Submissions

Public Comments Return to Archived Submissions Page

• Steven
  November 15, 2021
  I want to thank the commission for giving me the time to testify: My name is Cheryl Saphirstein. I am a member of the Jewish community of Central Queens. Currently, under the current maps, our community is divided between the 27th Assembly District and the 25th Assembly District. The neighborhoods of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest are divided. I am asking this commission to take into account the unification of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest so that Jewish representation is not diluted in this redistricting process. When this commission redraws the Assembly district lines, please incorporate all neighborhoods mentioned into one assembly district. The aforementioned neighborhoods in the south should be connected with College Point, Northern Whitestone, and Le Havre Cooperative in the north. Currently, the Jewish Community in Central Queens is split between 4 state senate districts. It does not allow for any conformity to representation in the State Senate. Your drafts have created a central Queens and Eastern Queens plan that incorporates parts of Kew Gardens Hills being split up again in three districts. Again, we need to be in one State Senate district. We are asking when you redraw your drafts that Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest be drawn into a Central Queens district with the neighborhoods of Northern Forest Hills, Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, and Ridgewood. Also, Please consider the Eastern Queens map as well, where the neighborhoods I mentioned as a block be included with Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Little Neck Douglaston, Bayside, and Bay Terrace. Consider your guide eastward between the Long Island Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway to the County Line, before heading strictly north. Please make every effort to keep Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest together in both an Assembly District as well as one State Senate district
  
• Lisa
  November 15, 2021
  View File
  This proposed map accurately reflects the Communities of Interest present in the Northeast Bronx, Southern Westchester, and parts of Northern Westchester. It also accounts for population change in the 5 boroughs that require Westchester Districts to shift further North. ● Blue district: ○ Includes Co-op City, Wakefield, Edenwald, Mount Vernon, majority of Yonkers COI ○ Includes Sound Towns COI ● Green district: ○ Includes Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, White Plains, and Ossining in one district ○ Keeps all of Rockland together as one COI and all of Putnam County together as one COI ● Yellow district: This district would stretch from Riverdale into the Southern portion of Yonkers (Ludlow) to account for population growth in the five boroughs This alternative map seeks to preserve the racial diversity that is currently held in NY-16. This map services my community better than the suggestion that some or all of New Rochelle join a congressional district in Queens.
  
• Rosemarie
  November 15, 2021
  The 3rd congressional district is represented by Tom Suozzi. The district encompasses a very diverse and widespread geographic area. The parts of urban Queens that are included have as little to do with the rural parts of Suffolk county as is possible! Long Island (Nassau and suffolk counties) should have our own reps. One for suburban Nassau, and one for more rural Suffolk. In addition, I have concerns about how our Nassau county legislators are divided- but I’m not clear on who/how to address those concerns?
  
• Marian
  November 15, 2021
  I am a longtime resident of Rye Brook and a registered Democrat who has voted in every election. The proposal to remove the Village of Rye Brook from the Assembly district that includes Rye, Port Chester and the Town of Rye is clearly ill-conceived. Gerrymandering--whether done by Republicans or Democrats-- is purely political and this move is obviously that. It has been proposed without regard to the shared services among the aforementioned communities--in particular the school districts of Port Chester and Blind Brook. The idea should be scrapped as it will have detrimental effects on the entire Rye Town community. Joining Rye Brook with communities like Mt. Kisco and Bedford makes no sense as these areas have different concerns from Rye Brook. This proposal was clearly made by people who don't understand the region or who just don't care.
  
• Gila
  November 15, 2021
  My name is (Insert your name here) . I am a member of the Jewish community of Central Queens. Currently, under the current maps, our community is divided between the 27th Assembly District and the 25th Assembly District. The neighborhoods of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest are divided. I am asking this commission to take into account the unification of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest so that Jewish representation is not diluted in this redistricting process. When this commission redraws the Assembly district lines, please incorporate all neighborhoods mentioned into one assembly district. The aforementioned neighborhoods in the south should be connected with College Point, Northern Whitestone, and Le Havre Cooperative in the north. Currently, the Jewish Community in Central Queens is split between 4 state senate districts. It does not allow for any conformity to representation in the State Senate. Your drafts have created a central Queens and Eastern Queens plan that incorporates parts of Kew Gardens Hills being split up again in three districts. Again, we need to be in one State Senate district. We are asking when you redraw your drafts that Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest be drawn into a Central Queens district with the neighborhoods of Northern Forest Hills, Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, and Ridgewood. Also, Please consider the Eastern Queens map as well, where the neighborhoods I mentioned as a block be included with Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Little Neck Douglaston, Bayside, and Bay Terrace. Consider your guide eastward between the Long Island Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway to the County Line, before heading strictly north. Please make every effort to keep Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest together in both an Assembly District as well as one State Senate district.
  
• joseph
  November 15, 2021
  I want to thank the commission for giving me the time to testify: My name is Joseph Faska. and I am a member of the Jewish community of Central Queens. Currently, under the current maps, our community is divided between the 27th Assembly District and the 25th Assembly District. The neighborhoods of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest are also divided. I am asking this commission to take into account the unification of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest so that Jewish representation is not diluted in this redistricting process. When this commission redraws the Assembly district lines, please incorporate all neighborhoods mentioned into one assembly district. The aforementioned neighborhoods in the south should be connected with College Point, Northern Whitestone, and Le Havre Cooperative in the north. Currently, the Jewish Community in Central Queens is split between 4 state senate districts. It does not allow for any conformity to representation in the State Senate. Your drafts have created a central Queens and Eastern Queens plan that incorporates parts of Kew Gardens Hills being split up again in three districts. Again, we need to be in one State Senate district. We are asking when you redraw your drafts that Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest be drawn into a Central Queens district with the neighborhoods of Northern Forest Hills, Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, and Ridgewood. Please also consider the Eastern Queens map as well, where the neighborhoods I mentioned as a block be included with Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Little Neck Douglaston, Bayside, and Bay Terrace. Consider your guide eastward between the Long Island Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway to the County Line, before heading strictly north. Please make every effort to keep Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest together in both an Assembly District as well as one State Senate district. Thank You
  
• Amy
  November 15, 2021
  Hello, I'm writing to express my desire for the small town of Pelham, NY to remain intact in the re-districting plan. It's important to our community not to be divided as maps are drawn. One thing that has been a consistent trend over the past several years, especially with the exponential increase in all things tech, has been binary "thinking" that affects how all individuals relate to one another. The tribal us vs them across every facet of life is painful. I'd be more than saddened to see more divisiveness in my wonderful hometown. Unity in congressional representation is one way to keep us moving forward towards positive outcomes. Be well, Amy
  
• Matthew
  November 15, 2021
  Please do not lump the 29th district in with one of the large urban areas of upstate NY like Buffalo or Rochester or Syracuse. These large metro areas while geographically close to many small towns have little in common with them and will completely overpower the rural vote leaving the small rural areas of western NY essentially unrepresented. I live in Alfred NY and ask that you keep the districts as similar as possible
  
• Nancy
  November 15, 2021
  View File
  
  
• Jelani
  November 14, 2021
  I am a life long central Brooklyn resident. I would like the Lines for Congressional District 8 to stay the same. It covers predominantly an African American community and we cannot afford to lose our representation. There has been rapid displacement and if the lines are not drawn the same for Congressional District 8 we will be disenfranchised and our voting block watered down. Thank You
  
• Batya
  November 14, 2021
  My name is Batya Gewanter. I am a member of the Jewish community of Central Queens. Currently, under the current maps, our community is divided between the 27th Assembly District and the 25th Assembly District. The neighborhoods of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest are divided. I am asking this commission to take into account the unification of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest so that Jewish representation is not diluted in this redistricting process. When this commission redraws the Assembly district lines, please incorporate all neighborhoods mentioned into one assembly district. The aforementioned neighborhoods in the south should be connected with College Point, Northern Whitestone, and Le Havre Cooperative in the north. Currently, the Jewish Community in Central Queens is split between 4 state senate districts. It does not allow for any conformity to representation in the State Senate. Your drafts have created a central Queens and Eastern Queens plan that incorporates parts of Kew Gardens Hills being split up again in three districts. Again, we need to be in one State Senate district. We are asking when you redraw your drafts that Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest be drawn into a Central Queens district with the neighborhoods of Northern Forest Hills, Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, and Ridgewood. Also, Please consider the Eastern Queens map as well, where the neighborhoods I mentioned as a block be included with Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Little Neck Douglaston, Bayside, and Bay Terrace. Consider your guide eastward between the Long Island Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway to the County Line, before heading strictly north. Please make every effort to keep Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest together in both an Assembly District as well as one State Senate district.
  
