Working To Keep Woodhaven United
When it comes to redistricting—the process of determining which areas will be represented by elected officials—2012 has been very busy, with mixed results for Woodhaven.
First, there were new lines proposed for New York State Senate and Assembly. Then a court redrew the state’s congressional boundaries. And now a commission is reshaping City Council districts.
City Council redistricting has received less attention than the other line-drawing processes, but the stakes are still high for Woodhaven. Our experiences with redistricting at the state and congressional levels underscore how important it is for the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association (WRBA) to fight for its neighborhood’s interests when it comes to the City Council lines too.
Back in January, the task force charged with redrawing State Senate and Assembly lines rolled out proposed maps. Though the task force wisely kept all of Woodhaven within a single Assembly district, it split the neighborhood among three different state senators. The WRBA strongly criticized the proposed State Senate lines and submitted five pages of testimony arguing against dividing a cohesive, identifiable, one-square-mile three ways.
Unfortunately, the task force kept our Senate representation divided, and now Woodhaven will spend the next decade trying to get the attention of three senators rather than one.
Then in March, a court-appointed “Special Master” drew congressional lines that not only split Woodhaven between two districts, but also made Woodhaven one of the only Queens neighborhoods in a predominantly Brooklyn-based district. The WRBA sent a six-page letter to the Special Master asking her to reconsider, but our arguments fell on deaf ears.
Despite those unfavorable outcomes, we have reason to be optimistic about the City Council redistricting.
For the past decade, Woodhaven has been divided roughly evenly between two City Council districts. In September, the commission in charge of redrawing City Council borders proposed placing almost all of Woodhaven within a single district. This was an extremely positive development, and the commission should be commended for it.
The WRBA has maintained a strong relationship with both City Council members who currently represent parts of Woodhaven, but the benefits of unifying the neighborhood under a single representative are unmistakable.
A united district is an official acknowledgment that Woodhaven is a cohesive community. It will make it easier for residents to determine who their representative is and whom they must ask for assistance. It will prevent dilution of Woodhaven’s voice in the City Council. And it will ensure that our representative is familiar with the problems that afflict all parts of our neighborhood.
Though the WRBA is generally very happy with the proposal put forward by the NYC Districting Commission, it’s not perfect. A few blocks of Woodhaven—98th Street between Jamaica Avenue and 91st Avenue, as well as some nearby portions of 96th Street, 89th Avenue, and 91st Avenue— have been carved out and placed in a different district. These blocks, which compose about two percent of Woodhaven, should be kept together with the rest of the neighborhood.
By the time you read this column, the WRBA will have submitted testimony to the NYC Districting Commission requesting this very modest tweak. We are confident that the Districting Commission can accommodate our request. Shifting these blocks back into Woodhaven will actually help balance out unequal population sizes between the two proposed districts, which is an important goal of the Districting Commission.
Though the City Council redistricting outlook for Woodhaven seems positive, nothing has been finalized yet. That is why the WRBA will continue to monitor the situation and to call for changes that will benefit our neighbors and our community.
Editor’s note: Blenkinsopp is a member of Community Board 9 and director of communications for the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association. For more information on the WRBA, visit www.woodhaven-nyc.org.
