New York State Independent Redistricting Commission

Michael
November 6, 2021
Please try to work on a bipartisan basis to develop districts that will be competitive, i.e., somewhat balanced between Republicans and Democrats, so that voters have a choice in the final election, not just the badly attended party loyalist dominated primaries. Don't fail in your role as an 'independent' commission, meaning that you should come up with districts that are defensible, and not negating your existence by leaving decisions to the partisan legislature.

Ruth
November 6, 2021
KEEP CO-OP CITY WITHIN THE CURRENT BOUNDARIES. THIS COMMUNITY IS UNIQUE AND DISTINCT. OUR COMMUNITY IS WELL REPRESENTED AND OUR POLITICAL LEADERS ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH OUR COMMUNITY. WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST TO MAINTAIN OUR CURRENT BOUNDARIES. THANK YOU RUTH SHARMA

Linda
November 6, 2021
Good Afternoon Commissioners, Thank you for reading all the testimonials you have received and listening intently to speakers at Monday’s hearing. Inviting public comment into this most important effort to improve voting districts throughout the state is much appreciated. My name is Linda Viertel, and I have lived in the South End of Tarrytown for 32 years. As a 10- year board member of The Westchester Land Trust and The League of Conservation Voters, I have been active in land preservation, creating parks and greenways throughout the village no matter where they were located in Tarrytown. During these past 32 years, my family and residents in this portion of the village voted in Tarrytown’s CD-17, considered Tarrytown “their” village, participated in non-profit organizations, volunteered on municipal boards and committees, and supported our Main Street shops, restaurants and cultural institutions. Route 9, the main driving artery that knits our two portions of the village together is a 3 minute travel time to our thriving Main Street. The Old Croton Aqueduct, a popular recreation site for walking and biking weaves throughout the village from north to south, and our newest destination greenway, Scenic Hudson RiverWalk at Tarrytown, which I helped found and spent three years creating and funding, now extends into Sleepy Hollow’s Kingsland Park, with a southern portion extending to Lyndhurst our National Historic site. Sara Mascia Pre-School in the South End serves children from throughout our village, especially economically disadvantaged families, and makes scholarships available. The Kids Club of Tarrytown ( https://www.kidsclubtarrytown.org) serves the entire community with multiple programs involving literacy, health and wellness, mentoring, enrichment and recreation- for children, , families and college students from throughout the community. I helped create Kids Club with a diverse group of women years ago when the Boys and Girls Club closed in Tarrytown, and it is still going strong to support those in need. We have flooding issues that affect the entire community, both north and south, that need to be dealt with through state and federal appropriations. Right now, major infrastructure projects are happening throughout the village in preparation for regrading and putting down new asphalt along Tarrytown’s entire section of Route 9. As a founder 15 years ago of our local newspaper, The Hudson Independent, a paramount factor in doing so was to bring our communities together through objective local news coverage. Thanks to local shareholders and volunteer journalists we have delivered town and village news, event information and non-profit announcements to our river towns (Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Irvington and Dobbs Ferry). And, our success spread to Greenburgh where the Town Supervisor and many Greenburgh residents now consider The Hudson Independent their local website of record. Shared services and partnering with our river town neighbors and Greenburgh has become a necessity given our already high tax-base and the urgency of money-saving opportunities in providing services to the entire village. We pay our property and school taxes to the Town of Greenburgh and want that Town brought into CD-17 to insure more continuity with respect to representation and service partnering. Rockland residents take the bus to the Tarrytown train station to and from work in Manhattan. And, Tarrytown residents take the Hudson Line into the city for professional, cultural and recreational activities every day 365 days a year. And, our new Mario M. Cuomo Bridge has become a busy thoroughfare for bikers, pedestrians and, of course, drivers crossing to and from Rockland on a regular basis. Many Tarrytown residents including our children and us, have friends up and down the river towns and Rockland and consider that region a “community of interest” in all social, economic and environmental ways, as indicated above. I urge the Commission to keep CD-17 unified along the river towns axis and unite Greenburgh into that district to insure continued efficiencies in voting, Federal representation, service sharing and access to municipal agencies. With thanks for taking the time to consider these issues of deep concern for all of Tarrytown’s residents, Linda Viertel 8 Gracemere Tarrytown, New York 10591

