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JAN

20,000 views and counting!

Posted by: SusanLerner  /  Comments: 2

Map making is hard work, but our efforts are paying off.

Since we launched our reform redistricting maps three weeks ago, New Yorkers have taken the opportunity to view what an alternative vision of our political landscape might look like over 20,000 times. And as the Daily News put it in an editorial today:

“…it looks good. Damn good.”

20,000! That works out to 1,000 day, thinking about our how to make our politics better. Even LATFOR has been responsive, and we’ve dramatically changed the conversation. Press reports are pouring in and we get feedback from average people from all four corners of the state every day.

Read about it here, here, and here.

Next, we’ll be updating our maps to reflect the prisoner data just released under the new law requiring incarcerated persons to be re-enumerated at their county of origin.

2 Comments

Brian Paul

January 12, 2012

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Every new Congressional district must grow to have roughly 718,000 residents, because the population of the US grew by 9.7% since 2000. The population of Staten Island grew by about 5.7% since 2000. Although this is the most of the 5 boroughs, it’s less quickly than the US population as a whole, therefore we have to expand the Staten Island district’s Brooklyn share.

The 2010 population of Staten Island is roughly 468,000. So the Staten Island based Congressional district must take in about 250,000 Brooklyn residents, no way around it.

What’s open for debate is what parts of Brooklyn belong best with Staten Island in a Congressional district? Looking at demographics like homeownership, median income, occupation, etc, we think we chose the part that fits the best, but we’re very open to hearing other arguments. What’s not valid is to say that Staten Island should stay out of Brooklyn — this is impossible.

Jen

January 11, 2012

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I don’t support your new maps — not at all. Your redistricting with regard to the State Senate and Congress screws my neighborhood yet again. I live in Bath Beach/Gravesend, and we are SICK of being lumped with conservative Staten Island, whose voters have drastically different priorities than we do. By combining our neighborhoods with Staten Island, our votes are rendered meaningless — the Staten Island population is larger and we are easily overwhelmed. Also, combining Sunset Park and Bensonhurst is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. Those neighborhoods are completely different. If anything, Bensonhurst should be combined with the area in southern Brooklyn encompassing Bath Beach and Gravesend.

If you really want to stand up for the CITIZENS, keep Staten Island OUT of Brooklyn districts! If you were really concerned with keeping communities together and letting unique groups of people’s voices be heard, you would never allow the voices of those in my neighborhood to be drowned out by the very-different Staten Island.