New York State Independent Redistricting Commission

Evelyn
November 7, 2021
To Whom It May Concern; My name is Evelyn Alicea-Santiago. I am writing as the First Vice-Chair of the Hispanic Democrats of Westchester. We recommend that Westchester County be kept unified. Our higher education public institutions as well as BOCES service all of Westchester residents, including WCC and Purchase College. Students of all ages throughout the county trust these institutions that are closely identified with Westchester County. Westchester is a distinct county where individuals and families from a multitude of countries, languages, religions, and beliefs have made their home. They receive services at all levels of government based on the commitment of the elected officials of Westchester to this diversity and inclusion. Recommend for CD16 that we drop Coop City and put NR and Pelham back in and have the district extend to Carmel and Brewster. The rationale would be that New Rochelle and Pelham are natural extensions of the sound shore area and that there are major commonalities between our villages and towns all along the sound shore including bilingual healthcare services that are offered at low cost as well as not-for-profit agencies that service Brewster, Carmel, Mount Kisco Port Chester, Mamaroneck, and New Rochelle. For example Neighbors Link is a not-for profit agency in Mt. Kisco that serves lower-income populations of Mt. Kisco, Bedford, through Port Chester. The Community Resource Center (previously the Hispanic Resource Center) is a not-for-profit serving all individuals from Port Chester all the way down to New Rochelle and Mount Vernon. In addition, the United Community Center of Westchester is located in New Rochelle and serves the populations of Port Chester, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Pelham, Yonkers, and Mount Vernon. In addition, the state family court in New Rochelle serves the populations including New Rochelle and Mount Vernon. Public transportation is another important factor given the fact that Metro North trains and the Bee Line system go north to south, and the highways are also drawn north to south. There are no contiguous street grids that connect New Rochelle or Pelham to the Bronx. There is great importance in recognizing the southern border of Westchester as a natural border as we have vastly different sales tax, property and income tax structures in Westchester from the Bronx. This map also better unifies congressional district 17 as a Hudson Rivertown congressional district. We recommend that CD 17 be a Hudson Rivertown congressional district, including White Plains, down to the border of Yonkers with the Bronx allowing the congressperson to represent the community at either side of the river. From our perspective, this discreet area comprises individuals and families who share major commonalities including the provision of bilingual and bicultural healthcare services and transportation lines that travel north to south. In addition, the working population uses public transportation to travel from home to work including the Bee Line and Metro North. There are not-for-profit organizations that serve the community from White Plains all the way to Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Ossining, and Peekskill. For example, El Centro Hispano is a not-for profit organization that serves these communities. The Mario Cuomo Bridge also ties these communities together. Where flooding occurs on either side of the river, it would be most impactful if one congressperson represented both sides of the river to address mitigation. Thank you for your kind attention to this critical issue for the voters of Congressional Districts 16 and 17.

David
November 7, 2021
Greetings Commissioners: I am a resident of the City of Peekskill and the superintendent of the Peekskill City School District which resides in the 17th Congressional District. Peekskill is a vibrant community composed of diverse residents. It is also a community that has become a destination for immigrant families. Similar to other small cities and river towns in Westchester county; such as Ossining, Tarrytown, White Plains and Port Chester, we have economic and racial diversity in our communities. White Plains and Portchester, while economically different from each other, have similarities to the aforementioned cities including Peekskill. In the proposed redistricting map, we would be separated from White Plains and Port Chester, as well as part of Tarrytown. The proposed map would group us with more rural communities. It is important to share that Peekskill would be better represented by remaining in a district with the communities that represent diverse populations. Many of the river towns and diverse Westchester County communities have received numerous children from South and central American countries who have recently moved to our cities. This year, we have seen an enormous increase far greater than in the past; however, our communities have become more diverse over the last decade. The students come with hopes of achieving the American dream, however they have academic, social-emotional and English learning needs. We value them and will need continued representation to ensure their success. We request that the map include the communities mentioned above in this letter to ensure the best representation and advocacy efforts. Thank you for your consideration and all that you do for our country. Sincerely, Dr. David Mauricio

