Village Preservation has published an op-ed in the Village Sun outlining how the last City Council redistricting process left much of our neighborhoods with 20–30% less voting power and representation in the City Council than other neighborhoods, and how the current decennial redistricting process could finally fix that — IF we demand it does.

As per the op-ed, the last redistricting under then–Council Speaker Quinn “packed” our districts with more voters than any other part of the city, diluting their voting power and reducing their representation in the City Council. Predictable high population growth in our districts then exacerbated the discrepancy, warping a starting structural deficit of 10% less voting power in our districts into the 20–30% we have today.

The NYC Council Redistricting Commission released draft maps for new districts this summer that largely correct this inequality, making the proposed deviation in population between our districts and most others across the city no more than 1%. But there are multiple moves afoot to change those draft maps to address other significant issues like neighborhood cohesion and representation of ethnic and racial minorities. If those requested changes are implemented carelessly, they could result in widening the proposed voting power inequality in the final maps, leaving residents of our neighborhoods again with less voting power and representation.

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