Mayor Announces Appointments to New York City Districting Commission

The Commission will help with the redesign of the City Council district boundaries. On March 7, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams announced his seven appointees to the New York City Districting Commission. The Commission is responsible for redrawing council district boundaries as required every ten years by the City Charter following the national census. The redistricting helps the City Council reflect changes in demographics and population. 


Prison Populations, The Census, and Prison Gerrymandering

Prison gerrymandering manipulates the boundaries of electoral districts by inflating the districts with incarcerated individuals who have no real relationship to the districts where the prisons are located. Incarcerated individuals in New York are not allowed to vote. As a result, in districts with prisons and large prison populations the votes of the voters who can vote become more powerful compared to the vote of the voters in districts without a prison population. At the … <Read More>


GUEST COMMENTARY: On the Ballot for Nov. 2, 2021: the Constitutional Amendment on Redistricting

The Redistricting Schedule

On November 2, 2021, New York State voters will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment revising the redistricting process to be based on the 2020 census. If the constitutional amendment is approved, the changes will take effect on January 1, 2022. This amendment is necessary to address delays in the census created by the pandemic and to accommodate New York State’s change from a September primary to an earlier June primary … <Read More>


New Law Requires Racial Equity Reports in Connection to Certain Land Use Applications

A new equitable development tool would provide data on six categories and would lead to racial equity reports to be required for future land use applications and projects. On July 18, 2021, Local Law 78 was enacted into law, which will require certain land use applicants to produce a racial equity report to determine the project’s impact on equity. The bill was first introduced on May 29, 2019 as Intro 1572-A, by Public Advocate Jumaane … <Read More>