Public Comments Return to Archived Submissions Page
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Ernest
November 24, 2021
map viewable here: https://districtr.org/plan/86511 based on minimal county division and compactness
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Rachel
November 24, 2021
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Brian
November 24, 2021
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Moishe
November 24, 2021
I’m am contacting the New York Independent Redistricting Commission to express my disappointment with various aspects of the two plans submitted to the public on September 15th. First, the Letters version of the Commission’s congressional plan continues to divide the Hudson Valley’s Orthodox Jewish community between three separate congressional districts, just like the current design. The Commission’s decision to continue this inequitable treatment of our community fails to take into consideration the fact that the region’s Orthodox Jewish community is a single community of interest that has been largely disenfranchised under the current district maps. A far superior approach would be to adopt the Commission’s SULORNGRCK map. Second, in both of the Commission’s plans for the State Senate, Districts BE and PENNBRDR connect the Orthodox Jewish community in Sullivan County with areas north of Binghamton, instead of the Orthodox Jewish community in nearby Orange County. This makes no sense and fails to respect our community of interest at all. In addition, neither the Names nor the Letters maps connect the Orthodox Jewish communities in Orange and Rockland counties. I strongly encourage the Commission to make these important change in its final map for the State Senate. In the State Assembly, there’s no reason that the Jewish community in Rockland is not kept whole in the Commission’s plan. I ask that this be corrected in the final map to ensure that this community has the ability to have its voice heard in Albany
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Leonor
November 23, 2021
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Robert
November 23, 2021
Dear Commission Member: I am writing to ask the Congressional 22nd district that includes Utica, my life long hometown not be combined with the district that includes Syracuse. I believe that the voice of Utica's unique large refugee and immigrant population will be weakened or lost to the larger population of the Syracuse area. I ask that you please leave the districts intact. Over the past several election cycles it appears various interest have been well represented, demonstrated by 4 different individuals (2 from each party) serving the Utica area in the 22nd Congressional District. Thank you for considering my thoughts. Best wishes for a happy and safe holiday.
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Moishe
November 23, 2021
I’m am contacting the New York Independent Redistricting Commission to express my disappointment with various aspects of the two plans submitted to the public on September 15th. First, the Letters version of the Commission’s congressional plan continues to divide the Hudson Valley’s Orthodox Jewish community between three separate congressional districts, just like the current design. The Commission’s decision to continue this inequitable treatment of our community fails to take into consideration the fact that the region’s Orthodox Jewish community is a single community of interest that has been largely disenfranchised under the current district maps. A far superior approach would be to adopt the Commission’s SULORNGRCK map. Second, in both of the Commission’s plans for the State Senate, Districts BE and PENNBRDR connect the Orthodox Jewish community in Sullivan County with areas north of Binghamton, instead of the Orthodox Jewish community in nearby Orange County. This makes no sense and fails to respect our community of interest at all. In addition, neither the Names nor the Letters maps connect the Orthodox Jewish communities in Orange and Rockland counties. I strongly encourage the Commission to make these important change in its final map for the State Senate. In the State Assembly, there’s no reason that the Jewish community in Rockland is not kept whole in the Commission’s plan. I ask that this be corrected in the final map to ensure that this community has the ability to have its voice heard in Albany.
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Barbara
November 23, 2021
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Donna
November 23, 2021
I've lived in Mohawk Valley my entire life. I'm not a registered Republican or Democrat. The greater Utica area should not be in a congressional district with Syracuse. Utica is a center for many refugees and has been for many years. Our needs and concerns are different from Syracusr.
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Abraham
November 23, 2021
I want to applaud the Commission for the SULORNGRCK congressional map proposed in its Names Plan for the Hudson Valley. This district would be an important step in the right direction to provide the region’s large and growing Orthodox Jewish community with a voice in Congress. Currently, Rockland, Orange and Sullivan counties are divided between three different congressional districts. The Hudson Valley’s Orthodox Jewish community is a single community of interest and, by dividing us into three separate congressional districts, the region’s existing configuration of congressional district lines has hurt our ability to be effectively represented in Washington. While the Commission’s SULORNGRCK map corrects this injustice, the alternative Letters Plan continues it for another ten years. By continuing to divide Rockland, Orange and Sullivan counties between three separate congressional districts (Districts O, U and W), the Letters Plan fails to respect that we are a community of interest and fails to adhere to the State Constitution’s requirement that the voting rights of language minority groups, like ours, be protected. On the state legislative level, I encourage the Commission to follow this same principle. While State Senate and State Assembly districts are smaller, which makes it more difficult to connect portions of community located in different counties, respect for communities of interest and the protection of language minority voting rights makes it incumbent on the Commission to include these areas in single districts where possible and prevent any unnecessary divisions of the Hudson Valley’s Orthodox Jewish community. In both the Names and Letters proposed plans, the Commission must do more to consolidate the Town of Ramapo and preserve continuity of representation for Orthodox Jewish communities in Orange and Sullivan counties.
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Dolores Saltzman
November 23, 2021
To the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission, Thank you for your effort to try to create fair legislative maps for our State. Surely this has not been easy. In an earlier submission to the Commission I suggested that the party-involved members of the Commission had an important responsibility. That is that they avoid allowing their party loyalty to be involved in their map drawing activity. That seems to have clearly been a problem for those members with party affiliation. Witness two sets of maps. At the end of my earlier submission I suggested that the Commission look carefully at the maps they think they might hand to the legislature. Now is the time to look at voting behavior. Voting behavior is what informs Gerrymandering, and there are quantitative methods that can give information about the voting fairness of district maps. Early such methods are "Partisan Symmetry" and "Efficiency Gap". There may be more being done now that the practice of Gerrymandering has gotten out of control as in North Carolina for example. We now know that, contrary to a statement by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts that "you're taking these issues away from democracy", democracy is in fact now in great peril precisely because of these issues. While the courts may not handle the issue of Gerrymandering just yet, the members of the Commission can use the methods available to look at their maps and use these methods to examine their handy work, and adjust the maps, if need be, to achieve more fairness. It is devoutly wished they will. Sincerely Yours, Dolores Saltzman
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Anne
November 23, 2021
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Dear Commissioners: Our committee is unanimous in its desire that the district lines you draw keep Sullivan County intact. We are about 970 square miles in size, with both rural and less-rural areas. This gives our county a level of diversity which is combined with a strong sense of community identity. The residents of all of our towns face the same difficulties and, at times, the same achievements. Our health rankings are near the bottom in New York State. Our education and income levels are not high. Opportunities for youth are limited. If we as a County are kept intact, we will be better able to advocate for our common needs at every level of government. Dividing our county as shown in some of the proposed maps would harm our ability to work for our neighbors and friends across the county. Adding our county to areas unlike ours would dilute our voice in government. Under current district lines, our county is included in only one Congressional and State Senate District. One of our towns, the Town of Neversink, is located in an Assembly District which is a wildly gerrymandered district. Please keep our County intact in all of the districts. Thank you for your consideration. Anne Hart Chair Sullivan County Democratic Committee
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Edward John
November 23, 2021
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The attached document outlines the comments of the Sayville Citizens Group which covers the communities of Bayport, Sayville, West Sayville and Oakdale.
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Yang
November 23, 2021
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As set forth more fully in our statement, the Asian American Bar Association of New York urges the adoption of the Unity Plan for determining Assembly and State Senate districts.
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Catherine
November 23, 2021
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