Divided-Up Upper East Side Council Districts Face Mounting Criticism

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Residents are coming out in force against the new proposal to redraw the Upper East Side's City Council districts, saying the new maps would awkwardly slice up neighborhood institutions and even imperil public works projects.

The new map, released earlier this month by the city's districting commission, included some startling changes to the Upper East Side's legislative districts. Most notably, more than 50 blocks between East 54th and 79th streets would be absorbed by a district based mostly in Queens, splitting the Upper East Side into three districts for the first time in recent memory.

Roosevelt Island, long grouped with the Upper East Side for political purposes, would also be absorbed by the Queens-based 26th District. All told, nearly 50,000 residents of the Upper East Side's existing 5th District would become part of the 26th, while 39,000 residents of the neighboring 4th District would be moved into the 5th, according to calculations by City Councilmember Julie Menin's office.

In multiple Community Board 8 meetings last week, residents rattled off a list of neighborhood institutions that would be divided awkwardly between multiple districts.

For example, the sky bridge over Lexington Avenue at East 68th Street that connects two buildings on the Hunter College campus would suddenly straddle two different districts, thanks to a proposal to expand the Yorkville-based District 5 a few blocks to the west.

"You would walk across the sky bridge and you would be in a different Council district," CB8 district manager Will Brightbill said during the July 20 meeting. "I think that having sky bridges to different council districts is probably strange."

Schools like P.S. 158 and P.S. 183, which are grouped with the rest of the Upper East Side in the city's school district system, would be separated from their neighbors and shifted over to the Queens-based district, board members noted.

Residents also raised fears that key infrastructure projects could fall by the wayside if they are redistricted. A final phase in the reconstruction of Andrew Haswell Green Park on the East River Esplanade has yet to begin, board member Judy Schneider pointed out — and the park would fall under the Queens-based district under the proposed plan.

"It will probably take $25 million or so to build this phase of the park," Schneider said. "Will a Council member in District 26 spend that kind of money for 26 percent of their voters on Roosevelt Island and District 5, or will most of the member's funds be spent in Queens?"

State Sen. Liz Krueger is the latest leader to come out against the changes, saying in a statement Tuesday that she was "very concerned with the transfer of Roosevelt Island and significant portions of the East Side to a primarily Queens-centered district."

"These neighborhoods are part of a single community of interest with the Upper East Side, and are deeply tied to the area through history, long standing personal and institutional relationships, and simple geography," said Krueger, who, as a state lawmaker, is not affected by the new City Council districts.

Community Board 8 is now advancing an alternate proposal, drawn up using mapping software, that would keep the existing borders largely unchanged. The board unanimously approved a resolution last week that condemns the commission's proposal and promotes the less-changed version.

Other East Side landmarks that would be absorbed into the majority-Queens 26th District include the Hospital for Special Surgery and Weill Cornell Medical Center, the Queensboro Bridge, John Jay Park, Rockefeller University, and the 59th Street Trader Joe's market.

To get feedback on the draft map, the districting commission will hold five more hearings at 4 p.m. on Aug. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 22. Members of the public can comment via Zoom, by email at publictestimony@redistricting.nyc.gov, or by mail at 235 Broadway, NY, NY 10007.

Menin, the incumbent Council member whose District 5 would give up Roosevelt Island and shift westward under the proposal, has told Patch that she had concerns about the new lines. Fellow member Keith Powers, whose District 4 would be narrowed to just a three-block-wide slice east of Central Park, did not take any stance on the proposal.

The new Council maps would take effect in February, before next year's city elections — though the commission will hold hearings on the new draft maps, which could result in changes before they are ultimately approved later this year.

The Council redistricting happens every 10 years to reflect population changes in the recent census. It isn't to be confused with the other redistricting process covering state legislative and congressional districts, which wrapped up this summer after a chaotic few months of legal battles and a court-ordered redrawing.

In drawing the new maps, members of the 15-person commission were required to give each district a roughly equivalent population, try to avoid splitting existing neighborhoods and communities, and not dilute the voting power of racial and linguistic minorities.

Related coverage: Upper East Side Sliced Up In Newly Redrawn Council District Maps