Inwood Shifted Out of Fourth Congressional District

Inwood will now be part of a new Fifth Congressional District under a new map that has been approved by a three-judge federal court panel.

The judges adopted a map drawn by lower court judge Roanne Mann a week ago after state lawmakers did not come up with a redistricting plan that reflects the results of the 2010 census.

"Like the census that triggers it, this argument is now raised in federal courts at predictable 10-year intervals," the judges wrote in their decision Monday, addressing the lawsuit by voters who argued that the state was doing harm to their right to participate in upcoming elections.

The panel noted that in past years New York has implemented a plan at the last minute to avoid having judges draw the map. But they didn't this year.

Inwood now falls under the district currently represented by Gregory Meeks.

The rest of the Five Towns is unaffected by the new map and will continue to be represented by Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola).

"It's an honor and a privilege to represent my neighbors in congress, especially as the first and only woman on Long Island to ever do so,” she said. “It saddens me to lose some wonderful communities I've had the privilege of representing for years now. But I'm also grateful that I'll have the opportunity to continue to represent almost all the same people I do now, with some wonderful new communities added to the Fourth Congressional District as well."

Patty Vacchio, secretary of the Inwood Civic Association, said she was confused by the shift.

“Inwood is located in Nassau County, is one of the Five Towns and therefore should not be separated,” she said. “I realize we border Queens, but does that outweigh the fact that the town is in Nassau County?”

Long Beach, as well as surrounding areas, is now part of the Fourth District.

The new map eliminates two existing congressional districts in the state, going from 29 to 27 districts. 

One of the lost seats will be on Long Island, which will now have four representatives instead of five.