• Stephen
  November 14, 2021
  I wish to share my opinion that Rye Brook, NY should be retained in the current Assembly district for Rye Town and Sound Shore. Separating Rye Brook from Port Chester, NY makes NO sense as both villages share resources and infrastructure and have similar issues facing each village. We have NO commonality with villages heading farther north in Westchester County (i.e., Mt. Kisco, Katonah and Bedford). Shared services and issues with other Rye Town communities include, but are not limited to, fire department resources, EMS, public library resources, water infrastructure and water overflow issues, sewer system and treatment plants. We share nothing with villages farther north. It would be a very poor decision by your team to separate Rye Brook from the other villages in Rye Town and the Sound Shore Community.
  
• John
  November 14, 2021
  Thank you for the work done to date on the various new districts being proposed for the State Assembly, State Senate and Congressional Districts. My comments today are designed to address the Congressional District that I live in, CD-16. I thought the Congressional District that the IRC submitted for CD-16 was well thought out. It clearly kept southern Westchester together from a point just north of I-287 down to the Westchester Bronx border. It created a very diverse Congressional District that included Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Eastchester, Scarsdale, Harrison, Pelham, White Plains, Rye, Rye Brook, Mamaroneck, Port Chester, as well as a large portion of Greenburgh. It proposed to keep New Rochelle and Pelham under the umbrella of a single member of Congress and created a fluid congressional district that maintains our fellow neighboring villages, towns and cities. Then I saw a proposal on Facebook that was submitted to the IRC that suggested major changes to CD-16 and since the commission will be reviewing all public comments, I feel it necessary to weigh in. The alternate proposal made the following comments that ultimately a) split New Rochelle into 3 Congressional Districts, b) split Pelham into 2 Congressional Districts, 3) placed a small portion of both southern New Rochelle and Pelham out of Westchester's Congressional District 16 and into the Bronx's Congressional District 15, 4) removed Scarsdale from the CD of the majority of their neighbors, and 5) created an extremely large and unmanageable Congressional District stretching from Yonkers east to New Rochelle, then up the Sound Shore, past Mount Kisco, Bedford, Goldens Bridge and deep into Putnam, including Mahopac, Brewster and Lake Carmel. Imagine needing to spend time in Yonkers, New Rochelle, White Plains and Lake Carmel in one day. You’ll spend 3 hours travelling round trip. As you close out the public comment section, I wish you all well and thank you for your service to the residents of the great state of New York.
  
• John
  November 14, 2021
  View File
  Hello, Please treat this revised submission as my official testimony for the November 16 Kings County hearing. Thank you, John
  
• Benjamin
  November 14, 2021
  I want to thank the commission for giving me the time to testify: My name is Benjamin Nierman and I am a member of the Jewish community of Central Queens. Currently, under the current maps, our community is divided between the 27th Assembly District and the 25th Assembly District. The neighborhoods of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest are divided. I am asking this commission to take into account the unification of Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest so that Jewish representation is not diluted in this redistricting process. When this commission redraws the Assembly district lines, please incorporate all neighborhoods mentioned into one assembly district. The aforementioned neighborhoods in the south should be connected with College Point, Northern Whitestone, and Le Havre Cooperative in the north. Currently, the Jewish Community in Central Queens is split between 4 state senate districts. It does not allow for any conformity to representation in the State Senate. Your drafts have created a central Queens and Eastern Queens plan that incorporates parts of Kew Gardens Hills being split up again in three districts. Again, we need to be in one State Senate district. We are asking when you redraw your drafts that Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest be drawn into a Central Queens district with the neighborhoods of Northern Forest Hills, Middle Village, Glendale, Maspeth, and Ridgewood. Also, Please consider the Eastern Queens map as well, where the neighborhoods I mentioned as a block be included with Fresh Meadows, Oakland Gardens, Little Neck Douglaston, Bayside, and Bay Terrace. Consider your guide eastward between the Long Island Expressway and the Grand Central Parkway to the County Line, before heading strictly north. Please make every effort to keep Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, and Hillcrest together in both an Assembly District as well as one State Senate district.