Rockland County Adopts New District Boundaries

CORRECTION: The new boundaries/maps will go into effect Jan. 1, 2024. Candidates running for County Legislature in 2023 will be seated in the new district seats on Jan. 1, 2024. Incorrect information was provided in a news release. The information in this article has been corrected.

NEW CITY, NY — Rockland County has adopted new district boundaries based on the results of the 2020 Census.

In a bipartisan 13-1 vote, the Rockland County Legislature adopted a local law that established new county legislative districts, with the new districts containing roughly the same number of people.

According to a county spokesperson, prior to adoption of the new boundaries, the Census showed the largest district contained 24,089 people, while the smallest had 17,324. Each of Rockland’s 17 county legislative districts will now contain about 19,918 people.

County Legislator Alden H. Wolfe said the plan not only reflects the changes in population and the racial diversity that exists across Rockland but takes into account a community’s ability to elect the representative of their choice.

“While no plan can ever be perfect, I hope people feel confident in the process that was undertaken and the resulting boundaries,” he said.

The redistricting process included the hiring of a consultant to help create the new boundaries, a different consultant to advise minority members of the legislature, five public community forums in each of Rockland’s towns, five additional redistricting committee meetings and other efforts.

Among the goals accomplished by the new plan were:

• Narrow Population Deviation: Considered the highest ranked standard when conducting redistricting. Rockland’s new plan ranges from -0.94 percent below the ideal target of 19,918 per district to just +1.24 percent above the target. New York State law allows a much larger deviation of up to 5 percent.
• Hispanic Minority District: Retains the existing Hispanic Minority District based in Haverstraw with 61 percent Hispanic Voting Age Population in District 3.
• Minority Population In Spring Valley: Rebalances the minority population in Spring Valley to create two solidly minority districts. These districts provide opportunities for each of the county’s largest minority groups to effectively elect a candidate of their choosing.
• District 8 with 42 percent non-Hispanic Black Voting Age Population and 32 percent Hispanic Voting Age Population.
• District 14 with a Hispanic population plurality — 36 percent Hispanic Voting Age Population and 25 percent non-Hispanic Voting Age Population.
• Communities Of Interest: Numerous communities of interest were identified by the public in comments to the Redistricting Committee, including the request that the people within the Suffern School District are a community of interest that needs a legislative district fully within the school district. This was done with the realignment of the District 12 boundary.
• Fewer Districts Cross Town Boundaries: In the existing boundary map, nine legislative district cross town boundaries. In the new adopted plan, it has been reduced to 5 (Districts 2, 9, 10, 14, 17), with just one consisting of three towns (District 1)
• Improves Overall Compactness: Plan B improves overall compactness vs. the current boundaries, with scores ranging from 2.9 percent to 7.5 percent.

The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2024. Candidates running for County Legislature in November 2023 will be seated in the new district seats on Jan. 1, 2024.

View the Plan B overview and individual district maps, as well as other redistricting information, at this website.