LI minorities would gain clout in Senate under redistricting plan
The New York state Assembly Chamber as members meet at the state Capitol in Albany on Jan. 6, 2021. Credit: AP/Hans Pennink
ALBANY — Democrats have proposed new legislative election districts that would give greater political clout to minorities on Long Island while strengthening the Democratic majorities in the Senate and Assembly for the next 10 years.
Long Island would get its first Senate district with a majority of Black and Latino residents and another district would become the first Senate district on the Island with a plurality of Latino voters under the redistricting plan, said Senate Democratic majority spokesman Mike Murphy.
The Assembly’s proposed districts lines showed fewer significant changes, although several districts would see an increase in Latino, Black and Asian voters and many voters would be shifted into a different election district.
The new district lines would be in effect for the fall legislative elections. The State Legislature is expected to approve the redistricting Thursday.
In the Senate, the 6th District now represented by Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown) would become the "majority-minority" district in Nassau County. That means whites no longer will be more than 50% of the district’s population.
Thomas became the first Indian-American to serve in the State Senate when in 2018 he defeated Republican Kemp Hannon, who had held the seat from 1989 to 2018. Thomas won the race in 2018 by 1% of the vote.
The 3rd Senate District in Suffolk would see a plurality of Latino votes, going from 53% white and 32% Latino to 41.1% white and 41.4% Latino. The district is represented by Republican Sen. Alexis Weik of Sayville. Weik had upset freshman Democratic Sen. Monica Martinez of Brentwood in the 2020 elections.
"The creation of a majority Latino district without having to resort to cartographic contortions is a recognition of the size and influence of their population that has exploded in our and other suburbs in the last 20 years," said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies.
Democrats made more dramatic changes in some of the Senate districts. It is the first redistricting controlled by Democrats after decades of being conducted by Republicans.
"What we are really doing is unraveling decades of gerrymandering that unfairly divided communities," Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) told Newsday. "These maps should not be compared to what currently exists, because what exists is already unfair."
Among them are two seats that will be reoriented to Queens and Brooklyn from suburban centers, which reflects the gains in New York City population. That would add to New York City’s 26 seats in the Senate.
"By drawing their own partisan maps, Democrats in the Legislature are ignoring the will and testimony of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers — all to protect and enhance their own political power," said Senate Republican leader Rob Ortt. "We anticipate a court challenge, and are confident that a challenge will ultimately be successful."
As for voters, many can expect to find themselves in a different Assembly or Senate district because most district borders were altered in some way. For example, the 10th Assembly District is now represented by Assemb. Steven Stern of Dix Hills. Under the proposal, he would lose much of that district north of Route 25A, which would become part of the 12th District now represented by Assemb. Keith Brown (R-Northport).
In another proposed change, the 10th Senate District in Queens was also expanded into Cedarhurst and Lawrence — part of the Five Towns area. The district is now represented by Democratic Sen. James Sanders.
Statewide, Democrats relied more heavily on Democratic populations in Rochester and Syracuse to divide among four districts to help protect Senate incumbents. Democrats also used redistricting to help a rising star, Sen. Michelle Hinchey of Kingston, to shed some Republican communities northwest of Albany to focus on her Hudson Valley roots. She is the daughter of the late Maurice Hinchey, a longtime Hudson Valley congressman.
The new Senate lines were redrawn to unite communities with similar ethnic and racial makeup and to avoid splitting these communities — and their political clout — across Long Island, Murphy said.
Gianaris said Democrats united communities to create fairer districts of voters with common interests. He said Republicans had in previous redistricting efforts divided some Black and Latino communities into different districts, which diluted their political power.
For example, Baldwin would be united in the 9th Senate District now represented by Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) after parts of it were in the 8th District represented by Sen. John Brooks (D-Seaford). Elmont would be united into the 7th District, now represented by Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-North Hills). Elmont is currently split between the 9th Senate District and the 7th Senate District.
In addition, in Suffolk, Wyandanch would be united into the 5th Senate District. It is currently divided into the 8th District and the 4th District now represented by Sen. Phil Boyle, a Bay Shore Republican.
Under the plan, Brentwood would be united with Brookhaven in the 3rd Senate District. It had been divided with the 4th District.
In the Assembly on Long Island, the 2nd District, while remaining predominantly white, would see an increase of the Latino population from 14% to more than 21%. That district is represented by Republican Assemb. Jodi Giglio of Baiting Hollow.
The 13th Assembly District, which includes Glen Cove, Sea Cliff and Plainview, would go from 54% white to 48%, and the Latino population would rise to from 19% to 23%. The district is represented by Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove).
With Yancey Roy
Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.