Karen Tatiana
November 7, 2021
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Robin
November 7, 2021
Dear Commissioners, I submit these comments as a resident of Westchester County for over 40 years, a person who has held leadership positions in the Hispanic community over the past four decades including chairing the Hispanic Advisory Board, the Centro Hispano, and the Westchester Hispanic Coalition, and as the founding and current co-chair of the Hispanic Democrats of Westchester. My comments relate to Congressional Districts 16 and 17. I believe it is important that these CDs be drawn in a way that keeps Westchester County unified. Westchester County is a diverse yet integrated county that offers distinct services, opportunities, and lifestyles that are particular to this county. For example, our higher education public institutions namely WCC and Purchase College, are household names to families in every socio-economic class, every ethnicity and has always been the educational home to an intergenerational age group. It is hard to think of any family who doesn't count with at least one member who has attended either one of these colleges. These institutions are trusted foundations of our county that are closely identified with Westchester County. Westchester is a distinct county where individuals and families from a multitude of countries, cultures, languages, religions and beliefs have made their home and where all governmental structures work hard to be inclusive. We all receive services at all levels of government based on the commitment of our elected officials to this diversity and inclusion. We are a county where our local and county-wide elected officials are increasingly multi-ethnic and diverse. As for CD16, it is recommended that New Rochelle and Pelham be included even if it is at the expense of Coop City and that the district extend to Carmel and Brewster. The rationale is that New Rochelle and Pelham are a natural extension of the Soundshore area, and that there are major commonalities between our villages and towns all along the Soundshore including bilingual healthcare and other services that are offered at low cost as well as well as established not-for-profit organizations that service Brewster, Carmel, Mount Kisco, Port Chester, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle and Mount Vernon. For example Neighbors Link is a not-for profit agency in Mt. Kisco that serves lower income populations from Brewster and Carmel down to Mt. Kisco, Bedford, through Port Chester. The Community Resource Center (previously the Hispanic Resource Center) is a not for profit organization located in Mamaroneck and serves individuals and families in Port Chester all the way down to New Rochelle and Mount Vernon. In addition United Community Center of Westchester is located in New Rochelle and serves the populations of Port Chester, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Pelham, Yonkers and Mount Vernon. The State Family Court in New Rochelle serves the population that includes New Rochelle and Mount Vernon. Public transportation system is another important factor. Metro North trains and the Bee Line system are designed to go north to south, and the highways are also drawn north to south. There are no contiguous street grids that connect New Rochelle or Pelham to the Bronx. There is great importance in recognizing the southern border of Westchester as a natural border as we have vastly different sales, property and income tax structures in Westchester from the Bronx. This map also better unifies congressional district 17 as a Hudson Rivertown congressional district. It is recommended that CD 17 be a Hudson Rivertown Congressional District, which includes White Plains, down to the border of Yonkers with the Bronx allowing the congressperson to represent the residents on both sides of the river. This discreet geographical area comprises individuals and families who share major commonalities including the provision of biligual and bicultural healthcare and other services and transportation lines that travel north to south. In addition the lower income working population uses the public transportation to travel to work including the Bee Line and Metro North. In addition, there are not-for-profit organizations that serve the community from White Plains all the way to Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Ossining and Peekskill. El Centro Hispano is a not-for profit organization that has been in existence for over 40 years and serves these communities. The Mario Cuomo Bridge also ties these communities together. Where flooding occurs on either side of the river, it would be most impactful if one congressperson represented both sides of the river to address mitigation. It is strongly recommended that the congressional lines for CD16 and CD17 be drawn vertically, not horizontally, keeping the communities that share major important commonalities intact. Thank you Robin Bikkal

