Passions Running High As Redistricting Decision Approaches

The New York City Districting Commission was scheduled to hold a final review of its plan today before it is submitted to the City Council on December 18. Passions are running high in Ridgewood, which may be divided into two council districts.
Under the proposal, a portion of southern Ridgewood would be put into a district with the adjacent Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Both areas are home to growing Hispanic populations, whom the redistricting council believes share common concerns. The area in question is currently part of the Council district of Dennis Gallagher (R-Middle Village), but would become part of an area overseen by Councilwoman Diana Reyna (D-Williamsburg).
"If I wanted to live in Brooklyn Id live in Brooklyn," said Ruth Becker, 77, a lifelong Ridgewood resident. "I cant see why I should be in Brooklyn when Im a Queens lady." She explained that she is afraid quality of life will go down in her Ridgewood neighborhood if it is lumped together with Bushwick, an area perceived to have a higher crime rate and a lower standard of living.
Beckers statements are a common refrain among Ridgewood residents at public redistricting hearings, where even some Hispanic homeowners decry the plan.
"I cant tell my children who grew up in America that we were relocated like animals to be with our own kind. We are not different. That is why we came to this country in the first place," Giovanni Duffer, a native of Ecuador, told a packed hearing two weeks ago.
However, representatives from Reynas office provide a different perspective.
"Any time you have constituents that are similar, they are going to have similar needs," said Karl Camillucci, Reynas chief of staff. "Many Latinos from Ridgewood visit our office seeking assistance, because they dont know where else to go or dont find Spanish speakers in [Gallaghers] office."
Southern Ridgewood is now 65% Hispanic, according to Camillucci. Of 34,000 people counted in the 2000 census, 20,000 area residents were Latino. In 1992, just 11,000 of the areas 29,000 population were Latino, according to Camillucci.
The redistricting proposal is based on population shifts documented in the 2000 census. The council districts must reflect the demographics of each area represented, as manded by the federal Voting Rights Act, and every 10 years, the lines are redrawn according to data supplied by the census.
He explained that many non-profit organizations that assist Hispanic residents of Bushwick serve the Hispanic population of Ridgewood as well. "Reyna advocates for them," he said, adding that the councilwoman had even helped a Ridgewood senior center in Gallaghers district that served many Bushwick residents.
Many Ridgewood residents at the recent hearing were concerned that the Brooklyn councilwoman would be unable to work effectively branches of city agencies that serve Queens. However, Camillucci noted that the council members had relationships with citywide commissioners.
Ridgewood residents at the meeting also expressed concern that they would be removed from their local precinct and community board. However, Gary Giordano, District Manager for Community Board 5, which covers Ridgewood, said he had never heard of a community board straddling two boroughs, and that since board members are appointed by the borough president, it is unlikely that could ever happen. Also, according to the police office of public information, there are currently no plans afoot to redraw precinct districts.
Still, Giordano said he opposes the council district shift. "A lot of very negative things happened in Brooklyn in the 1970s, high crime, drugs, burnt-out buildings," he said. "Ridgewood was a buffer, none of that happened there, and Maspeth Glendale and Middle Village were protected."
Camillucci countered that Bushwick had made tremendous strides since the 70s and continues to improve.
The Districting Commission is taking all sides into consideration, according to its spokesman, Richard Wager. "We are in the middle of an ongoing process," he explained. "There are many further discussions that need to take place and many further decisions that need to be made." He said once the City Council has seen the final proposal, it will make its own suggestions. If there are many desired changes, the commission will embark on a new round of public hearings. After that the revised plan will be submitted to the Department of Justice for approval, probably in late February.