Drew
November 6, 2021
As the former (2005-2020) mayor of the Village of Tarrytown. I respectfully urge you both to keep all of Tarrytown within one congressional district and to keep Tarrytown within a district that includes all of Greenburgh. The desirability of the former cannot be more clear, as it hard to imagine any reasonable justification for dividing up a village of 11,000 residents in which virtually all municipal functions are delivered by a single governmental entity and all the residents share a commonality of interests. The putative border embodied by I-87 has no particular relevance to our lives and using it as a district dividing line would simply create an unwanted barrier between residents. Moreover, it is clear from my experience as mayor, that the Greenburgh town and villages share not only common interests, but also regularly closely cooperate to share services and procurement. Splitting up our congressional representation would only serve to undermine the productive and efficient relationships that have been built up over the last two decades. I am confident that you can find better ways to achieve your goals and objectives. Please do not split up the Village of Tarrytown and separate the vast majority of its residents from the Town in which they reside.

Candace
November 6, 2021
I live in Chautauqua County. We are rural and need to continue to be joined to other rural Counties not to urban Erie County. Please keep us with other rural areas for all state (Senate and Assembly) and national districts (Congressional). Thank you, Candace Jordan

Randee
November 6, 2021
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Doreen
November 6, 2021
I feel very strongly that Hastings on Hudson should be in a district that is consistent with Greenburgh town lines. Along with Dobbs Ferry, Irvington and Ardsley, we share a school district and, as small Rivertowns, we also share many of the same issues and concerns and I want a representative who will fight for all of us in Congress. It does not make logistical or practical sense for us to be grouped with cities that are many multiples times our size and who have very different issues and concerns. Thank you. Doreen Bucher

Jackie
November 6, 2021
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Ann
November 6, 2021
To the members of the NYIRC: I live in Wilton, NY in Congressional District 21, Senate District 43, and Assembly District 113. Please produce one set of maps for New York State that all members can agree on. That is your purpose! We need districts that do NOT favor one party over the other! Stop gerrymandering! and procrastinating! Also, please attach my district to the Capital District where possible as that is where my area has common interests. Thank you.

Katherine
November 6, 2021
The State Senate district SD BK at least does not cut up the town of Kirkland or village of Clinton (as the proposed congressional map does) — but it does separate us from Syracuse, and we would be very sorry to lose Rachel May as our state senator. Also, combined with the Assembly map AD DR, we would end up in predominately Republican districts for both senate and assembly.

Katherine
November 6, 2021
I am Katherine Collett, chair of the Town of Kirkland Democratic Committee, in Oneida County. I am concerned about the proposed map that splits up our community. The “Letters” map for congressional district is particularly a problem, because it cuts right through not only the Town of Kirkland but also the Village of Clinton. The W district, which includes the area of Kirkland where I live, south of the village of Clinton, is cut off from our neighbors in Utica and New Hartford, as well as from half of our own community, including Hamilton College and the rest of western and northern Kirkand, plus part of the village. This makes no sense, and would make the job of the very active Kirkland Democratic Committee, of which I am chair, much more difficult, since we would have to mobilize voters for two different congressional districts. Proposed district T looks like a better fit, putting us in with our larger community, but proposed district W would be okay if the whole town were in it. Thank you.

Kevin
November 6, 2021
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Stephen
November 6, 2021
I strongly support the Commission’s proposed SULORNGROK congressional map in the Name's Plan because it keeps Orange County whole and connects our county with Rockland and Sullivan counties

William
November 6, 2021
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Mary
November 6, 2021
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2021-11-06 To the Commission, Were it any other time in the history of this country I would say to draw districts based on: 1. Population plus city, town and/or county borders. 2. Ignore political party as a factor. But, in today’s world we are in a country with one party moving to become a fascist regime. The republicans are lying to the American public without any consequences. The silent republicans are just as guilty as the wingnuts. If the republicans take back the House majority in 2022, they WILL impeach Joe Biden and Kamila Harris. A republican majority in the Senate will remove them from office. The unprecedented changes to voting laws in many states are all part of the republican plan to overturn elections. The failure of propositions 1, 3 & 4 are a perfect example. The conservative ads implied Prop 1 would allow illegal immigrants to vote and the uninformed electorate fell for it. There were no, zero (0), nada ads from the democratic party to counter act it. Sadly, the only option I see is that to protect our democracy, New York must do what we can to redistrict out as many republicans as possible. This cancer on our democracy will take years to cure and New York must do all it can to eradicate it! Mary L Furlong 12532 Pople Rd Martville, NY 13111 315-626-6655 furlong57shop@gmail.com

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