Dear fellow New Yorker:

I am pleased to inform you that on May 20 the United States Department of Justice pre-cleared the NYC Districting Commission's plan to divide New York City into fifty-one City Council districts.  As you may know, on March 22, the NYC Districting Commission forwarded its final plan to the Department of Justice for preclearance pursuant to Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which covers the boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn.  In reviewing the Commission's plan, the Department of Justice also considered a number of comments provided by members of the public regarding the plan. This means that the final districting plan can now be legally implemented throughout the City of New York.

The new Council district lines will go into effect for the upcoming Council elections later this year.  To see the final districting plan, including maps that you can use to determine the Council district in which you reside, you can continue to access the Districting Commission's website at http://www.nyc.gov/districting.  

On behalf of the Commission, I thank you once again for your participation in the New York City Council districting process—a process that included three rounds of public hearings with over 1,750 people in attendance and nearly 500 people providing testimony.  In addition, the Commission received some 1,500 comments from individuals who submitted statements via e-mail or hard copy and over 20 alternative maps that were submitted on-line and/or created by members of the public at the Commission's offices with the assistance of Commission staff.  The Commission's Community Outreach team also spoke at over 50 community and advocacy groups throughout the five boroughs to educate the public about the districting process.

Without the participation of members of the public like you, accomplishing this monumental task would not have been possible.

Sincerely,

Carl Hum
Executive Director