District 4 changes shape

Residents of Island Park and the southern portion of Oceanside have joined the 4th Congressional district after a panel of federal judges issued court-drawn revised district maps for New York State.

Oceanside residents living south of Waukena Avenue and all of Island Park — who had been a part of Congressman Peter King’s 3rd district — will now join the 4th district, which has been represented by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy for the past 15 years.

"It's an honor and a privilege to represent my neighbors in Congress, especially as the first and only woman on Long Island to ever do so,” said McCarthy is a statement. “It saddens me to lose some wonderful communities I've had the privilege of representing for years now. But I'm also grateful that I'll have the opportunity to continue to represent almost all the same people I do now, with some wonderful new communities added to the Fourth Congressional district as well.”

The 2010 census showed a decline in the New York State population, forcing the loss of two Congressional districts.

The federal judges took control of the state redistricting after a group of community leaders filed a lawsuit stating that the partisan process put the redistricting in doubt.

This coming November is an election year for the United States House of Representatives. New York’s primary will be held on June 26.