STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis asked the nation’s highest court Thursday to block a Manhattan judge’s order to redraw her congressional district lines.
If implemented, New York Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman’s Jan. 21 decision could see the district Staten Island currently shares with part of South Brooklyn redrawn into lower Manhattan, a move that could give Democrats a leg up in November.
“The application to the U.S. Supreme Court was necessary to protect voters across Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn from the fundamentally flawed and clearly unconstitutional decision issued by [Gov.] Kathy Hochul’s hand-picked judge, and former top aide, in this case,” Malliotakis, a Republican, said.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear, racially-motivated redistricting violates the U.S. Constitution. The Washington Democrats who brought this sham lawsuit have tried to manipulate our electoral and judicial processes by jamming through an unconstitutional order right before petitions are collected to prevent this case from being fully appealed. Our application to the U.S. Supreme Court will ensure that voters’ constitutional rights are protected.”
In his decision, Pearlman, a former chief of staff for Hochul during her service as lieutenant governor, sided with the Washington, D.C.-based Elias Law Group’s argument that the current configuration of New York’s 11th congressional district illegally violates the rights of Black and Latino Staten Islanders.
Elias filed the lawsuit on behalf of two Staten Islanders and two Manhattanites arguing that a redrawing of the district into more liberal ground would give Black and Latino voters a necessary leg up to select the congressional candidates of their choice.
Pearlman’s order didn’t specify how the district should be redrawn, but in its case, Elias presented an illustrative map that moved the shared portion of district into lower Manhattan neighborhoods like Battery Park City, the Financial District and the West Village.
An illustrative map shows what Staten Island’s congressional map could look like (in purple) if a Democrat-backed court case in Manhattan prevails.(New York Supreme Court)
Staten Island doesn’t have a large enough population for a congressional district entirely of its own, and the shift into Lower Manhattan would give Democrats an advantage over Malliotakis heading into the November elections.
While voters in both district-mate options went for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the last presidential election, those in lower Manhattan did so more overwhelmingly, according to an analysis from The City news outlet.
That advantage could help Democrats take the only Republican-held congressional district in the five boroughs, which Malliotakis first won in 2020 when she defeated former Democratic Rep. Max Rose.
Plaintiffs brought the initial lawsuit against the state Board of Elections and New York’s Democratic leaders, including Hochul, who passed the current map in 2024 but have done little to defend their drawing.
Attorneys for Malliotakis intervened in the case, and have also filed appeals with the New York Appellate Division and Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.
Republicans with the state Board of Elections had set a Feb. 6 deadline as the latest for when new maps could be implemented for the state’s upcoming congressional elections, but that has come and gone.
Staten Island voters could be waiting months for a final decision on what the district will look like, similar to 2022 when primary elections weren’t held until August.