By Adam Kramer
The U.S. Justice Department Tuesday approved the boundaries for Queens’ two new assembly district, but the new congressional lines still remain in limbo.
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for the Justice Department in Washington, said the agency is still reviewing the new congressional lines from New York state’s redistricting plan to see if they meet federal guidelines that include the Voting Rights Act, which protects the rights of minority voters.
He said Justice had given the greenlight to the decision by the state Legislature to create two assembly new districts in Queens as well as the redrawn lines for the existing assembly and state districts across the state.
The continued problems with the new congressional districts will further delay the start of the political season. Candidates for any of the Nov. 5 elected seats at the state and federal level cannot begin the petitioning process until the lines are approved.
The political process, scheduled to begin Tuesday, has already been delayed two weeks because of negotiations between the Legislature and Gov. George Pataki on the new congressional lines. A candidate needs to get a certain number of signatures to land a ballot spot.
New York state’s legislative and congressional district lines are changed every 10 years to accommodate population shifts throughout the state and are based on the latest census population numbers. Queens received two state assembly seats because of recent population growth and the decline in the upstate population.
The state must eliminate two congressional seats for the 2002 elections. With seats allocated by population, New York state grew only by a rate of 5.5 percent, while the country grew at a rate of 13.2 percent, according to the 2000 Census figures.
The state plan will pit U.S. Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-Middletown) against U.S. Rep. Sue Kelly (R-Fishkill) and U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-Rochester) against U.S. Rep. John LaFalce (D-Buffalo). The combining of the districts was necessary to shrink the state’s congressional delegation from 31 seats to 29 seats.
Queens native son Andrew Cuomo, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, could be affected by the continued delay because he is trying to petition his way onto the ballot in the Democratic primary against State Comptroller H. Carl McCall, who received the party nomination.
In other political news involving the borough, the City Council and Mayor Michael Bloomberg are still negotiating a city budget. The new fiscal year begins July 1.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
