A recently-filed lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court, Manhattan, will attempt to redraw New York’s 11th Congressional District – the one representing Staten Island and sections of southern Brooklyn – to better favor Democrats in federal elections.
Make no mistake. All Staten Islanders of all political parties should oppose this blatantly unconstitutional power play to silence the people of Staten Island in a participatory democracy.
Many remember a time when Staten Islanders had a fair share in City government.
Until 1990, Staten Island had a potent and respected voice on the former Board of Estimate. It was our equivalent to the Senate – despite our small population, we were recognized as a proper sister borough, in a forum where our concerns held weight. When the Board of Estimate was abolished, that voice became a whisper, relegated to 3 members of a 51-seat City Council.
Since then, things have since changed, radically. Both the State and the City are solidly Democratic, and Staten Island is now the last bastion of significant Republican voices in the City, State, and Federal government. In fact, Staten Island sends the City’s only Republican Representative to Congress.
Everything Staten Islanders don’t want, we get – from battery storage systems, speed cameras, and increased tolls, to the City of Yes jammed down our quiet residential neighborhoods. And, a lot of things that we do want, we are passed over for.
Talk about “tyranny of the majority”. This is Alexis de Tocqueville’s worst nightmare.
As time goes on it seems our voice has increasingly diminished – except, of course, at the Federal level, where we have maintained a Congressional district that primarily consists of Staten Island, and has been represented by Staten Islanders, Democrat or Republican.
Now, there is a plan afoot that, if successful in the State Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan), would surgically integrate pieces of Manhattan into Staten Island’s Congressional District, so that likely off-Island Democrats could exploit the political spoils of Staten Island, and silence the City’s only Republican voice in the Federal government.
It would, quite literally, take us back to the past, when we once shared Federal representation with Manhattan – a borough fundamentally – socially and politically – different from ours.
It is even possible that Staten Island could be carved in two – the Northern portion to be joined to a Manhattan district, and the Southern portion to be joined to a Brooklyn district.
The plan is based on the supposition that Staten Island’s minority voices are not heard, unless our borough is drawn and quartered. The lawsuit driving this plan argues that the matter of districting is a Voting Rights Act issue, and that our currently constituted district mutes Black and Latino voices in government.
Of course, this argument is false on its face, and belied by the facts in evidence.
Take our current political representation. The Councilmember representing the North Shore, Kamillah Hanks, is an African American woman. The Assemblyman representing that area is Charles Fall, an African American who serves as the Deputy Majority Leader.
Ironically, the very Congressional Representative whose district is at risk of being eliminated by this lawsuit is herself a Hispanic woman – her mother is a Cuban immigrant.
Just over 28% of Staten Island’s population is Black or Latino, and 27% of Staten Island’s elected representatives are of those descents. Hardly the lack of representation that the lawsuit falsely claims.
The fact of the matter is that Staten Island, and NY-11, is the only Republican congressional stronghold in New York City.
Artificially handing the district to Democrats like some gerrymandered Frankenstein doesn’t just deprive Staten Island of its Republican voice – it would simultaneously deprive Republicans across the entire City of their only voice in the federal government.
Make no mistake about it, this plan could very well result in Staten Island being federally represented by a Democrat from Manhattan. A Manhattan member of Congress has indicated he is all but ready to run to replace our sitting Representative.
Even “blind Justice” should readily discern that this plan is a transparent and cynical attempt to politically silence the people of Staten Island forever.
All Staten Islanders should oppose this plan. It will silence our only voice in Federal affairs – our only connection to Federal services people rely on, such as Medicare and Medicaid. And, when people need help with accessing the Federal government, they will have to rely on people who have never set foot, or have very little interest, in our borough.
As a former member of the City Council, a former Congressman and the current Borough President of Staten Island, I have a unique perspective on our needs and neighborhoods.
It takes a homegrown approach and understanding to appropriately and effectively represent Staten Islanders. A Democrat from Manhattan or Brooklyn – fundamentally urban, transit-dependent, embracing of high-density development – would lack that perspective. If this redistricting succeeds, there would always be a fundamental disconnect between the needs of Staten Islanders and the person they are supposedly represented by in Washington.
Here on Staten Island, whether you are a Republican, a Democrat, or something in between, chances are that we agree on many of the issues that affect the entire island: the cost of living, quality of life, poor transit alternatives, automobile dependence, and so on.
In other words, it is that we are Staten Islanders that comes first.
Nobody, from any other borough, can, or will, match that level of commitment and dedication to our neighbors.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella is a Republican.
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