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  • PRESS RELEASE
    17, August 2022
    Unity Map Better Alternative to Ensure Communities of Interest Remain Together

Unity Map Better Alternative to Ensure Communities of Interest Remain Together

        


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

August 16, 2022  

Contacts:

Sarai Bejarano [email protected] | 212-739-7581
Imani Dawson⏐Communications & Media⏐CLSJ⏐646.389.9520⏐
[email protected]
Stuart Sia ⏐Communications Director⏐ AALDEF⏐ 212.966.5932 ext. 203⏐[email protected]

 

Unity Map Better Alternative to Ensure Communities of Interest Remain Together
AALDEF, CLSJ, and LatinoJustice Call on the NYC Districting Commission to Adopt "Unity Map"

New York, NY - The Unity Map Coalition, a group of the leading legal voting rights advocacy organizations representing people of color in New York City, partners and community members gathered in Astoria, Queens in support of the Unity City Council Map redistricting plan.

The Unity Map Coalition, which includes the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), The Center For Law And Social Justice At Medgar Evers College (CLSJ) and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, rallied outside the Museum of the Moving Image to urge the New York City Districting Commission to adopt the Unity Map, a redistricting plan for New York City Council Districts.

“Amidst the myriad demographic and economic changes in New York City, preserving communities of interest is the one of the best ways to safeguard the electoral power and voting rights of Black, Latino, and Asian Communities, says Lurie Daniel Favors, Executive Director, the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College. “This is why in the City Charter’s priority list for its redistricting criteria, fair and effective representation of racial and language minority groups covered by the Voting Rights Act and keeping neighborhoods and communities of interest intact rank so highly. The Unity Map addresses this critical need without cracking districts and splitting communities of interest and by creating an additional district. Adopting the Unity Map will help secure the future of New York City and fortify its communities of color.”

According to the Unity Map Coalition, the Unity Map does the following:

  • Creates an additional Black majority district in CD 28.
  • Doesn’t crack Sunset Park and doesn’t remove Red Hook from CD 38.
  • Keeps Richmond Hilland South Ozone Park, as whole as possible.
  • Maintains CD 26 as a performing coalition district by not splitting communities of interest.

After the gathering, coalition and community members testified at one of the five public hearings the New York City’s districting Commission will be conducting to obtain the communities input on the future of the City Council lines. Members of the coalition argue that the city’s map will not adequately represent many New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable.

“In contrast to the maps proposed by the districting commission, the Unity Map demonstrates that fair and equitable districts for all New Yorkers are possible,” said Cesar Ruiz, an attorney at LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “Notably, our maps are a product of deep community engagement and reflect the lived realities of the communities we serve. The Unity Maps prove that our communities can be drawn into districts that adhere to legal principles and protect communities of interest. Simply put our community can accept no less, thus we urge the commissioners to adopt the Unity map in full.”

Back on July 18th, 2022 the Unity Map Coalition unveiled its proposed Unity City Council Map in response to the maps proposed by the New York City's Redistricting Commission.

The Unity Map Coalition raised concerns with the maps presented on July 15, 2022, by the NYC Redistricting Commission’s plans which include:

-   The division of Sunset Park and Brooklyn.
-   Merging of QueensBridge Houses and Ravenswood in District 22 with Astoria.
-   Kingsbridge Heights moved into District 11, removing Kingsbridge Armory from District 14
    and dividing the district along Kingsbridge Road.
-   District 7 drastic drop in Latino population.
-   The protection of Staten Island, keeping districts hovering over 165,000 residents
    while every other district in the other boroughs must be kept at an average of 173,000
     residents.

The Unity Coalition urges the districting commission to keep communities of interest together, and to ensure that racial minorities have a full and fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choice, as also required by the Voting Rights Act.

“The Commission’s first draft plan potentially violates the federal Voting Rights Act and the city charter by dismantling performing coalition districts in CDs 38 and 26, and replacing them with plurality white districts – despite white population loss,” said Jerry Vattamala, Director of the Democracy Program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. “The Unity Map properly complies with the federal Voting Rights Act and the city charter and keeps protected communities of interest whole to the extent possible, in particular in Bensonhurst, Woodside, and Richmond Hill/South Ozone Park.  The Unity Map provides the Asian American community of interest in Richmond Hill/SOP an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice, unlike the Commission’s draft plan that improperly prioritizes the neighboring white population.  The VRA and the charter must be followed, and the Unity Plan is the only plan that does so.”

AALDEF, CLSJ and LatinoJustice encourage community members in the five boroughs to participate in one of the five public hearings taking place from Aug.15th-22 to make their voice heard during this critical mapping phase. Once the hearings are over the maps must be approved by the City Council in September.

The Unity Map Coalition was formed three decades ago with a  mission to advocate for a redistricting plan for New York City that recognizes and reflects the electoral strength of New York’s communities of color and ensures that the voting rights of Black, Latino, and Asian residents are protected.

Additional Materials:
- NY City Council Unity Map
- SOT’s
- Rally BROLL
- Rally Pictures

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About the UNITY MAP COALITION:
The UNITY MAP COALITION is comprised of the leading legal voting rights advocacy organizations representing people of color in New York City: LatinoJustice/PRLDEF; the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, CUNY; and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. During the last Redistricting cycle in 2010-11, the Coalition successfully advocated for the adoption of its historic Unity Map for the 2010 Redistricting Congressional districts in NYC, the State Senate and Assembly, and the New York City Council. This Coalition rewrote redistricting history in NYS and serves as a model for the nation of collective advocacy and power sharing by diverse racial and cultural communities within a jurisdiction.

About AALDEF
The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), a New York-based national organization founded in 1974, protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans. By combining litigation, advocacy, education, and organizing, AALDEF works with Asian American communities across the country to secure human rights for all. AALDEF focuses on critical issues affecting Asian Americans including immigrant rights, voting rights and democracy, economic justice for workers, educational equity, housing and environmental justice, and the elimination of anti-Asian violence.

About LatinoJustice
LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For nearly 50 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout the country. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit www.LatinoJustice.org 

About The Center For Law And Social Justice At Medgar Evers College
CLSJ’s mission is to address racial justice issues by providing quality legal advocacy, conducting community education campaigns, facilitating research and building organizing capacity on behalf of New Yorkers of African descent and the disenfranchised. To learn more about CLSJ visit www.CLSJ.org.