Bronx residents have a chance to weigh in on the state legislature’s controversial redistricting plans today: the task force charged with re-drawing New York’s political district maps is holding a hearing at the Bronx Museum of the Arts this afternoon, one of several public forums being held at different locations across the state over the next few weeks.

Every ten years, following the release of new Census numbers, the state redraws its legislative district maps, intended to update Senate, Assembly and Congressional districts to reflect population changes. The process has long drawn criticism from good government groups, since the parties in power–currently, Republicans in the State Senate and Democrats in the Assembly–are the ones who do the re-drawing, and will create maps that benefit the members of their party.

Advocates, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other legislators, including many Bronx reps, have been calling for the formation of an independent panel to take over the redistricting process, but to no avail. Cuomo has said he will veto any maps put forth by LATFOR, the group of lawmakers currently in charge of drawing the new district lines.

The group released sets of proposed maps last week (see above) which show some interesting changes to a few Bronx districts. Riverdale, for example, which is currently split between three senators, would fall entirely under Sen. Jeff Klein’s jurisdiction under the new lines. Senate Republicans have also proposed adding an extra senate seat, a move many have criticized as an attempt for the party to try and maintain their slim majority in the chamber.

We’ll be at the hearing this afternoon–it’s at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse, at 3 p.m.–so stay tuned.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.