Every ten years one's voting districts shift to reflect the new census. On a national, state and local level, partisans and defenders of minority representation battle for new demographics for old districts. In the NYC Council, the fight rarely gets much attention. Perhaps this is because the City is so heavily Democratic, and the districts themselves SORT OF make sense. But this year, a new map will essentially break the long-defined neighborhood of PLG into two separate but unequal chunks.
To see how the districts change, go to this swell map here. Type in your address, and you'll see on the left the old district and on the right the proposed map. It's a slight change, to be sure, but suddenly north Lincoln and all of Lefferts and Sterling head into Tish James' 35th district, while the rest of the nabe stays with Mathieu Eugene and the fighting 40th. Most people probably won't care, and frankly Tish's popularity with lefties will undoubtedly mean that some welcome the change. But it seems a bit unfair to split a neighborhood without asking permission first. Hearings have already happened, though it's up to the council to vote aye or nay. What do you think? Is it worth a call to your councilman? 718-287-8762 gets you to Eugene's district office on Linden.
6 comments:
Super news for me and my neighbors! So glad to be getting away from Mathieu Eugene - I love Tish James forever, but I think she's out this time due to term limits. Wow - I've spent so much time focussing on how to get Eugene out; guess i have to shift gears now to learn about who should replace Tish - too bad they switch us just as she's leaving (purportedly to run for Public Advocate). Too bad for the rest of PLG however.
As much as I covet your reason for excitement, Babs, it's not a completely done deal as yet. The proposed redistricting lines could still change. For exanple, Female District Leader Olanike Alabi-- who is considering running for Tish's councilmanic seat in the event the CM throws her hat in the ring for Public Advocate slot-- had this to say in an email blast she sent out on 10/12:
"Lastly, yesterday I testified before the New York City Districting Commission on the draft map and proposed new lines for the 35th Council District. . . .
Also, as it relates to the proposed southern-most border of the 35th District (i.e. Lincoln Road), I recommended that the commission move it north to Empire Blvd. As you may know, Lincoln Road is in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and a portion of Crown Heights was taken out of the 35th District and included in the neighboring Council District. I made the recommendation for the purpose of maintaining neighborhood continuity."
That's discouraging Ceelledee. I guess the best thing, for those of us eager to escape the patronage do-nothing politics of the 40th CC district would be to write Tish herself, as well as her prominent announced potential successors like Laurie Cumbo, founder of MoCADA. I'll certainly spread the word to my neighbors - we've been working on a plan to defeat Eugene since 2010. Having a City Council person who is actually responsive to my neighborhood's concerns AND is an outspoken activist for affordable housing for moderate and lower-income community members would be a dream come true - just sad that due to term limits it won't be Tish.
It's SO funny you mention Laurie Cumbo! I work in the building with her museum MoCADA and I've had lunch with her and I adore her. She's amazing, a good friend of Letitia James, and I'd noticed her talking with folks about more and more general political issues. I've joked to her on a number of occasions that she should run. She'd be perfect! What great news...she'd have my vote...if I lived in her district. Now I'm going downstairs to tell her how thrilled I am...!
There are several contenders for Tish's seat:
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-10-09/news/34346958_1_laurie-cumbo-political-consultant-candidates
Good luck to north PLG in getting shifted to the 35th CD. If only the rest of the nabe could be so lucky. Sigh
Thanks for the link, Ceelledee. It's good to hear that Laurie is good friends with Tish - an endorsement from her would pretty much seal the deal in her favor.
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