LATFOR Public Hearing Brooklyn
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NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT PUBLIC HEARING CONGRESSIONAL AND STATE LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING Tuesday, September 20, 2011 Brooklyn Borough Hall Community Room 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, New York 10:00 a.m. Page 2 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 TASK FORCE MEMBERS PRESENT: SENATOR MICHAEL F. NOZZOLIO, Co-Chair ASSEMBLY MEMBER JOHN J. MCENENY, Co-Chair SENATOR MARTIN M. DILAN ASSEMBLY MEMBER ROBERT OAKS DEBRA LEVINE ROMAN HEDGES WELQUIS LOPEZ LEWIS HOPPE Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 3 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 INDEX Page ASSEMBLY MEMBER JOHN J. MCENENY 7 CO-CHAIR NYS LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT SENATOR MICHAEL F. NOZZOLIO 7 CO-CHAIR NYS LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT SENATOR ROBERT DILAN 12 NYS LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT RABBI SHMUEL LEFKOWITZ 15 LEON GOLDBERG 18 CHAIM ISRAEL 19 GARY SCLESSINGER 22 YERUCHIM SILVER 26 COMMUNITY BOARD 12 KARIM CAMARA 31 ASSEMBLY MEMBER CHRISTOPHER STRUNK 34 BETHANY LI 39 STAFF ATTORNEY – ASIAN AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND (AALDEF) ESMERALDA SIMMONS, ESQ. 47 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR LAW & SOCIAL JUSTICE, MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE REVEREND ANITA BURSON 58 BROOKLYN BRANCH NAACP COUNCILWOMAN LETITIA JAMES 67 Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 4 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 YVETTE D. CLARKE 81 MEMBER OF CONGRESS N. NICK PERRY 85 ASSEMBLY MEMBER JOYCE JARVIS-HENRY 95 PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS POLITICAL ASSOCIATION MEMBER SANDY VALLAS 97 BOARD OF GOVERNORS DYKER HEIGHTS CIVIC ASSOCIATION GENE A. JOHNSON, JR. 100 BLACK NEW YORKERS FOR FAIR REDISTRICTING JAMES HONG 103 SPOKESPERSON – ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY COALITION ON REDISTRICTING AND DEMOCRACY DR. WAH LEE 109 OCA-NEW YORK ELEANOR MORETTA 116 ACT NOW NEW YORK DR. UNA S.T. CLARKE 122 CD – PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS POLITICAL ASSOCIATION MEMBER DALE HO 126 ASSISTANT COUNSEL – NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND STEVE CHUNG 137 PRESIDENT UNITED CHINESE ASSOCIATION OF BROOKLYN ANNETTE M. ROBINSON 144 ASSEMBLY MEMBER DAVID G. GREENFIELD 148 MEMBER, NEW YORK CITY COUNSEL ROBERT CORNEGY 153 TH DISTRICT LEADER 56 AD Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 5 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 PETER WEISS 160 KINGS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COALITION KATIE DAVIS 163 PRESIDENT COMMUNITY COUNCIL FOR MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE SUSAN LERNER 165 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMON CAUSE NY JUMAANE WILLIAMS 174 COUNCILMAN RICHARD BOATTI 180 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE-ACT NOW MEMBER JOEL ROSENFELD 194 RABBI MOSHE WIENER 199 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JEWISH COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF GREATER CONEY ISLAND GREGORY DAVIDZON 204 PRESIDENT, DAVIDZON MEDIA INC. SHEILA BOYD 207 PRESIDENT, OCEAN TOWERS TENANTS ASSOCIATION LATRICE MONIQUE WALKER 209 OCEANHILL BROWNSVILLE COALITION OF YOUNG PROFESSIONALS - MEMBER EKOW YANKAH 216 PROFESSOR OF LAW, CARDOZO LAW SCHOOL NAHIDA UDDIN 224 CHHAYA DR. TIM LAW 226 HASIBA RASHID 229 FANYA VASILEVSKY, CITIZEN 233 Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 6 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 VELMANETTE MONTGOMERY 237 SENATOR RICHARD SILVERMAN with JULIANNE HIRSH 245 SMRA THEODORE MONELL 247 CENTRAL BROOKLYN INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS DR. MEIR WIKLER 256 JOSH PIERRE 261 THE FLATBUSH FAIR REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE GLORIA DILAN WILSON 265 JERRY VATTAMALA 267 Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 7 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 2 (The public hearing commenced at 10:03 3 a.m.) 4 ASSEMBLY MEMBER JOHN J. McENENY, CO- 5 CHAIR, NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON 6 DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT: I would 7 like to hold a brief meeting of the task force to 8 go on the record and formally announce two 9 additional hearings that have been requested in 10 particular by our two minority members here from 11 the Senate and the Assembly. And, without 12 further adieu, I call a meeting of the Task Force 13 to order. Senator, would you like to do the 14 introductions first? 