New council district lines in effect in time for election

Time to line up for the new council districts.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the city’s 51 new council districts on Monday, May 20. It was the last step in making the lines official.

DOJ had to review the lines along with testimony from residents under Article 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which protects Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx from discrimination on grounds those boroughs have large minority populations.

Carl Hum, executive director of the city’s Districting Commission, said in an open letter the lines will be in effect for this year’s City Council elections.

New lines in Queens faced criticism from residents as neighborhoods were either broken up or divided into two or more districts.

According to Hum, almost 500 people delivered testimony about the lines citywide during three rounds of public hearings. Nearly 1,500 comments were also submitted to the commission either through email or in hard copy.