New York City Districting Commission released on Friday, July 15, the first draft proposals of the 51 redrawn city council districts, further to a series of initial hearings held across the City in recent weeks. The new draft proposed maps can be reviewed here. The latest Bronx hearing held at Hostos Community College can be watched here.

 

The Commission is responsible for drawing 51 new City Council maps based on the results of 2020 Census, which saw New York City grow by 629,000 since 2010 to reach a total population of 8.8 million in 2020. To reflect this increase, and bring the City in line with federal, State, and local laws, the new plan raises the average number of residents per district from approximately 160,710 to 172,882.

 

In The Bronx, despite the pandemic and the resulting loss of 5,393 lives due to COVID-19 alone, the population increased by 87,546 people since 2010, a 6.3 percent jump to a total population of 1,472,654 in 2020.

 

The population statistics for the proposed Bronx City Council Districts 11 through 18 are included in a chart further below. (We are querying with the commission the figures included in the referenced “deviation” column for greater clarity, and will provide more information on this upon receipt of a response from the commission. The total deviation of 6,729 for all Bronx City Council districts is clearly less than the total population increase for the borough, as a whole, of 87,546.)

 

City Council District 8, which currently covers El Barrio/East Harlem in Manhattan and Mott Haven, Highbridge, Concourse, Longwood, and Port Morris in The Bronx, and which is represented by Council Member Diana Ayala, would fall solely within Manhattan under the latest draft maps proposed by NYC Districting Commission. The referenced Bronx neighborhoods currently in District 8 would be incorporated into City Council Districts 16, 17 and 18 under the new proposal.

Citizens Union released a statement from executive director, Betsy Gotbaum, after the commission released the draft redrawn maps, saying, “The maps released by the Commission today represent an important step in the redistricting process. But it must be noted that these maps are only a draft. Now is the time for New Yorkers to get engaged in the process, and for the Commission to gather feedback from communities that would be impacted by these maps.”

 

Gotbaum added, “The hundreds of New Yorkers who showed up at the Commission’s preliminary hearings to testify is a testament to how important this process is to the future of our city. Citizens Union will conduct a closer analysis of the proposed map in the coming weeks and we look forward to making our findings public.”

 

According to the union, it has closely monitored every New York City redistricting process since 1989. More about the union’s work on the 2022 City Council Redistricting process can be read here. Union members say the group has been a force for transparency, accountability and ethics in New York’s City and State governments for 125 years. A nonpartisan organization, some of its current initiatives include a new agenda for police accountability, monitoring the City Council’s redistricting process, and increasing civic engagement. Learn more at www.citizensunion.org.

 

Besides public hearings, the commission is soliciting public comments at these hearings, via Zoom, by email, by web portal and QR codes. The Commission’s website is www.nyc.gov/districting. Public testimony can be submitted to publictestimony@redistricting.nyc.gov via email or by mail to 253 Broadway, 3^rd Floor New York, NY 10007. The primer is available to download from the commission’s website at nyc.gov/districting.

 

Commissioner chair, Dennis Walcott, previously said of the submissions process, “Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for New Yorkers to share their thoughts on the new 51 City Council districts we are drawing.”

Tomorrow, we’ll see the first set of proposed maps from @DistrictingNYC.

Next Tuesday, join us for a community discussion on the maps & the city’s redistricting process.

☑️Learn more about the process
☑️Discuss the maps & how you can get involved

RSVP➡️https://t.co/PsAMUAktr5 pic.twitter.com/Fmrpjsvr0w

— NYIC ACTION (@NYICAction) July 14, 2022

Districting Commission Calendar (subject to change)

Remaining Public Hearings

July 18 – the commission votes on council maps
August 15, 16, 17, 18 & 22 – public hearings are held
Sept. 15 – the commission votes on the council maps
Sept. 16 – the commission submits the final plans to the City Council

 

As reported, the New York City Districting Commission published the “NYC Districting Commission 101 Primer” on June 21. The 16-page primer explains the process, covering everything from the U.S. Constitution to the U.S. census, and the Charter of the City of New York.

 

Officials said the primer also includes the “2022 Five Percent Deviation Guide” that commission mapmakers are using to draw the new 51 city council maps. The city’s population grew by 630,000 people based on the 2020 Census count, and now totals 8.8 million people. Under the one-person, one-vote doctrine of the U.S. constitution, the 51 city council maps must be redrawn with a new average population of 173,631 residents per city council district.

 

The Five Percent Deviation Guide shows the current deviation of each of the 51 city council districts from the new average per district. For example, one district has a 20.3 percent deviation, while another has a negative 10 percent deviation. Commission chair Dennis Walcott said of the city redistricting process, “We’ve had so much interest from the public at our hearings, we decided to do more outreach.” He added, “Over time, we hope that the primer and deviation guide become tools to encourage New Yorkers to engage in the process, including and especially, submitting their own testimony about the drawing of the 51 new city council maps.”

Meanwhile, as reported, the CUNY Graduate Center has launched a new “Redistricting & You” online map focused on the NYC Council districts, similar to what the center recently created for the New York State and congressional redistricting process. The link to the City maps can be found at: https://nyc.redistrictingandyou.org/. Just like with the New York State and congressional maps, the website enables the public to quickly determine their current City Council district, view helpful information about each district and now also see how the proposed district plans will impact them.

 

The NYC Redistricting & You site shows the current City Council districts, as well as the draft plans proposed by NYC Districting Commission. CUNY officials said if any outside stakeholders submit proposals for new council districts, the center will add those to the site so that the public can easily compare the current and proposed lines.

 

Members of the public can click on the map or enter an address to select any district. Redistricting & You displays information such as the relevant city council district’s 2020 population, deviation from the citywide district average population, voting age population by race/Hispanic origin, vote results from the 2021 mayoral election, and voter enrollment statistics.

 

Click here to see an example for District 11 City Council District 11 in The Bronx. The district’s population is just over 4 percent below the citywide average district population, meaning the district boundaries will need to expand to include more people per the new State law that applies to NYC. Attached also are two static maps that show the population deviation patterns across the City for the current city council districts, as well as the population changes from 2010 to 2020 by city council district.

 

Also available on the Redistricting & You site, members of the public can add map overlays to show local voting age population or enrollment patterns within each district and across the City.