus area, we have a community of interest which benefits from representation by a single representative. We have greatly benefited from the fact that our current Assembly member has been deeply engaged at the North Slope community level for decades. Moreover, there is a confluence of interest within the northern Park Slope area that differs from that of the southern part of Park Slope. This is outwardly noticeable architecturally, but most importantly evidenced by the fact that the southern part of Park Slope shares more life with central Brooklyn while the northern part has more cohesiveness with the brownstone neighborhoods proximate to Downtown Brooklyn as well as issues in the neighboring Gowanus area. In my opinion, fostering effective civic engagement is best achieved by keeping the areas bounded by Union Street on the North, running south on PPW to 9th Street and running west to PS’s 4th Ave border in the 52nd Assembly District. Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the proposed changes to my Assembly District.
  
• Trevor
  November 30, 2021
  Keep Albany, Troy, Saratoga, and Schenectady together in CD 20.
  
• Anne
  November 30, 2021
  Prior to my current residency in Tompkins County (NY23), I lived in Cortland County (NY22). These two counties share very similar cultures, concerns, and issues. Many thousands of our voters are employed by higher education institutions and businesses with liberal perspectives. We are profoundly frustrated by the minority Republican rule imposed upon us by decades of partisan manipulation of election maps. I would like to see the map of central NY districts redrawn to combine Tompkins with Cortland. The current NY23 map is a gerrymandered snakepath from my town, Groton, all the way west to Lake Erie, a four hour drive away. It's crazy and it ensures that no Democrat can be represent our district. Our district should consolidate communities of the eastern Finger Lakes. Candidates should be able to traverse the district in any direction in under two hours in a motor vehicle. Thank you for considering my comment!
  
• Craig
  November 30, 2021
  State Senate District 45 and State Assembly District 114 ought to include all of Warren County, as they have been. Division of Warren County would complicate efficient governance on several levels. Warren County is mostly inside the Blue Line yet is in the Capital Region EDC (vs. North Country EDC). A singular Warren County is able to speak with a unified voice and more effectively advocate and represent our residents. Craig Leggett, Supervisor, Town of Chester, Warren County, NY
  
• Delsua
  November 30, 2021
  View File
  
  
• Cesar
  November 30, 2021
  View File
  Written submission of oral testimony from 11/10 hearing
  
• Raymond
  November 29, 2021
  The current State Senate Districts in Southern Brooklyn are extremely gerrymandered (22nd Senate District) and split up a significant concentration of ethnic communities. I hope the recent mayoral elections can be a guide for deciding the lines for representation. Thanks for your consideration.
  
• Leslie
  November 29, 2021
  View File
  Northern Bronx and lower Westchester (Yonkers, Mt Vernon and New Rochelle
  
• Matthew
  November 29, 2021
  I have lived on Roosevelt Island since 1989 and have participated in our Residents Association, elected by the community, for 15 years, 8 years as the elected president. We have been represented politically as a part of Manhattan, New York County, since Roosevelt Island's inception as a residential community in 1974, and have been ably represented in Congress by Carolyn Maloney for some years. This community has worked hard to establish and maintain excellent working relationships with our elected representatives in Albany and D.C. and any changes in that representation (we've hard rumors of affiliating Roosevelt Island with Queens County instead of New York County) would be inimical to those relationships and the hard work we have provided to deal with the unique issues posed by this island community. We would hope that any redistricting based on variations in population would maintain our status quo, which has served us well for decades.