The lawsuit<\/a>, filed in October by Elias Law Group, an election law firm aligned with the Democratic Party, argued that the lines of the district don\u2019t account for a rise in Staten Island\u2019s Black and Latino population. It pushed for the district to be redrawn to include parts of lower Manhattan, which leans more liberal. Elias filed the lawsuit on behalf of four voters.<\/p>\n \u201cCD-11\u2019s antiquated boundaries instead confine Staten Island\u2019s growing Black and Latino communities in a district where they are routinely and systematically unable to influence elections for their representative of choice, despite the existence of strongly racially polarized voting and a history of racial discrimination on Staten Island,\u201d the lawsuit stated.<\/p>\n The judge said the petitioners had shown strong evidence of a \u201cracially polarized voting bloc,\u201d as well as \u201ca history of discrimination that impacts current day political participation and representation,\u201d and \u201cthat racial appeals are still made in political campaigns today.\u201d<\/p>\n But rather than reshaping the seat himself, Pearlman ordered New York\u2019s bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the boundaries of the district by Feb. 6, a fast-approaching deadline.<\/p>\n Republicans are expected to appeal the decision, as a new front opens in a national gerrymandering battle that has both political parties jockeying for advantage in the fight over control of the U.S. House.<\/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 told the Brooklyn Eagle. \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 Lawmakers in about a third of states have considered redrawing their congressional districts<\/a>\u00a0after President Donald Trump pushed Republicans to craft new lines that would help his party hold onto their narrow House majority. Democrats countered with their own redistricting efforts, though they have sometimes been hampered by laws they passed intended to prevent partisan gerrymandering.<\/p>\n The redistricting panel has the primary power to draw congressional maps, and is supposed to do so without gerrymandering the boundaries to give any party a political advantage. But, in the past, that commission has sometimes failed to reach an agreement on the makeup of a district, which has then given the Democrat-controlled state legislature the ability to tweak the lines in their favor.<\/p>\n Republicans had bashed the lawsuit as a clear effort to game the district to help Democrats. Home to around 500,000 people, Staten Island is New York City\u2019s smallest and most suburban borough, better resembling nearby New Jersey towns than the metropolis of Manhattan, just a ferry ride across the harbor.<\/p>\n In a statement after the ruling, Malliotakis said, \u201cThis 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 Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, had vowed to wade into the national redistricting fight but had few legislative avenues to substantially change the state\u2019s congressional lines before the election. New York state is currently represented in the House by 19 Democrats and 7 Republicans.<\/p>\n Hochul said Wednesday\u2019s ruling \u201cunderscores the importance\u201d of the state Constitution\u2019s provisions for fair representation.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Yorkers in every community deserve these protections,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n The state\u2019s\u00a0current map<\/a> was drawn by Democrats \u2014 after a\u00a0 protracted battle<\/a> where they\u00a0rejected a proposal<\/a>\u00a0crafted by the bipartisan redistricting commission \u2014 and was designed to give their party a boost in a few battleground districts ahead of the 2024 elections. Democrats picked up a few seats in New York under that map, though Republicans eventually won a House majority.<\/p>\n House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday\u2019s ruling \u201cis the first step toward ensuring communities of interest remain intact from Staten Island to Lower Manhattan. The voters of New York deserve the fairest congressional map possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Republican elected officials and leaders responded to the ruling.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a partisan ruling made by a partisan judge in a case brought by a notoriously partisan attorney,\u201d said New York Republican State Committee Chair Ed Cox. \u201cKathy Hochul and Albany Democrats did not alter this district when they had a chance in 2024. This entire exercise is a cynical attempt to enact an illegal partisan gerrymander under the guise of a voting rights case. It is shocking that the Governor and Attorney General did not defend the law that the legislature passed, and the Governor signed in 2024 \u2013 they are clearly colluding with the plaintiffs in this case. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Staten Island\/Brooklyn Congressional District has existed for almost 45 years. Kathy Hochul and Democrats insult the intelligence of NY-11 voters when they engage in such partisan gerrymandering.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis redistricting decision is a complete sham,\u201d said Assemblymember Michael Tannousis. \u201cThey 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 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 \u00a0<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/nicoletrump-600x400.jpg\")
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis sits with President Donald Trump during a New York Yankees baseball game. Photo: Alex Brandon\/AP<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ultima-reader-response.png\"\/)
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