Citizens Union releases the following statement from Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum as New York City’s redistricting process reaches its conclusion:
“We are pleased that the City Council district maps have been finalized on time. New York City was able to avoid the chaos we saw last year during the state’s redistricting process. This will allow candidates and voters ample time to prepare for next year’s election.”
“We applaud the Districting Commission for drawing the final version of the maps in public view. Despite a slow start and some attempts to exert political pressure, ultimately the process was mostly community oriented. We thank all the New Yorkers who have been involved in this process and made their voices heard. We saw record-breaking engagement from the public, as the commission received over 12,500 submissions from concerned New Yorkers.”
“Citizens Union worked diligently to provide free training and resources to community groups all over the city. Our 45 community training reached 1,700 people in most council districts, empowering New Yorkers to be engaged in the process. We provided impartial research materials and advice to advocates, officeholders, and journalists. We want to thank the New York Community Trust for their support of this vital work.”
“There is room for improvement in this process going forward, including taking further steps to ensure the commission is independent of undue interference from elected officials. We will publish recommendations on how to improve the process in the future.”
Citizens Union has closely monitored every New York City redistricting process since 1989. You can read more about our work on 2022 City Council Redistricting here.
Citizens Union
For 125 years, Citizens Union has been a force for transparency, accountability and ethics in New York’s City and State governments. A nonpartisan organization, some of our current initiatives include a new agenda for police accountability, monitoring the City Council’s redistricting process and increasing civic engagement. Learn more at www.citizensunion.org.
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