Islip Redistricting Plan Raises Concerns Over Gerrymandering

ISLIP, NY—The settlement of a federal lawsuit brought against Islip Town by minority leaders raises new concerns about gerrymandering, local activist groups say. The lawsuit, settled in October, asked for the creation of council districts for local elections, allowing minority-heavy hamlets to have Latino representation impossible under the previous at-large system. But a coalition of progressive groups met last week for a Town of Islip Re-Districting Online Forum & Press Conference, discussing what they say is the "cracking" of Central Islip, dividing, they say, the area's Black vote. Under the new map, Central Islip is divided between three of the four new council districts.

Cracking is a gerrymandering term that references dividing up known voting blocs for political advantage. James Bertsch is a Sayville resident involved in the opposition coalition, made up of the Sayville Citizens for Political Activation, the Bay Shore Babylon Women’s Huddle and the Islip NAACP chapter.

"The town settled a federal lawsuit to carve out a district in Brentwood where a Spanish-speaker has a chance to win an election. Sadly, the Town of Islip cracked Central Islip, putting residents in three different districts to dilute their vote. Sadly, at a time when we should be celebrating the creation of a more responsive town government, we are pitting Hispanic and Latinos against African-Americans."

Sayville and West Sayville were also divided into separate districts, a move Bertsch says dilutes a shared community interest, preventing residents from both districts who are equally impacted by traffic safety issues, for instance, from combining their votes.

The new system means going forward, Islip council members will be elected from four specific districts, including District 1, made up of Brentwood, North Bay Shore and parts of Central Islip.

The four Republican incumbent board members all come from mostly-white communities along the South Shore: East Islip, Bayport, Brightwaters and Great River.

The Islip NAACP chapter drafted their own proposed district map, one they say allows for better minority representation.

The groups are asking for the town to revise their map, but the town says they cannot change it without the plaintiffs in the 2018 lawsuit's approval.

Bertsch told Patch that "the town is saying they can’t unilaterally change it. We maintain since they initiated it, they could get agreement from the plaintiffs if they just proposed a revision."