By John C. O'Connell
The Incorporated Village of Valley Stream, now wholly contained in District 6 and represented by Legislator Francis X. Becker (R-Lynbrook), is divided under the new redistricting plan, with much of the western part of the village moved into District 3, represented by John Ciotti (R-North Valley Stream).
The rest of District 3 includes only unincorporated areas, such as Elmont and North Valley Stream. District 6 includes only incorporated villages, such as Valley Stream, Lynbrook and Malverne.
Three or four of Valley Stream's 27 election districts will be in District 3 as of Jan. 1, 2004. The entire 19-member Legislature is up for election in November.
Redistricting is required by law after every federal census, and is designed to equalize the population in each Nassau county legislative district at about 70,000 people. Redistricting is also done to assure that minorities are given a fair chance to elect candidates of their choosing, and are not forced by district lines into districts with such large white majorities that their votes are diluted, effectively barring them from fair electoral participation.
As well as equalizing districts' populations, redistricting changes the boundary lines of districts whose minority populations have fallen below a number that would enable them to elect a candidate of their choice.
The redistricting plan considered on Thursday night was developed by the five Democrat-appointed members of the Temporary Redistricting Commission and approved by the 10 Democrats in the Legislature. The plan reconfigures all 19 current districts, even though, opponents said, only two of them, District 2 and District 14, had population shifts that legally required changes in their district lines.
Republicans charged that the other districts were changed to make it easier for Democrats to win re-election in their current districts and improve their chances of defeating incumbent Republicans in legislative elections in November.
Valley Stream Village Justice Robert Bogle attended the hearing on his own behalf and represented Valley Stream Mayor Ed Cahill in protesting the Legislature's division of the Village of Valley Stream. Bogle testified that courts have recognized the importance of keeping municipalities and communities together for purposes of representation, citing late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's decision that "boundary lines of local communities should be respected and be given high consideration."
"Valley Stream has a long history as a distinctly incorporated area dating back to 1925," Bogle testified. "Historically, in any represented district, our village has always been included under one representative. At present, the Incorporated Village of Valley Stream is represented by one member of the Legislature, Mr. Becker; by one town councilman, Jim Darcy; by one assemblyman, Robert Barra; by one state senator, Dean Skelos, and by one member of Congress, Carolyn McCarthy."
The judge said the plan "would isolate and set apart a small portion of our village and create unnecessary confusion."
John Tufarelli, owner of the Wheeler Deli on Wheeler Avenue and president of the Valley Stream Taxpayers Association, also attended the hearing to express opposition to the plan. "Although I believe that Mr. Ciotti is a competent and respected legislator, I believe separating Valley Stream will have an adverse effect on the community," Tufarelli said. "Carving sections of Valley Stream away from the rest of the community will only send a message to those leaving the district that they are not included in the village 100 percent. This cannot be allowed to happen. We want the residents of the west end of the village to have the same identity and be on the same page as the rest of the community.
"The new residents that have moved into the west end are in many respects new to our country, never mind the village," Tufarelli said. "We want to welcome them and include them in our community. We want them to identify with our village and consider themselves proud to be part of our village. By separating them out of District 6 you are categorizing them as different. This defeats community identity, pride and cohesiveness. That's not what we want. Don't let Valley Stream be broken apart."
Democrats defended their actions, saying their redistricting plan was completely legal and that the Republican members of the Temporary Redistricting Commission had refused to participate.
Republican legislative sources said that Republicans may file a lawsuit against the action, explaining that while only 7,500 people needed to be redistricted to achieve compliance with the law, the Democrats redistricted more than 287,000 people in all 19 districts for political gain, using the law as cover.
At the hearing before the vote, supporters applauded the plan for assuring fair and constitutional representation for minorities, and others protested the plan for its effect on their communities.
Representatives from the incorporated and unincorporated villages spoke against the redistricting because the Democrats' map splits several villages, in addition to Valley Stream, into multiple legislative districts.
Within minutes of the close of the hearing, Presiding Officer Judy Jacobs called for a vote, and the matter passed.
