Story by Stephen Bronner.
After hours of testimony from Nassau County residents on how Republicans’ redistricting plan would divide communities and dilute some people’s voice, legislators on Monday postponed making a final decision on the proposed map that would impact Long Beach.
The legislative session convened at 1:30 p.m., but the public hearing for redistricting, which most attendees had come to discuss, didn’t begin until 4 p.m.
“The public has asked to be heard and we should have time to digest and assess the testimony,” Presiding Officer Norma Gonsalves, R-East Meadow said.Both Democrats and a non-partisan group have called the GOP-proposed map an obvious attempt to gerrymander the county and hand Republicans most districts for the next 10 years. They say the proposal would move about 350,000 residents out of the current districts. Republicans rebuff those claims, and say their map creates districts within the allowed population deviations.
The proposed map would dramatically alter the areas that Legis. Denise Ford, R-Long Beach, covers. Presently, Ford’s 4th District covers the entire barrier island, as well as parts of Island Park and Oceanside. The GOP plan would expend the district eastward to south Massapequa.
According to Frank Moroney, a top Republican majority aide and former chairman of the advisory board on redistricting, the map meets all “constitutional, Voting Rights Act and other legal standards of traditional districting.”
Many Bellmore and Merrick residents came out in support of their legislator, Dave Denenberg, since the GOP redistricting plan had his district being merged with Joseph Scannell’s in Baldwin. However, that part of the GOP redistricting plan has since been scrapped after objections were raised by Nassau County Legis. Denise Ford, R-Long Beach, Newsday reported late Tuesday.
Other residents railed on the proposed map for splitting Roslyn and Five Towns, while many came out to say that the map would dilute the voice of minorities.
Nancy Rosenthal, president of League of Women Voters of Nassau County, said during her testimony that she’s asked Republicans to be open and fair during the redistricting process. She added that if Democrats had proposed a map in their favor, she would also oppose it.
“You should not be picking your voters,” she said. “Let the people of Nassau County choose their representatives every Election Day for the next 10 years.”
Vote on GOP Redistricting Map Postponed
Legislators hear hours of testimony from Nassau County residents.
Comments + Leave a Comment
Loading comments ...
Boards
All Boards »
Me May 22, 2013 at 09:41 am
We all are and are all in the same boat. Not that it's any real comfort but you are not alone!…Read More Everyone needs to scream and holler (figuratively please) and contact all there elected representatives from Senate and house down to Governor, the state, the county and the city and put them to task and hold their feet to the fire to get it done already.
paul.d.spellman May 21, 2013 at 10:56 am
If you have an alarm system, you need to pay the city fee. They hired an outside company to manage…Read More the payments so now the fee is expected to be collected.
Leonard Bauman May 21, 2013 at 07:33 pm
I have heard 3 stories: the movie theatre owner had no flood insurance and will need to find $$ to…Read More rebuild, no $$ so far; the theatre will be razed and will become home to 4 stores, the movie theatre will be renovated into a world class theatre with surround sound and ticket prices of $2 for children and $4 for adults except after 4PM.
IRISH 4 May 21, 2013 at 10:41 am
I cant believe all the shore towns with boardwalks up and running & Lb hasnt even started .So…Read More much for we are different and are building a better one,Well the first one lasted many years so just upgrade and get finished.& months later and not even a board in & still making excuses AND 4XS THE COST ....WOW WHAT A BARGAIN .
Publius May 21, 2013 at 08:56 am
some observations: one, applicable regulations for safety provide you cannot have mixed swimming…Read More and surfing beaches, so if the idea is to have both, you need to allocate. two, different beaches, because of bottom conditions, have very different waves -- ergo, the selection of beaches for surfing. three, on any given summer day with decent waves, and barely decent on a weekend, the number of surfers is dangerous. truly. I will not let my younger children surf/learn on those days. I won't even surf those days. four, on any given summer day, the number of people in the water, let alone actually swimming, is incredibly small in comparison to our total available beach real estate. five, as a general rule under this schedule, no swimmer should have to walk more than a few seconds to 2 minutes to be on a swimming beach. it is an allocation issue and not everyone is going to like the allocation, but that's often a part of the give and take of living in a community where resources are shared. folks who live near the train station have commuters parking in front of the their houses, sometimes with cars left for 2-3 days. similar for folks who live near the beach and can't get parking for themselves or at least their guests on a weekend. there are unbelievable issues with allocation of sports fields for practice and games. west-enders put up with bar traffic and a lot of other things. in any event, my two cents.
