Photo by David Greene
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) held a town hall on Friday, May 27, to discuss how the latest redistricting maps approved by a court-appointed special master on May 20, 2022, have impacted her constituents in The Bronx and Queens.
As reported, the approval of the latest redistricting maps concludes a long and drawn out redistricting process, overseen by New York State Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, which has been ongoing following the latest census in 2020.
Source: CUNY Mapping Service, Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center / CUNY
Referring to the latest approved map for NY-14 as of May 20, the congresswoman thanked all those who had joined the meeting and said, “I want to leave time to make sure we address questions. I’ll go through this as quickly as I can.”
She then explained that during the last two town halls she chaired, she had provided a full presentation of the then-approved NY-14 congressional district, voted on by the New York State legislature in early February and signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Source: New York State Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment
“We did not anticipate that there would then be a [law] suit [brought by Republicans], that a State court would toss out the maps that I had presented and then, there would be a process for new maps,” the congresswoman said.
“Everything that we had said in that last town hall or a decent amount of it about who was in and no longer in the district, we can just pretend that never happened. I will tell you the current new status,” she said.
“You will be voting for your new representatives from the State to the federal level starting this year,” she added.
Source: CUNY Mapping Service, Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center / CUNY
The Democratic progressive legislator then explained that the upcoming elections would be held based on the new districts as outlined in the latest approved maps [dated May 20] but that the boundaries would not go into effect in terms of who the new representatives would be until Jan. 1 next year.
“Basically, the long and short of it is, tragically, very sadly, we have lost Woodside and Sunnyside in our 14th congressional district,” she said. “Your new member of congress will kick in, in the beginning of next year when the new congress is sworn in. If you’re in Woodside, [Rep.] Grace Meng currently represents the district you will be moving into, and if you’re in Sunnyside, Rep. Velázquez represents that district. That is what we’re looking at.”
Source: New York State Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment
She then said Jackson Heights had been split up. “I will represent some of parts of that neighborhood. Other parts will be in the district currently represented by Grace Meng.” She added that NY-14 had gained the rest of Astoria in Queens. “It used to be split in two, with Rep. [Carolyn] Maloney, who had Steinway to the river. I also had Ditmars up there,” she added.
The congresswoman said she now has all of Astoria. “I’m going all the way out to the river and stopping in the southern half around where the Museum of the Moving Image and Kaufman Astoria Studios [are]. We will be dropping Woodside and Sunnyside.”
Source: CUNY Mapping Service, Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center / CUNY
On The Bronx side, she said Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15) would pick up Morris Park and Allerton. As reported, Torres is also now representing more parts of the Northwest Bronx, including Norwood, which was previously represented by Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), as well as Woodlawn, Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale, which was previously represented by Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
“But, we will be picking up parts of the South Bronx, including Soundview, Hunt’s Point, and also Co-op City in the northern part,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Source: New York State Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment
“Once again, how these deadlines kick in, when you cast your ballot, no matter who you cast it for or the party you vote for, when you cast your ballot this year in the primaries and the general election, you are voting for these new maps,” the congresswoman said. “That’s who will be on your ballot.”
As reported, State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34) is now running in the latest, redrawn congressional district NY-17, having previously announced a run in New York’s 3rd congressional district, based on the February 2022 approved maps. As also reported, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernandez (A.D. 80) has since announced she is running for Biaggi’s State senate seat.
Source: CUNY Mapping Service, Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center / CUNY
Ocasio-Cortez later took questions during the town hall. Susan James from Lebanon Street in West Farms, new to NY-14 and formerly in NY-15, said, “Congresswoman, I understand you have toured the new district lines. What stood out to you as you traveled in our neighborhoods?
The congresswoman responded, saying, “That’s an excellent question, and good on you for paying close attention. I didn’t advertise that I was touring the new lines because I wanted to just walk it. Actually, never mind. I put it on Instagram, but I picked up a lot.”
Source: New York State Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment
I’ll have to look at the data, but my hunch is that our district will become a little more dense in terms of housing,” she said. “Currently, I have represented a lot of diversity in terms of housing – single-family home owners, as well as dense neighborhoods like Jackson Heights, Corona, etc. We’re representing even more dense neighborhoods like Hunts Point, Co-op City.”
She added, “They are dense housing complexes. I think that will deeply inform our housing policy. We’ve always taken that into account, but now I think our district, excepting some neighborhoods, will be dense in their make-up.”
Source: CUNY Mapping Service, Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center / CUNY
Ocasio-Cortez went on to say that Meng’s district was bringing in more Asian American communities. “This actually means that our communities will grow in Latino and African American representation, and we will have healthy Asian communities and White communities as well.”
She added, “I’m excited to pick up some of these communities. On a personal note, Hunts Point is where a lot of my family lives and I spent a lot of time there. The first community meetings I attended were in Hunts Point. It’s also a historic community.”
Source: New York State Legislative Taskforce on Demographic Research and Reapportionment
The congress member later said she was thrilled to pick up Co-Op City. “I know that losing districts can be heartbreaking. I’m not the only one that’s happening to; some cities and areas will lose someone who is passionate about representing them. But we are working carefully on the transition there, so you remain in good, attentive hands. I’m excited to represent a unified Astoria community. I think we have a lot of work to do in terms of organizing, and I’m excited to do it.”
*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.
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