The New York City Districting Commission published the “NYC Districting Commission 101 Primer” on Tuesday, June 21. The commission is responsible for drawing new city council maps, and the 16-page primer explains this process, covering everything from the U.S. Constitution to the U.S. census, and the Charter of the City of New York.

 

Commission officials said the primer also includes the “2022 Five Percent Deviation Guide” that commission mapmakers are using to draw the new 51 city council maps. The city’s population grew by 630,000 people based on the 2020 Census count, and now totals 8.8 million people. Under the one-person, one-vote doctrine of the U.S. constitution, the 51 city council maps must be redrawn with a new average population of 173,631 residents per city council district.

 

The Five Percent Deviation Guide shows the current deviation of each of the 51 city council districts from the new average per district. For example, one district has a 20.3 percent deviation, while another has a negative 10 percent deviation. Commission chair Dennis Walcott said of the city redistricting process, “We’ve had so much interest from the public at our hearings, we decided to do more outreach.” He added, “Over time, we hope that the primer and deviation guide become tools to encourage New Yorkers to engage in the process, including and especially, submitting their own testimony about the drawing of the 51 new city council maps.”

 

Meanwhile, the commission is scheduled to hold its next public hearing on Monday, June 27, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at York College, 94-22 Guy Brewer Blvd., Jamaica, Queens. Details of a a Zoom connection to the meeting will be posted on the website before the meeting takes place.

 

The Commission’s website is www.nyc.gov/districting. Public testimony can be submitted to publictestimony@redistricting.nyc.gov via email or by mail to 253 Broadway, 3^rd Floor New York, NY 10007. The primer is available to download from the commission’s website at nyc.gov/districting.

 

DISTRICTING COMMISSION CALENDAR

Public Hearings  (4 pm. To 7 p.m.)	June 27 Queens – York College, CUNY June 29 Brooklyn – City Tech College, CUNY July 6 Bronx – Hostos Community College, CUNY July 7 Staten Island – Borough Hall
Commission votes on Council maps	July 18th
Public Hearings	August 15, 16, 17, 18 & 22
Commission votes on Council maps	September 15
Commission submits plan to City Council	September 16

 

Meanwhile, the CUNY Graduate Center has launched a new “Redistricting & You” online map focused on the NYC Council districts, similar to what the center recently created for the New York State and congressional redistricting process. The link to the City maps can be found at: https://nyc.redistrictingandyou.org/. Just like with the New York State and congressional maps, the website enables the public to quickly determine their current City Council district, view helpful information about each district and, eventually, see how any proposed district plan will impact them.

For now, the NYC Redistricting & You site shows information for current City Council districts. Once the NYC Districting Commission publishes district plans, and/or if any outside stakeholders submit proposals for new council districts, the center will add those to the site so that the public can easily compare the current and proposed lines.

Members of the public can click on the map or enter an address to select any district. Redistricting & You displays information such as the relevant city council district’s 2020 population, deviation from the citywide district average population, voting age population by race/Hispanic origin, vote results from the 2021 mayoral election, and voter enrollment statistics.

 

Click here to see an example for District 11 City Council District 11 in The Bronx. The district’s population is just over 4 percent below the citywide average district population, meaning the district boundaries will need to expand to include more people per the new State law that applies to NYC. Attached also are two static maps that show the population deviation patterns across the City for the current city council districts, as well as the population changes from 2010 to 2020 by city council district.

 

Also available on the Redistricting & You site, members of the public can add map overlays to show local voting age population or enrollment patterns within each district and across the City.