By Jeff Wice & Alexis Marking
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
Erie County: Young v. Town of Cheektowaga
In March, one-time Town Board candidate Kenneth Young filed a lawsuit against the Town of Cheektowaga, alleging racially polarized voting and violations of the New York Voting Rights Act (NYVRA) in the Cheektowaga Town Board elections. Young claims that minorities cannot elect candidates of their choice under the town’s current at-large voting method and should adopt a … <Read More>
By Jeff Wice with Jordan Karpoff & Alexis Marking.
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
Orange County: Clarke et al. v. Town of Newburgh
In January, three Black and three Hispanic residents of Newburgh filed this lawsuit, claiming the town’s at-large election system for Town Board elections has prevented Black and Hispanic residents from electing candidates of their choice, thus violating the N.Y. Voting Rights Act.
On October 10th, the … <Read More>
By Jeff Wice, Alexis Marking & Jordan Karpoff
REDISTRICTING
NYC Council Map Challenge Goes to State Court of Appeals
This lawsuit was filed against the New York City Districting Commission, the New York City Board of Elections, and the New York State Board of Elections challenging the New York City Council district map based on an alleged violation of the New York City Charter.
Plaintiffs include Desis Rising Up and … <Read More>
On August 19, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the $16.5 million contribution to decarbonize and improve existing affordable housing in New York City through the Resilient and Equitable Decarbonization Initiative for Existing Buildings (REDi: EB) Program. This program is administered New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development in partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). This program is funded through the State’s Clean Energy Fund (CEF).
On July 17, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed S.9839/A.10540, which provides 16 additional Family and Civil Court judges to New York City, among other judges statewide. This legislation aims to address delays and backlogs throughout the family and civil court process and expedite proceedings.
By Jeffrey M. Wice and Piper Benedict
New York State’s redistricting process following the 2020 Census failed to live up to the reforms envisioned by voters who endorsed the 2014 constitutional changes. Instead, the redistricting process proved unworkable, missed constitutional deadlines, and resulted in judicially-imposed districts. The time to fix the state’s redistricting process starts now, before the 2030 redistricting cycle gets underway.