Public Comments Return to Archived Submissions Page
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Elaine
November 23, 2021
Please keep the Rivertowns in NY17 as they are. It is important to keep these towns together - they have a lot of population in common and that population is becoming more and more diverse.
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Janet
November 23, 2021
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Thank you for considering my thoughts on the proposed Congressional redistricting plan.
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Heather
November 23, 2021
The following is being submitted by Anisia Ayon, Central Queens Redistricting Coalition (aayon@aol.com) Good afternoon, I would like to thank again for giving me this opportunity to participate in today’s hearing regarding the Redistricting of Central Queens. My name is Anisia Ayon. I have resided in Rego Park for the past 52 years where I have raised my children’s and grandchildren. For the majority of these 50 plus years, I have been extremely active in my community and have been a voice of the people and for the people. In March 2019, I joined the Borough President Queens Complete Count initiative to help inform my neighbors and fellow Queens residents about the importance of the Census and for the future of our community. The results in my region and beyond were positive and viewed as a great success and a personal accomplishment. After the completion of the Census, next steps of the Redistricting opened my eyes and I have realized that the outlines of Central Queens will be gravely impacted. We formed a coalition CQRC with members of our communities very concern about the Redistricting of our community of Forest Hills, Rego Park and part of Richmond Hills and Kew Gardens. We spent many hours to created our maps focusing in Families, schools, businesses and places of worship trying not to be negatively impacted by the lines drawn with this plan. Right now we have 3 Senators and 3 Assembly Members and we would like to correct. This district needs State Senators and Assembly Members that are familiar with our region, our people and our community. Neighborhood representatives have gathered here today on behalf of the new formed “Central Queens Redistricting coalition” to ask you to reconsider your plans and maps draw by our diversity members of our coalition. We need you to consider our diverse community, including a high percentage of senior citizens - people who have lived here and dedicated the best of their years to this community. Let us NOT forget them and ALL the multicultural faces that represent Rego Park, Forest Hills. In closing, I was very disappointed when I saw the Letters and Names maps draw by your commissioners. They are not correcting the problem of out communities, you made it worse. I am here as a voice of the people and for the people, as a Cuban American Citizen who fought to live in this amazing country and neighborhood, as a senior citizen, a mother, a grandmother and I implore you to reconsider the Redistricting and re-draw the maps to include all our diversity and select one Senator and one Assembly member that cares for our Central Queens community. Thank you for your time and consideration.
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Ronald
November 23, 2021
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Helen
November 23, 2021
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Judith
November 23, 2021
Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the redistricting of NYCD1. I am concerned about the Letters Plan which will move SUNY Stony Brook (SUB), the Three Villages, and Port Jefferson out of CD1 and will also divide other Communities of Interest including Coram and Ronknokoma. I am opposed to these changes. The Town of Brookhaven has, historically been in one Congressional District; I ask that all of Brookhaven remain in CD1. I am a 52 year resident of Brookhaven; I live in Shoreham and spent my career working in the Three Village area; I benefitted repeatedly from the academic and medical availability of SUNY Stony Brook (SBU) . When my husband suffered with cancer, Stony Brook University Hospital recommended that his radiation treatment be administered at BNL. I have read about many of the collaborations and the impressive joint achievements of these two institutions and acknowledge them as major contributors to the growth of the Town of Brookhaven and Suffolk County. SBU and BNL are the largest employers in Suffolk County. Our political leaders, both Democrats and Republicans have recognized their interrelationship and the economic strength they bring to Brookhaven. NY1 Members of Congress have recognized the importance of supporting these economic powerhouses of scientific research. It is critical that this major economic engine has the benefit of effective representation with one Member of Congress who views both as prime factors in NY1’s growth. Both BNL and SBU are renowned research centers, powerfully and substantially connected and sharing common bonds and interests. BNL and SBU have formalized collaborations which form Communities of Interest in educational, economic, and intellectual research. Dividing this community of interested will force both SBU and BNL to appeal to two Members of Congress. This will not benefit SBU and will not benefit the Town of Brookhaven. Under the Letters Plan, the northwest portion of Brookhaven containing the Three Villages and Port Jefferson will be moved out of CD1, and many other areas, including Coram and Ronkonkoma, will be cut in half. The proposed changes offer no benefits, either economic, social, or educational for the affected areas or for the Town of Brookhaven. Please keep the entire Town of Brookhaven in one Congressional District. Thank you for your time and consideration of my request. Sincerely, Judith Black jpblack@optonline.net 33 John St., Shoreham, NY 11786 631-662-2074 11/23/2021
