New Congressional Maps Affect Hudson Valley Representation

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — New York's Legislature released proposed Congressional maps over the weekend that would drastically change every local district.

After the state's Independent Redistricting Commission failed to reach a consensus on new maps, it fell to the state Legislature to draw the new lines. If approved, the new maps would be in effect for the 2022 elections.

Lawmakers could vote Wednesday on the maps, which would "severely tilt the playing field toward Democrats," according to political analysis website FiveThirtyEight.

Statewide, New York is losing one congressional district, going from 27 to 26. The ripple effect affects the Hudson Valley directly: In the new 19th District, incumbent Democratic Rep. Antonio Delgado could have to face GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney, redrawn out of her 22nd District seat.

The Sound Shore of southern Westchester would get lumped into the 3rd Congressional District, which now represents the north shore of Long Island, along with a bit of Queens and the Bronx. The incumbent in the 3rd is Democrat Tom Suozzi, who has been in office since 2017.

District 16, now southern Westchester and the west Bronx, would extend north from southwest Westchester far into central Putnam County. It is now held by Yonkers resident Jamaal Bowman.

The 17th CD is now held by Mondaire Jones of Nyack. Now encompassing central Westchester and Rockland County, the new district would veer sharply west to include all of Sullivan County.

District 18 is now represented by Sean Patrick Maloney, who lives in Cold Spring. Now a compact district encompassing most of Dutchess, Orange and Putnam counties, it would lose most of Putnam but gain a claw descending into Westchester.

The 19th CD would migrate north and west as far as Utica. Delgado lives in northwestern Dutchess County.

"The Legislature's proposed congressional maps preserve the Voting Rights Act districts, but the rest of the lines are so heavily gerrymandered they will be non-competitive. It's a major disservice to the voters, who were first denied any hope of a truly independent process ten years ago when the so-called Independent Commission was conceived, and deserve legislative public hearings now – at the very least – to have the final say," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY. "Common Cause/NY has long maintained that people, not politicians, should decide what the maps look like and we remain committed to advancing a citizen-led redistricting process based on the gold standard in California."