Diana Prince May 21, 2013 at 07:20 pm
I don't think anyone is arguing that he didn't die of natural causes. He died of a seizure from…Read More stress due to the storm. In Joe Panz's words, "He couldn't handle it and he just gave up." The problem is that Rescue Ink had the information and opportunity to get the animals out of harm's way and chose not to. If the dog had died from a seizure in Joe's arms in the middle of his warm, cozy, safe house, I think there would be no issue. But he didn't. He died when the lights went off in the shelter and it was pitch black. The water was banging against the metal doors and slamming them back and forth so loud it sounded like thunder. What Buford and those other animals knew as a safe home quickly became flooded with water as it poured in. That's what those animals went through, and didn't have to. Every single one of those animals could have been divided up between homes of the volunteers and members of Rescue Ink.
andy napolitano May 21, 2013 at 04:46 pm
Yes maybe he did die from natural causes but he still should have been evacuated as Rescue Ink did…Read More claim that all the animals had been. No matter why he was there he was the responsibility of RI & they failed to protect him.
AEA President May 21, 2013 at 04:10 pm
Sandy was a natural disaster, and caused the stress that led to Buford's untimely passing.…Read More Therefore, you can make the argument that Buford did die from natural causes
john peri Jr May 19, 2013 at 09:02 am
Food is just one element of achieving health. There are probably thousands. For…Read More instance---exercise, clean water, sunshine, avoiding poisons, proper sleep, stress management, education, etc.
john peri Jr May 19, 2013 at 07:31 am
With my suggestion, the IRS could enforce compliance with bathroom inspection raids.
Patrick Smith May 18, 2013 at 08:59 am
After looking at strongerthanthestorm.com and well Jersey completed the work they did,we got to…Read More replace the clowns we have running all of Long Beach
Wobbly Jones May 19, 2013 at 02:01 pm
Biggert-Waters bill NEVER passed Senate:
watch Sen. Landrieu on YouTube.…Read More
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7LptibadAE
Leonard Bauman May 18, 2013 at 10:45 pm
For political reasons, nothing will be said or put in writing. Your request will meet deafness.…Read More Only people in Staten Island and in certain places in Rockaway will be bought out. Sorry, if you don't want to fix up your shack, Shokrian and other opportunistic developer sharks are circling you to buy your shack for 60 cents on the dollar. Sell! Sell! Sell to these sharks or fix it up, your choice!
Eddie May 17, 2013 at 10:19 am
Why can't Staples pay for an ad on Patch instead of posting this stuff here?
Eddie May 17, 2013 at 09:14 pm
Then think twice before you vote Democrat, Crystal. The blood will be on YOUR hands if you do.
Crystal G Piatnick May 17, 2013 at 12:18 pm
There is no question about it. Its not a matter of " right to choose" Its a matter of is…Read More abortion murder...I was so upset with the Orient and what they do to cats and dogs... Look what America does to our children...Cuomo will have their blood on his hands....I am not for abortion at all. But aborting the fetus in the third trimester has to be stopped.. Its murder.. These infants r about to be born..
Jonathan Kaplan May 17, 2013 at 10:19 am
I can get you a closet in the West End for only $2000 a month, let me know if you're interested
paul.d.spellman May 17, 2013 at 10:12 am
CMOS, The surfers from out of town come here all year long and add to the economy 12 months a year,…Read More what additional benefit do those people pushing shopping carts full of kid's toys add? Last summer the surfers were give only 1 in 3 beaches and that was base on increased demand, and this year more surfers are expected so it makes sense that more beach be set aside for them, or some kids are going to get hurt and then the city will need to pay for that.
Castles Made of Sand May 17, 2013 at 09:30 am
Paul, after you give us numbers on the "driving" economics of surfers, please tell us how…Read More many surfers come the beach in the summer. Do you know? Or are you just guessing? Your argument that surf shops continue to exist as a result of surfers shopping there is darn near brilliant. I heard a report that supermarkets in town are being solely supported by hungry people. I can't attest to that though. I do know that Empire Kayak is secretly kept in business by Whirling Dirvishes from Instanbul, and not kayakers. But I digress.
Crystal G Piatnick May 16, 2013 at 07:46 pm
I think u r right Joseph. Its really disappointing..:( What the hec r they doing...????? Well they…Read More have 100 days to complete the boardwalk in the middle section. contract started March 12..or the 15th...60 days already and they did nothing...They have 40 more days to complete it. I really hope the town holds them to the contract.. I really do.
Elliot Zuckerman May 17, 2013 at 05:48 am
Paul as a life long resident, the first surfing school in LB and home owners hit hard by Sandy I…Read More thought it was only right to reduce our fee for summer camp.We have had many families here in the same position and just could not afford camp this summer and asked if we can help with local families so we did just that , we will fill up fast so please sign up soon as we do limit our camps to avoid any over crowding.
We also have posted our dates for the ONLY 501c3 special needs surfing foundation in Long Beach, please check out surfersway .org for more info.Its free and open to all special needs kids.
Elliot
paul.d.spellman May 16, 2013 at 07:51 am
Now if we could only get the City to reduce the outrageous fees forced upon the surf schools one can…Read More only imagine how low these prices would go. Does anyone actually know where the fees the schools pay go to?