Minority Communities Ask To Not Be Split During City Council Redistricting
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Following state and congressional redistricting, Asian-Americans and other minority communities in Queens shared with the city's Districting Commission at the Flushing Library on Tuesday about changes in City Council districts.
Residents urged the commission to keep minority communities together when redrawing district lines, saying it is the only way they will be accurately represented in local and state government.
"Our community has been gerrymandered and divided across different City Council lines. We want to make sure that new City Council districts fully represent our community," said Glenn Magpantay of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
"The way the districts are drawn right now, they will never be able to get a representative, whether City Council, whether State Assembly, whether State Senate," said Chuck Mohan of Guyanese American Workers United.
"We are hoping for fairness. Just a fair redistricting," said Vishnu Mahadeo of the Richmond Hill Economic Development Council.
Map drafts are due next month, with the council set to vote in November.
The final maps will be announced in March 2013.