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Overcast Elmont would move to new Assembly district, under plan
Proposed district maps could severely alter representation in western Nassau County
Proposed new State Assembly district maps could drastically alter representation in western Nassau County — and put Elmont in an entirely new district — if the maps become law.
Last week, the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment released its tentative plan for the state’s 150 Assembly districts. The changes are part of the redistricting that is required after the release of the 2010 census, and would take effect for the November election.
The districts now represented by assemblymen Brian Curran and Edward Ra, the 14th and the 21st, respectively, would change significantly, while a new district would be created along the western edge of the county.
Most of Valley Stream, along with South Valley Stream, North Woodmere, Elmont and the southern section of Lynbrook would become part of the new 22nd District, where residents are now represented by Ra, Curran and Weisenberg. The 22nd would be an open seat in the November election.
The redrawn 21st District would stretch from Lynbrook to Freeport and include the southern half of Franklin Square.
Ra, who lives in Franklin Square and is serving his first term in the Assembly, would move from the 21st District to the 19th, which would extend from Franklin Square to Old Brookville and include parts of the towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay. North Valley Stream, Elmont and the southern part of Franklin Square would be removed from his district.
“For now, I look at them just as preliminary,” Ra said of the proposed maps. “I don’t really have much of an opinion on it.”
Until a redistricting bill comes to the Assembly floor for a vote, Ra said, he would continue to focus on serving the residents of his current district. He did say that he would like to see Franklin Square remain in one district rather than being split three ways.
"Over the next few weeks, there will be hearings throughout the state regarding these proposed lines and the final district maps the state legislature ultimately votes on will be different from the proposed drafts," he added. "I am concentrating on representing the communities I was given the opportunity to serve since being elected and hope to continue representing those taxpayers and small businesses."
Curran, a former mayor of Lynbrook and, like Ra, a first-term assemblyman, said he does not want to see his hometown divided into two districts. Lynbrook would be split between the 21st District and a new 22nd District, and Curran would represent the 21st.
