After much anticipation, the federal courts have released new congressional maps for the State of New York tonight. Assuming the Legislature can’t come to a last minute agreement, the boundaries below will likely represent the redistricting landscape on the federal level for the next ten years.
Last week, the court presented a draft map which contained a number of substantial changes to the electoral landscape. Notably, Congressmen Bob Turner, Maurice Hinchey, and Gary Ackerman saw their districts dismantled. Two of these districts inevitably had to be cut, as New York is required to lose two Congressional Districts this cycle. The plan additionally created a new Asian-plurality district in Queens that Mr. Ackerman has vowed to campaign for.
(Mr. Turner may be currently exploring a possible run for the U.S. Senate and Mr. Hinchey is retiring.)
Tonight’s map is basically identical to the previous submission, but one particularly significant change in New York City stands out. Brooklyn Representatives Yvette Clarke and Ed Towns traded territory so areas of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill would be returned to Mr. Towns’ district. As these neighborhoods are the home and base of one of Mr. Towns’ challengers, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, Mr. Jeffries may find an easier electoral path forward for his ambitions in the latest set of lines.
View the maps below:
