Letter to the Editor: April 28
Loss of One Congressional Seat Due To 2020 Census
Dear Editor,
There is more to the story concerning NY losing one Congressional seat due to results from the 2020 census. Up until the 1970 reapportionment, NYC Congressional districts were usually 100 percent within the borough. The same was true for virtually all of the other 57 counties outside of NYC. Cities and towns were not split between districts. Today, too many districts in NYC divide neighborhoods and cross borough boundaries. In several cases, boundaries were drawn to create majority-minority districts. This was to ensure a particular ethnic group could elect one of their own.
In 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting bill allowing his party to rig the drawing of district boundaries in their favor. This practice is known as gerrymandering today. With the results of the 2020 census, will Governor Andrew Cuomo, State Senate majority leader Andrea Steward Cousins, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie give up their redistricting power?
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.