The independent expert hired to redraw the map of New York congressional Y state senate District lines released the final maps early Saturday morning, marking a significant step toward ending the nationally watched fiasco that upended the 2022 election cycle and could jeopardize the majority of Democrats in the House.
What changed in the final maps of Congress?
The new lines for Congress saw some significant changes in the final version of the map, particularly in parts of Brooklyn and in Erie County, although many districts remained largely the same. After receiving testimony following the release of the draft maps on May 16, Special Master Jonathan Cervas, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, redrafted the 11th Congressional District, which encompasses all of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. Previously, he drew the district to include the more liberal neighborhoods of Sunset Park and Red Hook while dividing Bay Ridge in half. In a court document explaining the changes, Cervas said he heard testimony about uniting Bay Ridge into one district, District 11, as well as keeping certain communities of interest in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn together. District 11 added Bensonhurst to the final map and ended up as a district that voted for Donald Trump by 7.6 percentage points, which will be more favorable to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis than the 2-point Republican lead that existed on the preliminary maps. .
Those changes also affected the newly drawn 10th Ward, which had already attracted significant interest. Cervas took Sunset Park and Red Hook from Ward 11 and added them to Ward 10, uniting them with Chinatown in Manhattan and keeping Park Slope and Borough Park as part of the ward. Meanwhile, the proposed 9th Ward lost Bensonhurst and Cervas gave it more of downtown Brooklyn heading for Kensington while he moved Bedford-Stuyvesant from the 9th Ward to the 8th Ward.
In western New York, the final map once again unified Buffalo, which Cervas had originally divided into two districts, and kept Erie County contained in two districts instead of three.
Representatives Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney remain in the same newly drawn District 12 that encompasses the Upper West Side and Upper East Side of Manhattan. They both confirmed in statements his previous intentions to run in that district, which means a primary between two long-time and powerful members of Congress is taking place.
Deputy Nydia Velázquez confirmed saturday morning that he would run for the 7th Congressional District, keeping his plan before the court released the final lines. This despite the fact that the new map significantly redrew the district she currently represents, and she now lives in the new District 10. “I am proud to run in my current district,” Velázquez said in a statement, while criticizing the process of running. general redistricting and expressed his belief that the final lines violate the Voting Rights Act.
In the Hudson Valley, where Democrats criticized Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney for his choice to run in the 17th district, currently represented by Rep. Mondaire Jones, Cervas changed little other than unifying Kingston. Surprisingly, Maloney’s controversial decision prompted Jones to announce early Saturday that would run in the 10th Congressional District in Manhattan and Brooklyn, despite being a lifelong suburbanite and currently represents parts of Westchester and Rockland counties. “This is the birthplace of the LGBTQ+ rights movement,” Jones, who is black and gay, said on Twitter. “Since long before the Stonewall Uprising, gay people of color have sought refuge within its borders.”
He joined a packed field in District 10, where more than a dozen candidates announced their interest in running for the vacant seat after preliminary maps were released. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday his candidacy for the district, which covers his home neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn. Assemblyman Yuh-Line Niou Announced on Saturday morning that he is running for the seat.
But, Assemblyman Robert Carroll saying that he would not run for Congress. Meanwhile, New York City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera has not confirmed whether she intends to run for District 10 after a late-night tweet on Friday indicating her decision would depend on the final configuration of the districts.
Jones’ announcement seemed to clarify the potentially contentious Westchester primary he faced against Maloney or Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who was lumped with Jones under the new lines. Districts 18 and 19 remained largely the same, so Dutchess County Republican Executive Marc Molinaro is likely to continue his race for District 19, while Ulster County Democratic Executive Pat Ryan will continue to seek the 18th district.
Long Island also experienced some changes that changed the partisan leanings of the 1st and 2nd Districts. The final map divided Suffolk County in half, so that the first district would comprise the north coast and the eastern end of the island, while the second district would become a south coast district. That means the 2nd district, which leaned Democratic in the original proposal, now leans Republican, and the 1st district becomes slightly less red. All but one district on Long Island still remain open, with two members running for governor, Reps. Lee Zeldin and Tom Suozzi, and Rep. Kathleen Rice retiring.
What changed in the final State Senate maps?
Cervas made a number of changes to the Long Island State Senate lines in response to feedback he received after posting his draft. In particular, he redrew Senate District 4 as a new majority-minority district similar to one that the good governance group Common Cause New York proposed in his testimony. According to reports, former state senator Mónica Martínez planning to run for that seat, which includes its base in Brentwood. He previously represented and had planned to run for District 3. Meanwhile, Senate District 6 has become a much bluer district on the final map, and State Sen. Kevin Thomas intends to run there instead of District 5, where currently lives.
In Brooklyn, the final state Senate map included a new district, Senate District 17, where about half the population is Asian. Democrat iwen chu He is still expected to be the favorite for this seat. And just like at the congressional level, Cervas heard talk of uniting Bay Ridge after previously dividing it. State Senator Andrew Gounardes announced that he would be running for re-election in the 26th District.
Upstate, Cervas also brought Buffalo together after initially dividing the city and grouping it into one part with a more rural part of Erie County, recognizing that the communities did not share interests. He placed the cities of Utica and Rome within the same district and kept the same configuration in Rochester since both parties to the lawsuit agreed on what those state Senate districts should look like.
As of Wednesday, former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer was reportedly weighing a bid for the 47th state Senate District, which stretched from the Upper West Side to the Meatpacking District. But state senator Brad Hoylman said would stand for re-election in the 47th District instead of running for Congress in the crowded 10th District. With Hoylman’s announcement, Stringer’s plans may change, but that remains unclear. Hoylman’s decision means he won’t need to field state Sen. Brian Kavanagh in the primary after the final map put them in the same district.
In other changes to the State Senate, State Senator Gustavo Rivera announced that would run for re-election in the new 33rd District instead of in the 31st District, which would have pitted him against State Senator Robert Jackson after the new lines placed Upper Manhattan and the western parts of the Bronx in the same district.
Whats Next?
Cervas had received pushback from various groups before the final lines were published that the preliminary lines broke communities of interest, which are protected by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The Democrats’ most prominent argument centered on the division of historically black communities. Representative Hakeem Jeffries launched a publicity blitz saying that the new lines, which divided Bedford-Stuyvesant into two districts, for example, were “Enough to make Jim Crow blush.” It’s unclear if Jeffries or other groups will challenge the final lines for the same reasons.
Additionally, multiple pending lawsuits could change the electoral calendar. The League of Women Voters filed a petition in federal court to consolidate all primaries in August, in accordance with the new schedule for state Congress and Senate races. The gubernatorial and Assembly primaries are still scheduled for June 28. The Assembly maps are also being challenged in Manhattan Supreme Court, after Steuben County Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister rejected the plaintiffs’ offer to nullify the maps as part of the county’s lawsuit. from Steuben because it was too close to the scheduled June primary to redraw the assembly lines.
Reference-www.cityandstateny.com