Members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators have begun their decennial process to redraw their district boundaries, with a proposed map unveiled at a Thursday meeting of the Committee on Legislation.
The proposed changes will likely split Sleepy Hollow's wealthy and lower-income areas between two county legislative districts.
The map, presented by Dr. Andrew Beveridge, a sociology professor at Queens College, mostly calls for incremental changes to the district boundaries, something that he called "a nip and tuck approach." The changes are being done to account for changes in population data from the 2010 Census.
The criteria that Beveridge cited in drawing districts include geographical contiguity and having a similar population size.
Despite maintaining similarities with the current districts, there are some changes in municipalities. Sleepy Hollow would see one of the biggest changes, with part of it moving into District 3 and the remainder staying in District 8.
The Manors, including the northern portions of the inner village from Beekman Avenue, would join District 3 – currently represented by (D) John Nonna of Pleasantville. The rest of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown would remain in District 8, represented by (D) Alfreda Williams of Greenburgh.
Peekskill, which has historically been in one district, would be split into two under the proposal. The district would be divided between districts 1 and 9, instead of only being under 1. Legislator John Testa (R-Peekskill), expressed concern with the partitioning of his city due to it having been under one district. Testa, a former Peekskill mayor, also felt that it could be confusing for residents.
Legislators are requesting a full list of which municipalities would be split to discuss at their next meeting.
In another matter of concern, legislators want to know what consent, if any, would be needed from towns and cities (villages are not involved in this process) for an accompanying change to election district boundaries.
Legislator John Nonna (D-Pleasantville) who chairs the committee, hopes to have something voted out for a public hearing at the committee's upcoming Monday meeting. It is hoped that a public hearing could be set for May 2. The goal, Nonna said, is to have the districts done by May, which is necessary for legislative candidates' ballot petition deadlines in June. Nonna, who represents District 3, is among those who would be notably affected if the proposed districts are adopted, as he would take on part of Sleepy Hollow.
A map of the proposed boundaries is attached to this story. To see what the current districts look like, click here for the board's website.
