Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Jeff Wice

Jeff Wice

  • There's a Lot of Finger-Pointing Around New York Redistricting; What Actually Happened?

    Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders, 2013 (photo: Governor's Office)


    Democrats in New York are stinging from a rough 2022 election showing in which they lost several congressional seats to Republicans, potentially costing the party control of the U.S. House of Representatives. As they assign blame, many have pointed to a tumultuous redistricting precipitated by a broken state process, state legislative leaders who overreached in trying to draw overly partisan lines, a Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of Republicans, and former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose

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  • New York City Council Redistricting Process Set to Kick Off

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    City Council chambers (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)


    The New York City Council is set to kick off the process of redrawing the boundaries of the city’s 51 Council districts on Monday with Council members appointing eight members to an redistricting commission. The new districts, reflective of data from the 2020 Census and other factors, will be at play for the 2023 elections when all 51 seats of the City Council will again be on the ballot, as well as the subsequent 2025 and 2029 elections.

    Under the city Charter, the new

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  • WATCH: Get Ready to Vote on the 5 Ballot Questions

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    Voters at the voting booth (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    There are five yes or no questions on the 2021 general election ballot across New York, asking voters to approve or disapprove changes to the state constitution. All the items on the ballot have been passed by two successive classes of the State Legislature and now go to the voters. They includes measures related to legislative redistricting, voting, clean air and water, and more.

    Four experts joined host Ben Max for a Manhattan Neighborhood Network

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  • New York’s 2020 Census Victory - How It Happened & What’s Next

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    NYC Census efforts (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Despite concerns that the 2020 Census count in New York City would reflect a major minority undercount and leave out people who left because of the pandemic, we came out on top.

    The results of the Census were outstanding for the region. After decades of alleged Census undercounts, the New York City saw its population grow by 7.7% since 2010.

    And it’s even more remarkable given unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic and the Trump administration.

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  • New York Redistricting Process Heads Into Map-Drawing Phase

    statedwide public meeting

    (l-r) Top: Ivelisse Cuevas-Molina, Ross Brady & Jack Martins; Middle: John Flateau & David Imamura; Bottom: John Conway


    New York's legislative redistricting commission is moving into its next phase following a series of public hearings intended to get a sense of the contours of "communities of interest," a new criteria being incorporated into the line-drawing process for the first time this cycle, in addition to constitutional and statutory requirements.

    The commission, itself a nascent entity, held nine

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  • Coronavirus Shows Just How Much the Census Counts

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    Federal aid to New York City is even more urgent than ever (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    While many of our daily activities remain on hold, the 2020 Census must still be taken and completed this year. Not only is it required by the U.S. Constitution, but there is a tremendous amount at stake for New York, including billions of dollars in federal aid, a fair allocation of seats in Congress, and accurate representation in state and local government. From road repairs to education and social services, over 300 federal programs are driven by census data.

    Through my

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  • New York’s New, Untested Redistricting Process Set to Unfold After 2020 Census

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    NY State Senate Districts (image via Google Maps)


    Following the 2020 Census, New York will kick off the decennial redrawing of its state legislative and congressional districts to ensure equitable representation based on population. But the next redistricting process is untested so far, having been approved after the 2010 Census when New York saw a severe undercount, contributing to the loss of one congressional seat, followed by a redistricting that many observers and elected officials criticized for creating overly complicated state legislative districts on partisan

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