2022 City Council Redistricting
Following the decennial nationwide census, the New York City Charter mandates that the City Council and the Mayor appoint a Districting Commission to redraw council district boundaries to reflect population and demographic changes. In the coming year, the Districting Commission will have to draw new borders in a city that has undergone significant demographic shifts in the past 10 years.
*** Citizens Union offers free trainings and informative materials on Council Redistricting for community groups across the city – click here to contact us ***
Overview of the redistricting process
In New York City, City Council districts are not drawn by lawmakers themselves but by a special commission called the Districting Commission. The members of the Commission are appointed by the mayor and by the Democrats and Republicans serving on the City Council, but once appointed, the commissioners act independently of the political figures who appointed them. Commissioners must follow specific legal criteria that guide how boundaries are drawn, and they have to ask for feedback on every proposed map. The City Council can object to the first plan the Commission submits and send it back for a revision. Once the Commission approves a revised, final plan, neither Council Members nor the mayor can legally change the maps. The process takes about ten months, but the new districts remain in place for ten years.
Click here to read Citizens Union Foundation’s report on the 2022 Council Redistricting Process
If you would like to be informed on the Council redistricting process as it unfolds, sign up for email updates here.
[WPSM_AC id=10538]
NEW: PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED – SIGN UP TO TESTIFY
The NYC Districting Commission announced hearing dates for city residents to testify on the Preliminary Plan of 51 City Council districts published at the beginning of July. Five borough-based hearings will be held from August 16 to August 22. Click here for exact dates and times.
This round of hearings will be critical in determining the ultimate council lines. If you are unhappy with the maps, we encourage you to testify; similarly if you like the new lines in your district, that is also very important to tell the commission. You can sign up to testify in person or online by completing this form. To submit written testimony to the Districting Commission, email: PublicTestimony@redistricting.nyc.gov
You can see the proposed Council lines here. Redistricting and You has uploaded this map to its website, to make it easy to compare the new proposed lines with the current districts.
Make your voice heard
Citizens Union Trainings
With the support of the New York Community Trust, Citizens Union Foundation is offering free trainings and resources to community groups all over the city to help New Yorkers engage in the Council redistricting process. The training includes information on:
- The basics of Council redistricting.
- Why engaging in the Council redistricting process is important.
- An overview of the process and the criteria used to draw the maps.
- How to look at and create your own maps.
- How to testify before the Council’s Districting Commission.
- The essential elements of an effective testimony.
We would be more than happy to tailor the content of our training to meet the needs your group. We can offer a short presentation (i.e. a ten minute basic overview), a full length 75 minute presentation, or anything in between.
The Districting Commission has released the first draft of maps on July 15th, and public hearings to comment on those maps will be held in August. Preliminary public hearings were held in late June and early July. We are holding trainings in April to August, and will continue throughout the entirety of 2022, as necessary. We can hold trainings in person or on zoom, and can be flexible in regards to time and day to best accommodate your needs.
If you would like to schedule a free training, please contact dkaminsky@citizensunion.org
Trainings Calendar (Not all trainings are open to the public. Contact us if you’d like to join a training)
[add_eventon]
Recorded full length trainings
Resources
NYC demographic data: Use NYC Population FactFinder, a tool by the Department of Planning that allows you to create study areas and examine associated population data showing the latest demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics, and how these characteristics have changed over time.
Find your Council District: Use this City Council page to find your current council member, district number, and district boundaries. Simply type in your address in the search bar. Once your council member pops up, you can click their name to see your district boundaries and learn more about your Council Member.
See how your Council District changed: The Center for Urban Research at CUNY has created Redistricting & You: New York City to help members compare and analyze City Council district maps in New York City. In addition, this summary of Council District profiles (pdf) by the NYC Department of Planning shows basic demographic and housing characteristics for every Council District, based on the results of the 2020 Census, and how it has changed since the 2010 Census. More Census-based analysis can be found here.
Create your own maps: If you want to propose maps to the NYC Districting Commission, you can use this customized New York City-version of DistrictR, an online mapping tool, created by the Districting Commission; or use a version of Dave’s Redistricting App created by the CUNY Graduate Center. Representable is another common tool to create maps of communities of interest.
Go to the Districting Commission’s website: The website can be found here.
Learn how the current districts were drawn: You can read the summary memorandum (pdf) of the 2012-2013 Districting Commission, with an explanation for every district. The different maps and considered by that Commission, and the old lines, are found in this map archive.
