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Asian American legal defense fund weighs in on LATFOR
Albany Times Union – The Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund has put out its comments on LATFOR’s proposed maps for the state Senate and Assembly. The group’s response is of special interest considering that Republican Sen. Mike Nozzolio has been deploying the argument that the phenomenon of three pairs of Senate Dems being placed in competitive districts was necessitated by the creation of a majority Asian-American 16th District in Queens.
In concert with several other minority advocacy groups, AALDEF released a “Unity Map” giving what it felt was proper weight to minority communities
“We’re glad that LATFOR recognized the importance of creating a majority Asian American Senate district,” said AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung. “But the contorted district lines of SD 16 split the neighborhood of Flushing. A compact district in Flushing-Bayside should be drawn to keep Asian American communities of interest together in these neighborhoods, as we demonstrated in the Unity Map.”
Here’s what AALDEF had to say about various Assembly districts:
Under LATFOR’s proposal, there are three proposed majority Asian American State Assembly districts:
AD 40 - LATFOR’s proposed district retains the existing Asian American majority district (AD 22) in Flushing, Queens (63.44% NH Asian VAP).
AD 49 - LATFOR’s proposed district creates for the first time an Asian American majority district in Sunset Park and Bensonhurst, Brooklyn (50.11% NH Asian VAP).
AD 25 - LATFOR’s proposed district creates a second Asian American majority district in southern Flushing and Bayside, Queens (52.52% NH Asian VAP).
“As a general matter, we are pleased that LATFOR has increased the number of Asian American majority Assembly districts from one to three,” said Jerry Vattamala, staff attorney with AALDEF’s Democracy Project. He added that a majority Asian American Assembly district has also been created for the first time in Sunset Park and Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
Under the Unity Map, AALDEF proposed four Asian American majority State Assembly districts, with the fourth in the neighborhood of Elmhurst.
“While AD 49 is similar to our Unity Map, the South Asian community of Richmond Hill-South Ozone Park continues to remain divided between multiple State Assembly districts,” said Vattamala. “The Unity Map would have kept the Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park neighborhoods substantially together within a single Assembly district.”
AALDEF will be releasing a detailed analysis of the effects of LATFOR’s proposed maps on Asian American political representation.
By Casey Seiler