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Newly drawn congressional redistricting puzzling some in New Rochelle

The new map carves up much of the Hudson Valley into a patchwork puzzle.

News 12 Staff

Jan 31, 2022, 10:35 PM

Updated 1,038 days ago

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Some New Yorkers are calling the newly drawn congressional districts a power grab by Democrats.
The new map carves up much of the Hudson Valley into a patchwork puzzle.
According to the new map, people along the Sound Shore in Westchester County would be lumped into a district with folks over on Long Island - and that's not sitting well with some people in New Rochelle.
"I think that Westchester should have its own say in what they want," says Kevin Devlin, of New Rochelle. "I think anybody who takes that position is going to be very, very difficult to please the population."
"I know they are not going to meet what we want, because he is not from here," says Israel Deida, of New Rochelle.
Under the newly proposed redistricting plan, New Rochelle would go from District 16 to being incorporated into a newly formed congressional District 3, which would now include part of Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties and a portion of the Bronx and Queens.
"I don't think it's fair that we get incorporated with Long Island," says Deida.
The lines are being redrawn following the 2020 Census, which resulted in New York losing a seat in the house.
Republicans are calling the proposed maps partisan gerrymandering, accusing Democrats of using this opportunity to gain as much as three seats in the House.
"Gerrymandering isn't just about the moving of seats from one party to another, it's about the imbalance of seat distribution in comparison to the identification and the needs of the population," says Kiku Huckle, political science professor from Pace University.
If the new maps still reflect New Yorks distribution of political affiliation, she says it's not gerrymandering. But the new maps do make the Hudson Valley look like a puzzle.
District 16 would now incorporate part of Putnam County, and District 17 would take a piece of Orange and Sullivan counties. District 18 would reach into northern Dutchess County.
The maps are expected to be approved by the state Legislature in the coming weeks.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has indicated she will sign whatever the Legislature sends to her desk.