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2.16.23 - NYS IRC - Queens Public Hearing (Assembly)

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DigitalCommons@NYLS Redistricting Resources NY Census and Redistricting Institute 2023 2.16.23 - NYS IRC - Queens Public Hearing (Assembly) Piper Benedict Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/redistricting_resources          New York State Independent Redistricting Commission – Queens County Public Hearing Thursday, February 16, 2023 @ 4:00pm York College (CUNY)  Name Organization Testimony Perla Silva  Make the Road NY Maintain 2022 lines for Western Queens – AD 34, 36, 39 • Opposed to draft for western Queens • Would reduce representation for communities of color  • AD 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 – are now represented by people of color • Should not include Manhattan in the Queens district Thomas Merowsky? Civic Association Maintain 2022 AD 38 – Keep Liberty Park whole • Liberty Park in Glendale • Opposed to draft for Liberty Park • Has long been in one AD with rest of Glendale Raj Korpan Central Queens Redistricting Coalition Make Rego Park whole in one district • Opposed to draft for AD 38 – includes communities that are vastly different • Rego Park should be in same district as Forest Hills – many similarities • Limit cross-borough districts • 2022 map also splits Rego Park Cameron Nahar  Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two • creating a district that keeps the diverse South Asian, Indo-Caribbean and Black communities together • Hillside Jamaica Dr. Abdul Mahmood?  Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two • creating a district that keeps the diverse South Asian, Indo-Caribbean and Black communities together • Hillside Jamaica Nissar Bouyan DRUM Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two      2  • creating a district that keeps the diverse South Asian, Indo-Caribbean and Black communities together • Hillside Jamaica Mark Laster Central Queens Redistricting Coalition Make Rego Park whole in one district • Don’t further divide Rego Park  • AD 28 • Rego Park and Forest Hills have been together for many years  • Opposed to draft AD 38 • Will submit map Assemblymember Nily Rozic AD 25 Advocating for 2022 AD 25 with some changes: • Make these neighborhoods whole: West Cunningham Park, Hillcrest Estates, Briarwood, and Oakland Gardens Heather Beers-Dimitriadis Central Queens Redistricting Coalition  Chair, Community Board 6 Make Rego Park whole in one district • Keep communities whole • Would prefer 2022 districts for Rego Park than the draft but the 2022 lines split Rego Park as well • Draft AD 38 divides communities Shamsul Hawk - Along with neighbors and 1250 signed petitions  Muhammad Allam?  Nobi Hussain?  Arashadar Sadiki?  Raman?  Jackson Heights - AD 30 – submitted preferred map • Noted that he is there with dozens of his neighbors and 1250 signed petitions  • Draft and current map divides community into four ADs • South Asian community in Jackson Heights • Draft removes important masjids from the district Richard David  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Keeps most of Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park whole Amir Abadi  Maintain 2022 AD 29 – put Jamaica and Laurelton back together; Jamaica Estates region should go to AD 33 • Current district allows Black homeowners to get adequate representation in Albany      3  • Draft would dilute homeownership by adding more renters  Aaron Fernando DRUM Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Keeps most of Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park whole Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two • Keep Hillside Corridor together Carmen Garcia Make the Road NY Maintain 2022 lines for Western Queens – AD 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 • Opposed to draft for western Queens – would harm Latino community • Should not include Manhattan in the Queens district – very different communities Lillian Gee?  Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two • Bayside Queens – Asian population has grown substantially  • Opposed to IRC draft for AD 26 • Not compact • Should not be grouped with Hillside Corridor or Glenoaks Connie Atamorano?  Maintain 2022 lines for Western Queens – AD 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 • Keep Ridgewood whole in one district (2022 AD 37) Carmen Santana  Maintain 2022 AD 37 - Keep Ridgewood whole in one district • Changing lines would disrupt delivery of services Elizabeth OuYang APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Submitting remaining 4 maps that APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce is submitting: 1. Supports IRC Draft AD 24 2. Submitted preferred map for AD 40 (minor changes to IRC draft) 3. Propose dividing draft AD 26 into two districts 4. Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst – submitted preferred map for AD 30 (minor changes to IRC draft) Josh Bentley Korean Community Services  Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two • Keep Bayside together with Little Neck, Douglaston, and College Park? in one district      4  APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce • Draft is not compact and is too big ? Ramgopal  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Keeps most of Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park whole (Little Guyana, Indo-Caribbean community) • Has long been divided – causing lack of services and representation Huan Jin Lee?  Supports APA Voice map for Northeastern Queens • Eastern boundary of AD 40 should be 166th St.  Joshua Harris  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Keeps most of Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park whole (Little Guyana, Indo-Caribbean community) Mohamed Islam  Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two • creating a district that keeps the diverse South Asian, Indo-Caribbean and Black communities together Mohamed Q. Amin Caribbean Equality Project  APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Supports IRC Draft AD 24 and all of APA Voice maps • Keeps most of Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park whole (Little Guyana, Indo-Caribbean community) Lokmani Rai?  Supports APA Voice revised map for AD 30 • Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst – Keep communities together and whole • Asian community Urgen Sherpa Chhaya  APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Supports APA Voice revised map for AD 30 • Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst – Keep communities together and whole • Don’t split Asian community, small businesses, cultural centers Karina Kaufman Gutierrez Street Vendor Project Maintain 2022 AD 30, 35 • Street vendor areas – important to keep these communities together • Draft breaks up South Asian vending community into two districts Albert?  Supports IRC Draft AD 24      5  • Keeps most of Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park whole (Little Guyana, Indo-Caribbean community) Pamela Bluford District Leader AD 29a Maintain 2022 AD 29 Keep these communities together: • Rosedale, Laurelton, Springfield Gardens, Addisleigh Park, Jamaica, and Hollis Preston Baker District Leader AD 29a Maintain 2022 AD 29 • Draft includes Jamaica Estates - more upper-class community (18% African American), and eliminates Laurelton and Rosedale • AD 29 = 69% African American • Draft would hurt African American vote • Noted difficult sign-up process to speak at hearing Dinasar Singh?  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Richmond Hill Rabbi Garth Merchant?  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 Maintain 2022 AD 29, 31, 33 • Rosedale, Laurelton = heart of the community Kazi Fouzia DRUM (testifying as resident) Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two And supports all APA Voice maps Rina?  Teacher Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Unites Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, and South Ozone Park Mandeep Singh?  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Unites Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park Eduardo Valentine   Maintain 2022 AD 34, 39 for Jackson Heights • Diverse community, LGBTQ interests Darrel Sakteo?  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Unites Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park Tina Hon? MinKwon Center Supports APA Voice map for AD 40 – Downtown Flushing Sandra Choi MinKwon Center   APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Supports APA Voice map for AD 40 – Downtown Flushing, Murray Hill, Linden Hill And supports all APA Voice maps • Important district for building Asian American power Geeta Atakari? DRUM Supports APA Voice revised map for AD 30 – Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst And supports all APA Voice maps • Keeps community together • Currently Asian majority      6  Sophia Rivera Make the Road NY Maintain 2022 AD 34  • Immigrant, Latino community • Happy with Assembly representation  Fausto Jimenez Make the Road NY Maintain 2022 AD 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39 Jane Jiang? Korean Community Services of Metropolitan NY Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two And supports all APA Voice maps  Shengbo Ding? MinKwon Center Supports APA Voice map for AD 40 – Flushing And supports all APA Voice maps • Eastern border should be 166th St – area east of 166th has different interests • Immigrant concerns  • Mail theft in Flushing – representatives helped • Need to keep community together  Wah Go? MinKwon Center Supports APA Voice map for AD 40 – Flushing And supports all APA Voice maps • Eastern border should be 166th St – area east of 166th has different interests • Language needs, tenant rights, tax preparation Bao Chun Chiang? MinKwon Center Supports APA Voice map for AD 40 – Flushing And supports all APA Voice maps • Eastern border should be 166th St – area east of 166th has different interests • Immigrant concerns, language needs, tax preparation, need elected officials that understands needs Soo Ha Lee? MinKwon Center Supports APA Voice map for AD 40 – Flushing And supports all APA Voice maps • Eastern border should be 166th St – area east of 166th has different interests • Immigrant concerns, language needs, need representation Nunez?  Maintain 2022 AD 37 Western Queens  • Currently have 6 Assemblymembers that reflect community – Latino and South Asian community • Draft would harm this representation Gurung?  Supports APA Voice revised map for AD 30 - Jackson Heights And supports all APA Voice maps      7  • South Asian small business corridor should be in one district Han Jin Chen? MinKwon Supports APA Voice map for AD 40 – Flushing And supports all APA Voice maps • Eastern border should be 166th St – area east of 166th has different interests • Immigrant needs, language needs, social services  Abdul Rahman?  Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two Supports IRC Draft AD 24 And supports all APA Voice maps  • Southern part of current AD 26 consists of South Asian and Indo Caribbean community • South Asian and Indo Caribbean communities have major differences in terms of ethnic, culture, economics, cuisine to the Eastern Asian community Olivia Bowa? Caribbean Equality Project  APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Supports IRC Draft AD 24 And supports all APA Voice maps  • Unites Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park (Little Guyana) Aminta Kilawan-Narine South Queens Women’s March  APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Supports IRC Draft AD 24 And supports all APA Voice maps  • Held meeting where over 95 individuals voiced their support for AD 24 • Worship together, take same trains Charles Newman  Opposed to IRC draft AD 38 “Serpent of Central Queens” Would prefer something similar to current 2022 AD 27 and 38 Also supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Draft AD 38 includes bits and pieces of 8 different neighborhoods, including Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood • Keep neighborhoods whole Savita Prasad South Queens Women’s March  APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Supports APA Voice Map for Hillside Corridor (splitting AD 26 into two) And supports all APA Voice maps  • Draft would reduce Asian population  • APA map would create an Asian plurality of 44.5% • South Asian and Indo-Caribbean small businesses Gorbenda Nagra?  Supports IRC Draft AD 24      8  Supports APA Voice map that splits AD 26 into two And supports all APA Voice maps  • Unite Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park • Important for Sikh community - Gurdwaras kept in same district Isabella Fernans? Caribbean Equality Project   APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Supports IRC Draft AD 24 And supports all APA Voice maps  • Unites Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park (Little Guyana) • Community of interest Karina Nevus?  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Unites Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park (Little Guyana) • Community of interest • Richmond Hill has been disenfranchised • Share same trains • Need senior services Nurajan Akhtar? DRUM Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Unite Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park • Diverse community – same shops, community centers, libraries, schools • Immigrant issues Sharifa Williams  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Unite Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park Israel Pescowitz  Maintain 2022 AD 27 (at least for area south of LIE) – Kew Gardens Hills  • Draft divides neighborhood into three districts • Boundaries should be: • Southern boundary = Union Tpke • Eastern boundary = 164th St. • Western boundary = Grand Central Pkwy • Northern boundary = Long Island Expy • Keep Queens College in the district • Keep Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Hillcrest, Electchester together Also supports IRC Draft AD 24      9  Benjamin Kim Woodside on the Move  APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce Supports APA Voice map for AD 30 - Woodside, Jackson Heights, Elmhurst – (minor changes to IRC draft) And supports all APA Voice maps  • Draft Keeps Little Manila together • But needs some adjustments to keep Tibetan Community Center in the district, make Jackson Heights community whole Jakpreet Singh  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Unite Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park • Noted rise in hate crimes and other tragedies • If map needs to be extended, ok to extend east to 145th St. Simran Thind DRUM Supports IRC Draft AD 24 And supports all APA Voice maps  • Unite South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities • Healthcare, housing, language needs Derek Evers  Maintain 2022 AD 37 • Ridgewood – has long been gerrymandered • Current district has only 2 community groups and only 2 school districts • Draft crosses multiple boroughs, school districts, and community groups • Going all the way from Greenpoint to Middle Village Ronak Patel AALDEF • Keep Asian American communities whole • Will be submitting Asian communities of interest maps – places where community shares schools, houses of worship, groceries, etc. • Superimpose CoI maps on drafts to ensure communities are kept intact • Unity Map Coalition submitted complete plan • APA Voice submitted 9 district maps • Asian community in Queens has grown by 29.2% • Asian majority district must be maintained to comply with NY and federal VRA (AD 30) • Supports IRC draft AD 24 • Supports splitting AD 26 into two (APA Voice map) John Park MinKwon Center  Supports APA Voice map for AD 40 (Flushing) Supports all APA Voice maps      10  APA Voice Redistricting Taskforce • Minor tweaks to draft AD 40 on southern border • Remove small section of east Flushing • Would better define the community in Flushing and make district more compact • Language needs Mark Glogowski  • Should assign assembly seats to counties  • Districts should be contiguous and compact • Maintain counties, cities, towns, communities of interest • Draft won’t achieve this Dr. Minewattie Gayadin Ali  Supports IRC Draft AD 24 • Keeps community whole – South Ozone Park, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill • Community has long been divided at all levels of government • Community faces the same issues and has similar interests – schools Mohammad Abdul Jalil  Submitted map for AD 30 But if not, would prefer 2022 AD 30 • Asian community of interest • Draft divides community Mohammad Chowdhury  Supports map that was submitted for AD 30 • draft divides community into four districts  

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2.16.23 - NYS IRC - Queens Public Hearing (Assembly)

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