Nassau To Hold Public Hearing On Legislative Redistricting Tuesday

MINEOLA, NY — The Nassau County Legislature will hold a public hearing Tuesday to discuss the proposed new redistricting maps.

Residents can attend in person or watch via livestream. The Legislature said it is "particularly interested in hearing from members of the public as to their thoughts and concerns on proposed legislative district lines and how they may affect neighborhoods and communities."

The hearing will take place at 11 a.m.in the Legislative Chambers of the Nassau County office building, located at 1550 Franklin Ave. in Mineola. A livestream will be available here.

The proposed maps from the Republican and Democrat commissioners can be viewed on the Nassau County Legislature website. The redistricting process, which happens every ten years after the federal census, was managed by a bipartisan Temporary Districting Advisory Commission. The commission held 12 public meetings in the county beginning in August to get public input, but ultimately deadlocked along party lines in a November vote.

The Nassau County Legislature took over the process after the deadlock and Tuesday's meeting will be the first public hearing held by the legislature on the issue. It is not required to accept the proposed maps, the legislature said. Redistricting cannot be done to deliberately favor or disfavor incumbents, candidates or political parties, according to New York State law.

The proposed Republican map keeps the current 19 district cores "about 91 percent" intact, according to the Republican Commission's report. The Democrats' proposed map draws new districts, saying that the previous map, drawn in 2013, does not meet new federal and state regulations that were adopted after 2013.

Residents who want to submit public comment can email NCRedistricting@nassaucountyny.gov before the meeting.