Latest news
- August 5, City & State: Got complaints about the draft City Council map? The Districting Commission wants to hear them. – City & State New York
- August 2, 2022, PoliticsNY: NYC Districting Commission announces next round of public hearings
- July 28, 2022, amNY: New York City Districting Commission creates its own community mapping tool
- July 27, 2022, Politico New York: How a Republican is reshaping Democratic New York City’s once-in-a-decade redistricting
- July 25, 2022, PoliticsNY: Interview: NYC Districting Commission Chair Dennis Walcott
- Comments on July 15 draft redistricting plan
- Gothamist: New NYC Council district maps create Asian-majority district, but draw fire from sitting members
- City & State: Districting Commission releases draft of New York City Council maps
- Gotham Gazette: City Council Redistricting Process Heads to New Round of Public Input After Draft Map Release
- Brooklyn Eagle: New proposal for Asian-American Council District sparks debate
- SI Advance: Preliminary City Council district map keeps Staten Island communities whole
- Queens Chronicle: Commission releases draft Council maps
- QNS: Queens leaders vow to ‘fight’ for their communities after districting commission releases first draft of redrawn City Council maps
- Amsterdam News: City Council Districting Commission releases draft maps; rumbles in Harlem, SI, and Brooklyn
- Astoria Post: Redistricting Commission Releases New District Maps That Would Bring Major Changes to Western Queens
- CrownHeights.Info: Preliminary Maps For City Council Districts Released, Crown Heights Remains Divided
- Norwood News: NYC Districting Commission Releases Proposed City Council District Maps
- W42ST: “I Don’t Like the Map!” — Hell’s Kitchen Reacts to NY City Council Proposal to Split Neighborhood into THREE
- Patch UES: Upper East Side Sliced Up In Newly Redrawn Council District Maps
- The Riverdale Press: Marble Hill could gain minor win in redrawing of council districts
- Chelsea News: ‘Preliminary’ City Council Redistricting Is Just That, Council Members Say
- July 15, 2022, The Riverdale Press: Law stands in way of unified Marble Hill Houses
- July 14, 2022, Politico New York: Proposed Council redistricting would create Asian-majority seat, potential rivalry
- July 14, 2022, Amsterdam News: Black and brown communities in Staten Island unite over redistricting
- July 14, 2022, The Wave Rockaway: More Redistricting On the Way For Rockaway
- July 11, 2022, Bronx Times: Will newly redrawn City Council district lines reflect and preserve the Bronx’s decade-long growth of ethnic communities?
- July 10, 2022, New York Post: Parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn gain clout in NYC Council
- July 7, 2022, Staten Island Advance: Staten Islanders present unified message at City Council districting hearing: Keep districts in the borough
- July 7, 2022, Queens Chronicle: Ethnicity plays role in redistricting process
- July 6, 2022, City & State New York: How does redistricting work in New York City?
- July 5, 2022, Staten Island Advance: Staten Islanders urged to get involved in drawing of new City Council lines
- June 30, 2022, Brooklyn Paper: Bensonhurst Asian community looks to redistricting commission in hope of new council district
- June 21, 2022, Norwood News: NYC Districting Commission Kicks Off Redistricting Schedule, Publishes Explanatory Guides on Process
- June 12, 2022, NY1 Inside City Hall: City Council redistricting commission seeks community input
- June 11, 2022, WNYC Weekend Edition: This Week in Politics: New York City is next up for redistricting
- June 9, 2022, New York Amsterdam News: ‘Don’t split us up’: NYC City Council redistricting begins public hearings
- June 7, 2022, Gothamist: Commission delays release of proposed NYC Council maps to gather more public input
- June 5, 2022, amNY: Op-ed | Stay engaged in NYC Council redistricting process
- May 24, 2022, Gotham Gazette: New Law Plus Population Shifts Means Significant Coming Changes for New York City Council Districts
- May 17, 2022, Gothamist: Asian communities push for more electoral power as city redistricting process takes shape
- April 17, 2022, The Riverdale Press: City council redistricting kicks into gear
- April 05, 2022, PoliticsNY: Coalition of Asian organizations demand representation in city redistricting
- March 08, 2022, Queens Daily Eagle: Queens gears up for City Council redistricting
- February 23, 2022, NY Post: Council Democrats tap campaign treasurer for redistricting panel
- February 22, 2022, amNY: New York City is about to redraw its City Council districts; how fair will it be?
- February 22, 2022, PoliticoPRO: Report calls for new Asian-majority City Council seat in southern Brooklyn
- February 20, 2022, NY Post: Adams eyes City Hall veteran Dennis Walcott to help redraw council districts
- February 06, 2022, Gotham Gazette: New York City Council Redistricting process set to kick off
Advocacy action
- July 7, 2002: Citizens Union’s testimony at the last preliminary public hearing
- June 6, 2022: Citizens Union Responds to NYC Districting Commission’s Decision to Delay Draft Maps and Hold Additional Public Hearings
- May 26, 2022: Citizens Union’s testimony at the Commission’s May 26 Public Hearing
- May 18, 2022: Group letter asking to hold public hearings before releasing first draft redistricting plan
- May 6, 2022: Letter to NYC Districting commissioners with Citizens Union’s recommendations
- May 2, 2022: Letter to Districting Commission Chair Concerning a possible Code of Ethics
- January 27, 2022: Letter to the Mayor and the City Council with recommendations regarding the Districting Commission (Mayor, Speaker, Minority Leader, Council Members)