15 SENATOR MICHAEL F. NOZZOLIO, CO-CHAIR 16 NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON 17 DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT: Thank 18 you Assemblyman McEneny. Ladies and gentlemen, 19 good morning. This is the Legislative Task Force 20 on Redistricting and Reapportionment. We are 21 conducting a number of hearings across the State 22 of New York, and we are very pleased today to be 23 in Brooklyn. The hearing will begin in a moment, Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 8 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 2 but we would like to first entertain a motion, 3 and before I do that I want to introduce the 4 members of the task force. Along with my co- 5 chair Assemblyman McEneny, is my colleague in the 6 Senate, Senator Martin Dilan, my Assemblyman, 7 Assemblyman Bob Oaks. Citizen participants on 8 the task force are Welquis Ray Lopez, and Roman 9 Hedges. With that, members of the task force, on 10 behalf of suggestions made by Senator Dilan and 11 Assemblyman Oaks for two additional hearings, 12 which will take our preliminary first run 13 hearings from the number of 12 to the number 14. 14 Senator Dilan suggested that another hearing be 15 conducted on Long Island. We have one scheduled 16 for the first week of October in Suffolk County, 17 and Senator Dilan’s recommendation is that an 18 additional hearing be added and that we conduct 19 that in Nassau County. Assemblyman Oaks wishes 20 that a hearing be also conducted in the north 21 country, in Plattsburgh. So with that, Senator 22 and Assemblyman, we would like to proffer a 23 motion to add two additional hearings, one in Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 9 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 2 Nassau, to be conducted on October 27th, and the 3 second in Plattsburgh, to be conducted November 4 2nd. 5 ASSEMBLY MEMBER ROBERT OAKS, NYS 6 LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH 7 AND REAPPORTIONMENT: I’ll second that motion. 8 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Any discussion? 9 ASSEMBLY MEMBER OAKS: No, I just wanted 10 to say Chairman, just thank you for responding to 11 those requests, and I look forward to supporting 12 the motion. 13 ASSEMBLY MEMBER MCENENY: May I ask that 14 the record be revised to show that there are two 15 motions on the floor, one offered by Senator 16 Dilan and seconded by Assembly Member Oaks, and 17 the second one for Plattsburgh the reverse, 18 Assembly Member Oaks seconded by Senator Dilan. 19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Take all those in 20 favor. 21 MIXED VOICES: Aye. 22 ASSEMBLY MEMBER MCENENY: Both together. 23 MALE VOICE: Yes. Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 10 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 2 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you very, very 3 much. The Brooklyn hearing, the Borough Brooklyn 4 will now be underway. That as assemblyman 5 McEneny indicated, as co-chair of the task force, 6 I have that responsibility. My name is Mike 7 Nozzolio, I’m the Senator from the greater Finger 8 Lakes region. That together these hearings are 9 to establish a record, a video record, a written 10 record, for the task force and its deliberations 11 on redistricting. That there are video cameras 12 here, and that every testifier will be videoed, 13 and that will be a portion of the official 14 record. The record is available on the LATFOR 15 website. Today we have Debra, it’s 86? 16 MS. DEBRA LEVINE: I think it’s more 17 than that. 18 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Well it was 86 a few 19 minutes ago in terms of those who have— 20 MS. LEVINE: [interposing] Eighty-nine. 21 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Eighty-nine have 22 requested the opportunity to speak, and we want 23 to hear from everyone, and we want to have— Ubiqus/Nation-Wide Reporting & Convention Coverage 22 Cortlandt Street – Suite 802, New York, NY 10007 Phone: 212-227-7440 * 800-221-7242 * Fax: 212-227-7524 Page 11 1 Demographic Research and Reapportionment, 9-20-2011 2 everyone to have the opportunity to speak. But, 3 because of the large number, we want to make sure 4 that everyone will have that opportunity. So, we 5 would ask our commentators to summarize their 6 testimony, particularly if they have written 7 testimony, submit that written testimony. It 8 will—we assure you, it will be totally included 9 in the record of the task force. So, that 10 written testimony does not have to be, or should 11 not be read. It should be presented, and then 12 summarized in terms of the major points you would 13 like to achieve, and have the record be 14 reflective of.