Good news, Greenpointers!
Though earlier this year, the State’s Independent Redistricting Commission initially proposed to split up State Assembly District 50, meaning that Greenpoint’s political representation would be divided, it looks like they’ve now had a change of heart. After a public comment period, they released their revised maps, and took the wishes of the neighborhood to heart.
Now, the State Legislature just voted to uphold the maps. Assemblymember Emily Gallagher celebrated the news on Instagram.
“This outcome would not have happened without the hundreds of you who spoke out, sent comments to the IRC, and attended the public hearing,” she said.
We’ve written fairly extensively about last year’s redistricting process, so to summarize, while our congressional and State Senate districts changed, the state’s IRC left State Assembly districts untouched, though took them up again this year.
The IRC initially planned to split up AD50 and put half of it in AD38, which is an entirely Queens-based district, including Glendale, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, and Woodhaven.
Many Greenpoint residents felt that the move would have diluted the neighborhood’s political power and hindered progress on environmental and transportation issues. Somewhat poetically, the proposed new district would have been bifurcated by the controversial McGuinness Boulevard, which has long served as an ideological dividing line in the neighborhood.