New Assembly Lines Largely Unchanged; UES Won’t Have to Add Queens to its district
Community uproar beat back plans by the Independent Redistricting Commission to lump parts of the UES district 73, represented by freshman Assemblyman Alex Bores, with a district containing parts of Astoria and the Ditmars-Steinway neighborhoods.
| 26 Apr 2023 | 01:30
State Assemblymember Alex Bores’ district remains intact, despite previous discussions about combining parts of it with Queens. Photo: Office of NYS 73rd Assembly District.
New state district lines have been approved by Governor Kathy Hochul as of Monday, April 24th and the Upper East Side in particular is breathing a sigh of relief.
The newly approved lines are largely unchanged from the previous ones.
Under a redistricting proposal that was floated at the start of this year by the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission, much of the East Side of Manhattan between East 42nd Street and East 60th Street, as well as Roosevelt Island, would have shifted to become part of a redistricted Assembly District 36 that currently comprises Astoria, Astoria Heights and Ditmars-Steinway neighborhoods in Queens.
However, residents spoke up at community board meetings at the time about their disapproval of such a plan. Many stated they feared it would dilute their democratic voice if a sliver of Manhattan was lumped in politically with Queens.
Ultimately, that plan was scrapped in favor of maintaining the original district lines.
“I’m glad the Independent Redistricting Commission listened to our neighbors and kept the East Side of Manhattan together,” says state assembly member Alex Bores, who represents the 73rd District including the Upper East Side and Midtown East.
“While there were some changes elsewhere, the 73rd District remains intact, and I look forward to representing the district.”