The Nassau County Legislature approved the Republican majority’s redistricting proposal on a narrow party-line vote Tuesday just hours before the legal deadline for choosing a map ahead of November’s elections, in a move that will likely spark a legal challenge from Democrats and opponents of the plan.
The 10-9 vote followed a seven-hour public hearing that featured harsh criticism of the plan from Nassau residents and Democrats, who accused Republicans of dividing communities like Roslyn and the Village of Hempstead for partisan advantage and deliberately placing Democratic incumbents Wayne Wink (Roslyn) and Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (Glen Cove) in the same district.
Republicans rejected the charges, saying the map was designed to adhere to legal standards, the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.
“We have tried to the best of our ability to make the best map for the residents of Nassau County,” said Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow).
The map was approved with an amendment that kept Merrick Legislator Dave Denenberg within his district, reversing a change in the previous GOP proposal that would have shifted Denenberg into the same district as fellow Democrat Joseph Scannell (D-Baldwin.)
But that concession did not win over Democrats and angry residents, who slammed the proposal at Tuesday’s hearing.
Wink decried the splitting of Roslyn into four districts, saying the changes would neuter the community’s political influence.
He also said Republicans were “afraid” of growing Democratic voter rolls, and were motivated by that fear to place him and DeRiggi-Whitton in the same district.
“The biggest fear you’re smelling right now is the fear of the tide of the trend of demographics changing,” Wink said. “We are hear to make sure that fear persists.
Wink has said that he is considering a run for county comptroller against George Maragos in November.
“Mr. Wink, stay out of the campaign mode,” Gonsalves responded.
In addition to a potential court challenge, the map must also be approved by Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, a Republican.
Under the approved plan, Wink’s (D-Roslyn) 11th district would be dramatically altered, gaining Glen Cove, and losing parts of Herricks, Albertson, East Hills and parts of Roslyn Heights.
Nassau County Legislator Richard Nicolello’s (R-New Hyde Park) 9th district would extend north through Roslyn Estates, part of Manhasset, Plandome Manor and parts of Herricks, and he would lose Carle Place and parts of Westbury.
A redrawn 16th district, currently represented by Judith Jacobs (D-Woodbury) would also stretch east from Plainview to parts of Roslyn Heights now represented by Wink.
A newly drawn 18th District, which runs from Oyster Bay to a section of Roslyn and includes Bayville and Old Brookville, will have no incumbent.
The areas in Manhasset that would be shifted into Nicolello’s district were previously within Legislator Judi Bosworth’s (D-Great Neck) 10th District.
Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence), whose Five Towns constituency will be divided under the plan, said that though he was not pleased with the splitting of his district he would vote for the plan in the interests of the county as a whole.
Numerous residents and Democratic legislators asked for specific reasons why Roslyn, the Five Towns and the Village of Hempstead were divided, and Republicans responded by saying the map met legal standards and reflected policy decisions by the majority.
When asked about the decision making process of the majority during a recess of the hearing, Kopel confirmed that he had been briefed on the reasons for the division but would not discuss those reasons, citing the need for confidentiality in some aspects of the policy making process.
“We had a very detailed conversation about that and I’m not going to discuss those details. I think it would be a bad idea,” Kopel said.
“They’re not necessarily entitled to the details,” Kopel said of residents questioning the majority’s plan.
Tony Cacioppo,New Hyde Park resident who formerly lived in Great Neck, said the GOP had manipulated the process for political gain.
“Your decisions should protect the public trust,” Cacioppo said. “In the case of redistricting, that trust has been violated.”
“The reality is it is impossible to draw a map that keeps whole every community,” said Legislator Vincent Moscarella (R-West Hempstead).
In addition to Roslyn, several previously unified communities – including the Five Towns, the village of Hempstead and Hicksville – are to be divided into multiple district under the new plan,.
The map will also merge the districts of Republicans Joseph Belisi (R-Farmingdale) and Michael Venditto (R-Massapequa).
The plan, introduced by the Legislature’s Republican majority after the county’s bipartisan Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission failed to recommend a map in January, is the result of required redistricting following demographic changes recorded in the 2010 census. After a 12 hour hearing Feb. 25 hearing, the majority delayed an anticipated vote and amended the plan to move Denenberg back into his current district.
The Republican commissioners had originally planned to split Great Neck into two districts. But the GOP legislative majority reversed that plan in their map.