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Timothy
November 23, 2021
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Ed
November 23, 2021
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My name is Jennifer Sun and I am submitting testimony to the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission in my role as co-executive director of Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE). For almost a half century, AAFE has been dedicated to advancing racial, social and economic justice for Asian Americans and other systematically disadvantaged communities. We are a comprehensive community development organization with offices in Manhattan and Queens. AAFE is a member of the APA VOICE Redistricting Task Force. The 2020 U.S. Census showed that Asians are the fastest growing racial group in New York City. In Queens, the Asian population grew by a remarkable 29% from a decade ago. Now is the time to right a wrong, creating district lines that keep communities of interest whole rather than perpetuating an unfair political map that disenfranchised large swathes of our community. But redistricting in New York will only succeed if all communities of color are fairly represented at every level of government. This is why AAFE joined with the APA VOICE Redistricting Task Force in support of the Unity Map, created by a consortium of voting rights advocacy groups. Across New York City, the map seeks to unite communities of color with shared interests. We believe this emphasis on equity must be prioritized by the redistricting commission and the New York State Legislature. I would like to bring your attention to the neighborhoods of Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, where AAFE provides housing counseling, social services, senior services and small business loans and training in English, Spanish and Chinese to a multi-racial immigrant community. This community is divided among three state assembly districts in a way that dilutes its political power and deprives it of crucial government resources. We were heartened to see that the “Letters” map from the commission creates an Asian majority district in Elmhurst, Woodside and Jackson Heights, addressing the tremendous growth in the South Asian and Southeast Asian communities in this area. However, we remain concerned about equitable representation throughout these neighborhoods. The Unity Map addresses these concerns, not only in Northeast Queens but throughout the borough and across our city. More than half of our clients last year in Queens came from Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona. These are communities with high poverty rates: 15% in Jackson Heights and 10% in Elmhurst. In both communities, at least one-third of renter households were severely rent burdened in 2019. The neighborhoods suffered greatly during the pandemic, from a lack of adequate health care and emergency aid. Through redistricting, we must rectify the systemic failures that make it so difficult for community voices to be heard and for these dynamic neighborhoods to receive the investments in education, health care, senior services, workforce training and housing that they require in order to thrive. On behalf of AAFE and the 20,000 New Yorkers we serve each year, we urge the commission to adopt the district lines detailed in the Unity Map. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today regarding this process, which will shape all of our futures in the decade to come.
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Joanne
November 23, 2021
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Robert
November 23, 2021
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Robert
November 23, 2021
please consider the burden the existance of undue influence of racial , religious, ethnic, and political groups when you make your decisions. We need to return to a system where all counties have equal influence and our representitves are free of the need to cater to the greedy, jelous,corrupt, and win at any cost. You are smothering us !!!
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Janet
November 22, 2021
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STANTON DAVID
November 22, 2021
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We must not allow redistricting to dilute and dissociate community interests such that local concerns are unheard as a result of artificial boundaries that do not align with actual communities where residents share common interests and experience. Doing so would deny the residents of such communities their constitutional right of representation in the election of their representatives in government who participate in the creation of legislation that affects them. This is a matter of utmost importance which must be dealt with in accordance with the principles enumerated in the Constitution of the United States of America.
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Susan
November 22, 2021
The Town of Brookhaven should remain in one Congressional District, with one Congressperson advocating for the resources and needs of that Township. One reason for keeping the Town of Brookhaven within CD 1 is the relationship between Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory. That relationship is vital for research and development as well as for the economic well being of the Town of Brookhaven. Another reason for maintaining one Congressional District for the Town of Brookhaven is to keep villages and towns from being separated from one another, and preventing them from having to appeal to different Congress people.
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Cathleen
November 22, 2021
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