Under the ruling, the New York Independent Redistricting Commission will have until Feb. 6 to finalize new lines for the district represented by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are reviewing the judge\u2019s decision and our options to protect the voices of the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn,\u201d Malliotakis said. \u201cNothing changes the fact that this is a frivolous attempt by Washington Democrats to steal this congressional seat from the people and we are very confident that we will prevail at the end of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
An impending challenge from Malliotakis could see the case reach the U.S. Supreme Court over various pieces of language in New York law meant to protect minority voting rights. <\/p>\n
The Feb. 6 deadline comes from testimony in the case submitted by the New York Board of Elections, which said the date is the latest they could be ready for this year\u2019s congressional elections with new maps. <\/p>\n
If the Redistricting Commission moves the district into lower Manhattan, it would pair the most conservative part of the five boroughs with a liberal bastion.<\/p>\n
Staten Island has been one of New York\u2019s most conservative locales for a decade with almost 64% of the borough voting for President Donald Trump in 2024.<\/p>\n
While voters in both district-mate options \u2014 lower Manhattan and South Brooklyn \u2014 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Staten Island Republican party head Assemblymember Michael Tannousis, a state representative for the East Shore and part of South Brooklyn, slammed the judge\u2019s decision, pointing out his political background, including work for Gov. Kathy Hochul.<\/p>\n \u201cThis redistricting decision is a complete sham,\u2019’ Tannousis said. \u201dThey are trying to fracture our community because they don\u2019t like how we vote. We have a judge who was previously Special Counsel to the governor<\/a> directing the show, with an \u2018Independent Redistricting Commission\u2019 that previously found the current congressional lines to be perfectly fine but is now charged with redrawing our congressional district. It\u2019s rigged. It\u2019s transparently partisan, and it\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Hochul, whose office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication, is a defendant in the case, as are Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Attorney General Letitia James, all Democrats.<\/p>\n
![\"Illustrative](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GXRA4DEOXZFNTHYXHGDNYWHCLI.jpeg\")
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)<\/p>\n