AOC's District Set To Expand Further Into Astoria, LIC

ASTORIA/LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS —New York lawmakers will vote this week on their recent redesign of the state's congressional maps following the 2020 Census, which could boost the party's standing in Washington and bring changes to northwest Queens.

The maps, which were released on Sunday, were drawn by Democrats in Albany after New York's independent redistricting commission — a body created for the purpose of nonpartisan redistricting — failed to approve a bipartisan map in January. The Democrat-controlled state legislature is expected to easily pass the plans in a vote on Wednesday.

Under the new maps, a slightly larger swath of Astoria and Long Island City will become part of the 14th Congressional District, now represented by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is running for a third term this year.

The rest of the neighborhood, south of 31st Avenue and west of 31st Street, will remain within Carolyn Maloney's 12th Congressional District; the Congresswoman is seeking reelection for a 16th term this year.

Ocasio-Cortez and Maloney will both retain their bases of Democratic support with the new maps, but each incumbent's district is shifting slightly.

District 12 is set to expand further into Manhattan, likely pleasing Maloney, who will be losing progressive swaths of northwest Queens (in exchange for whiter, older sections of Manhattan), just as she faces a progressive primary challenge.

Ocasio-Cortez, by contrast, will pick up the progressive voters that Maloney lost in Astoria, as well as a swath of conservative voters in Whitestone, who recently elected Republican Council Member Vickie Paladino into office.

Northwest Queens' State Senator Michael Gianaris, who chairs the legislative redistricting task force, told WNYC on Tuesday that his party's maps (which are widely regarded as partisan) weren't created to unfairly benefit Democrats.

"As we unravel the gerrymanders of the past it doesn't make it a gerrymander of today," he said of the maps, taking aim at New York Republicans' past redistricting efforts (Republicans long-controlled the state's Senate and Assembly, commanding more power over redistricting).

"These are districts that are drawn fairly. If they had been drawn fairly at the outset this is perhaps what they would have looked like," he added, noting that New York is a "deep blue state" and that maps that lead to more Democrats getting elected reflect the "reality on the ground."

Republicans, however, have hotly contended claims that the maps are fair; Nick Langworthy, the chairman of the New York Republican Party, called them "textbook filthy, partisan gerrymandering," noting that his party might challenge the lines as unconstitutional in court.

Analyst Dave Wasserman expects that Republicans will lose half of their eight congressional districts once the new maps take effect, giving Democrats an advantage in 22 of the state's now 26 House districts during midterm elections this fall.

Use the slider on the map below, courtesy of CUNY's Center for Urban Research, to switch between the district's current and proposed lines: