New York – Many local politicians were unhappy with the proposed legislative lines released by Albany’s redistricting task force, but Assemblyman Dov Hikind said the plans for the “Super Jewish” Senate District 17 are “absolutely wonderful.”
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“If all this ends up being the case and this district stands I think it will be absolutely wonderful,” Mr. Hikind told The Politicker.
Along with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Mr. Hikind is one of New York’s most prominent Orthodox political leaders. The proposed Senate District 17 has been described as “Super Jewish” because it consolidates much of the Orthodox community in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn.
“I’ve always felt and have said it publicly, that communities should be left intact,” Mr. Hikind said. “Communities that share philosophical goals and ideals should stay together. I think it’s absolutely great and I can tell you that people in these communities would be very, very happy to have this happen.”
Mr. Hikind’s enthusiasm for the District 17 proposal was shared by Orthodox advocacy group Agudath Israel.
“The district reflects the orthodox community’s interests. The lines reflect where the orthodox community lives and we believe that this is a very positive move in order to make sure that our voices are heard and that our issues are dealt with effectively,” Shmuel Lefkowitz, Agudath’s top lobbyist in Albany, told The Politicker.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly vowed to veto any district lines drawn by the Legislature rather than through an independent process. Shortly after the new lines were released, the governor’s office described the redistricting proposals as “simply unacceptable” and said they “would be vetoed by the governor.”
In spite of the Governor’s opposition, Mr. Hikind is confident the proposed boundaries for Assembly districts will stand, though the Senate lines may face challenges.
“I think the Assembly lines will end up pretty much staying the way they are now,” Mr. Hikind said. “There might be a challenge to the whole thing, but I think the speaker and those who worked on it did a very good job being responsive to the needs of minorities, for example the two Asian districts.”
This new district reflects and extreme case of gerrymandering and hopefully will be rejected by the Governor. By Hikind’s logic, they should ignore geographic boundaries and link together yidden in BP and Monsey into a single “frum” district for voting purposes. He has become the ultimate political hack.
About time we will have a voice in the State Senate
5 State Seators are representing Boro Park now and none of them care about us except when they need a few votes.
All those complaining that a lone Senator wont be able to do anything have a big mistake. The Jewish community will have a strong power cause there are other State Sentors that represent the Jewish Communities upstate, Queens, 5 Towns, Williamsburg, so now we will have a stroger voice.
Since the State Legislature draws its own boundaries, and since the US Supreme Court unanimously decided that Uncle Sam (The Feds) have no say in it; Cuomo’s veto will have no effect. The legislature will easily override the veto as they will object (and rightly so) to the Governor’s intervention in their business.
This district will likely stand even if some changes are made to the map because it’s so compact and a clear community of interest.
Hikind’s district also became more compact because of huge population growth here.
#3: My understanding is that each house of the state legislature is divided along party lines regarding the redistricting. Since neither house has a veto-proof majority of the dominant party, a veto won’t be overridden. They’ll have to come up with a compromise in order to get Cuomo’s signature. I hope the compromise eschews gerrymandering, but I suspect that’s wishful thinking.
This is how the Warsaw Ghetto started, Rm”L.