Redrawing congressional lines dividing Democrats, ‘earthquake’ for New York politics – New York Daily News

ALBANI – The once-in-a-decade redistricting of New York has played out in protracted court battles, confounding voters and candidates and exposing deep divisions within the Democratic Party.

The congressional and Senate district maps, completed Friday by a court-appointed independent expert, laid the foundation for what will be an incredibly chaotic first season as incumbent Democrats race against each other in several major races around the city and state.

[ New York congressional and state Senate maps finalized by upstate court ]

Drafted by Jonathan Servas, the court-appointed special lord tasked with drawing competitive, nonpartisan districts, the maps follow a Byzantine back-and-forth in the courts that led the state’s highest court to unconstitutionally select Democrats in districts in their favour earlier this year.

As a result, critics say societies are needlessly divided, and battle lines are being drawn between parties ahead of the August 23 primary as Democrats desperately hope to retain control of the House.

Longtime Democratic strategist Hank Shenkov has described the results of the redistricting chaos as an “earthquake for New York politics” that will make most elected officials think only of self-preservation.

“People will run to protect their jobs, these very good jobs that pay a lot of money and come with a lot of prestige,” he said. “They will do whatever they have to do for themselves.”

[ Map mayhem for New York Democrats as new congressional and state Senate boundaries revealed ]

In Manhattan, two lawmakers, Representatives Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, are on a collision course after Servius united the once separate Upper East Side and Upper West Side regions.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (DNY) speaks during the House Judiciary Committee nomination on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. (Greg Nash/AP)

Nadler announced early last week that he would challenge Maloney in 12 districts for Congress after he was disqualified from his own district, which now covers only lower Manhattan and an area larger than Brooklyn.

On Thursday, Maloney said she had no intention of stepping down.

“It’s my area,” she said. “I live in New York 12. I represent her now, and I will run for re-election in New York 12.”

Representative Carolyn Maloney (DN.Y.) attends the abortion rights rally, at the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument, in Manhattan, New York on Monday, September 13, 2021. (Richard Drew/AP)

Both politicians served in Congress for more than three decades. Maloney was steadfast in her decision to stand her ground.

“I think we will all run on our own. A lot of us have many challenges,” she said. “You know, a number of us run into each other because they made the decision to move in my area or someone else’s area.”

The uptown foray isn’t the only showdown on the horizon as Democrats across the state prepare to take it down in reconstituted districts.

Before the lines could be completed, fractures within the congressional delegation became apparent as a delegate. Sean Patrick Maloney, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman, announced his intent to abandon the current Upper Hudson Valley and run into District 17 to the south.

Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (DN.Y.) during the House Intelligence Committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Thursday, November 21, 2019 (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

The decision by Progressive First Representative Rep. Munder Jones drew reprimands from several of his prominent Democratic colleagues and accusations of racism.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has publicly called on Maloney to step down as House Democrats’ campaign chair if he continues to implement his plan.

“Given the resources he has at his head, that creates a conflict of interest,” Ocasio-Cortez told Politico.

Representative Mondir Jones (DN.Y.) (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Representative Jamal Bowman, whose special district was redrawn to exclude sections of the North Bronx and now extends into Westchester, criticized Maloney and was alarmed by rumored suggestions that Jones should run for his district.

“(T) Black men who have worked so hard to represent their communities, who fight hard for their constituents in Congress and stand up for critical needs in our communities, they shouldn’t all be confronted because Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney wants it to be a little easier,” Bowman said. The Democratic Party should not tolerate With those trying to dismantle or shred the power of blacks in Congress or condone it.

“The solution is simple. Congressman Maloney should run in his own district,” he added.

Jones turned the debate around by announcing that he would join a crowded field vying for a new seat covering lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.

“I am excited to make my case for why I am the right person to lead this region forward and continue my work in Congress to save our democracy from the threats of the far right,” he said.

The newly delineated area has gained the attention of former Mayor Bill de Blasio as well as several state legislators, including Senator Brad Hoelman (D-Manhattan Democrat) and Assembly members Robert Carroll, Jo Ann Simon and Yoh Lane New.

De Blasio said Friday that he is ready to head to Washington.

“I am now ready to serve and address issues that are very deep in communities in Brooklyn and Manhattan,” he said when announcing his appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

House Democratic Caucus Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (DNY) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, DC on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The new frontier will benefit incumbent Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican to represent the city in Congress, because her Staten Island-centric district will no longer include the deep blue Park Slope as Democrats have proposed.

“Today, democracy in New York has been preserved through the actions of our state courts and their approval of new district lines for US Congress seats,” Malliotakis said in a statement Saturday. “Also allow me to warn my opponents; whether it’s Democrats nominating Pelosi doll Max Rose or AOC wannabe Brittany Ramos DeBarros, I’ll defeat them in November.”

In Brooklyn, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, whose Prospect Heights home has been pulled from his neighborhood, criticized the new maps zoning many historically black neighborhoods ahead of the revised maps released Friday.

“That would make Jim Crow blush,” he said.

The Brooklyn native was angered by the fact that the new maps were designed by an outside expert appointed at the behest of a Republican judge from upstate Steuben County.

“I don’t know where Steuben County is. He had no idea it was there. Jeffreys complained last week.” It’s in Bath Village. Closer to Cleveland, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Toronto, Canada.”

Servas eventually reunited Bedford-Stevesant and Crown Heights into one area.

Voters cast their ballot at Frank McCourt High School in Manhattan, New York on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 (Richard Drew/AP)

The redistricting process in New York was supposed to be a drama-free affair as the goal of the bipartisan committee was to redraw the state’s political boundaries based on the 2020 census.

Instead, the commission hit a dead end, prompting the Democratic-controlled legislature to draw up their own maps, which were struck down by the Court of Appeals last month as unconstitutional.

This delayed both the congressional and senate primaries to give Servas time to come up with more competitive districts than the Democrats had drawn up.

Maps drawn up by the legislature would have given Democrats an advantage in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts. Now, the newly proposed lines include eight competitive districts, giving Republicans a chance to pick seats in the midterm elections.

“Who controls the House of Representatives may be decided here in New York State,” Schenkopf said. “That’s how dangerous this is.”

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