Ellen
November 7, 2021
Dear Chairman Imamura and Members of the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission, As a former Councilperson in the Town of Greenburgh, elected in November to again serve in that capacity starting in January 2021, I would like to express my concerns regarding redistricting in my town. At a population of approximately 95,400 people, Greenburgh is the second largest municipality in all of Westchester County. It is made up of six (6) villages and at least six (6) assorted hamlets/neighborhoods. It is extremely diverse both economically and demographically. Reviewing the census maps as composed by the IRC for Congressional, Senate and Assembly districts, I see a marked difference in how they are constructed. While the proposed Senate and Assembly districts are vertical in configuration, the proposed Congressional map indicates a horizontal configuration, skewing the districts and yet again breaking up the Town of Greenburgh into two Congressional Districts. Further, Greenburgh is fully represented by both the Senate and Assembly Districts in contrast to the Congressional maps as originally proposed by the IRC. The 2020 census supports significant growth in the Hispanic and Asian populations in Greenburgh’s villages and unincorporated areas, further diversifying its population. I am in support of the proposed Hudson River/Sound Shore configuration which will best serve these groups as well as those representing other black and brown peoples. We should be inclusive along the demographic spectrum of our town as a whole and ensure uniform representation by our elected officials. The incorporated villages as configured in the Hudson River/Sound Shore proposed maps for CD 16 and CD 17 will be able to better represent the Rivertowns as we confront the real and present specter of climate crisis. The existing Village Officers Committee (VOC) which includes most of the Greenburgh Villages, collaborates on many issues, the most pressing of which is confronting major flooding along the Hudson River’s banks on which they are located. The collaboration will be further strengthened by the inclusion of Greenburgh’s most northern Village of Tarrytown and sections of unincorporated Greenburgh along the river’s banks, in the same CD, as a cohesive block that has common interests and works together. The shared proximity of Greenburgh’s municipalities, along with Sleepy Hollow, Croton and Ossining included in this iteration along the Hudson River, will reinforce intermunicipal cooperation in efforts to combat climate change and flooding, thereby ensuring more uniform outcomes. The Sound Shore is best served as a unified community in combatting its own flooding issues along the Long Island Sound and should be treated separately. Further, the aspects of the Bronx as a New York City Borough, are very different from that of Greenburgh –most especially in density and representation at other levels of government. As such, it would be most beneficial and effective for Greenburgh to be unified within CD17 as represented in the Hudson River/Sound Shore maps. Greenburgh in and of itself is very diverse. One of my goals as a Councilperson elect, is to more closely unify its villages and its unincorporated area which is its own challenge. This is further complicated by not having aligned Federal, State and County representation thereby impacting effective representation and failing to serve Greenburgh most successfully. I ask that on behalf of Greenburgh’s residents that the Commission supports the unification of Greenburgh as shown in the previously referenced proposal. Thank you. Respectfully, Ellen P. Hendrickx

Kathy
November 7, 2021
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Please keep Saugerties united in representation and joined with other Mid Hudson communities.

Andrew
November 7, 2021
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Steven
November 7, 2021
While I could write a long essay on the issue of redistricting, I will be brief and to the point: I live in congressional district 16. Although my particular community (Hastings-on-Hudson) is mostly affluent and white, it is vital that we be part of a larger multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-class district. This is not just a personal preference, but essential to democracy. The district as currently defined has the kind of demographic composition that would allow it to be represented (as it was in the most recent election) by somebody from one of the diverse subcommunities within the district, whose voices have historically not been proportionally represented in Congress. The proposed redistricting map, by reducing the percentage of Black and Latino residents, and making the district majority white, risks reverting back to an America where wealthy and white residents have disproportionate power. Specifically, it threatens to disenfranchise the residents of Southern Westchester by splitting them off the North Bronx, with whom they share many economic, social, cultural, and political ties, making them now a minority community within a newly defined white-majority congressional district. This prospect endangers the vision of a genuinely representative democracy.

Kenneth
November 7, 2021
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paul
November 7, 2021
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Keith
November 7, 2021
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We need representation that understands how interconnected the Bronx and Westchester are and a platform to advocate for our joint needs, which means we need to keep NY-16 whole.

Louise
November 7, 2021
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My submission regarding redistricting in the Mid-Hudson Region is attached. Thank you for your consideration.

Lanny
November 7, 2021
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My comment is in the attachment. Thank you for your consideration.

Monica
November 7, 2021
The current district is so gerrymandered that it is not representative of the community. We would be better served and it would be infinitely more representative of the population for Broome County and Tompkins to be in the same voting district. Thank you for your consideration

Nicholas
November 6, 2021
As a life long resident of Little Neck/Douglaston I urge the commission to keep our communities in a Congressional district with the North Shore of Long Island. Our communities have VERY different needs than other, more urban communities in Queens and we are better suited and matched with other suburban towns and villages on the North Shore. Please keep the boundaries of the current 3rd Congressional District as similar as possible. In regard to the State Senate and Assembly districts please do not lump us in with areas such as Astoria and Long Island City. This "North Queens" district is ridiculous and put communities with competing issues in the same district. I ask the commission to continue to link Whitestone, Bayside, Little Neck, Douglaston, and other eastern suburban communities together. Please ensure that suburban neighborhoods remain together so that our needs are not lost on representatives that become beholden to densely populated urban neighborhoods.

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