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Queens residents call for racially accurate
congressional districts as deadline looms
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | DEC. 10 - DEC. 16, 2021 15
BY SKYE OSTREICHER
U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (DLong
Island/Queens) wasted
little time after announcing
that he is running in the
Democratic primary for governor
next year with rolling
out his comprehensive COVID
19 holiday plan for the
state.
In his PowerPoint presentation
during a Zoom press
conference, Suozzi laid out
COVID mitigation tactics including
encouraging people
to get vaccinated, communicating
the importance of
booster shots, and enacting
a color-coded microcluster
strategy to see where
hotspots are, as well as an
aggressive testing strategy
and a spike zone contingency
plan.
“The most effective thing
you can do is talk about what
people are thinking about already,”
Suozzi said.
When asked his thoughts
on the current administration’s
handling of the COVID
holiday plan, Suozzi
expressed that he believed
Hochul could be doing a better
job, specifically by releasing
a comprehensive plan
instead of her “piecemeal”
agenda.
Suozzi stressed the need
for a marketing campaign
and incentives to get vaccinated.
With the highest
COVID rates currently in upstate
and western New York,
Hochul’s hometown, Suozzi
said this would be the perfect
time for Governor Hochul
to be a leader in her own
neighborhood.
Suozzi also suggested that
doctors and hospitals should
get more involved, specifically
by promoting vaccination
and boosters to patients and
their families.
Suozzi’s introduction of
a color-coded microcluster
strategy was similar to plans
both former Gov. Andrew
Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio
rolled out during the tail
end of the pandemic’s height.
It includes red as a “microcluster”
zone, orange as a
“warning” zone, yellow as
a “precautionary” zone and
green as a “normal” zone.
Suozzi said based on factors
like infection rate, the
state should provide guidance
to county and local officials
on issues like nonessential
medical procedures,
mask requirements, capacity
limits and vaccination entry
requirements for restaurants,
sporting and entertainment
events.
Suozzi’s plan also included
doubling the number of
state-run mass vaccination
sites, which is currently 13;
and flooding the state with
pop-up testing sites and
vans, particularly in highly
trafficked places like train
stations and malls.
BY JULIA MORO
As the New York State
Independent Redistricting
Commission (IRC) attempts
to draw fair congressional
district maps, Queens residents
are fighting for accurate
representation.
Every 10 years, the state
must draw new district lines
that accurately reflect the
population and demographic
changes reported in the most
recent census. Previously,
state legislators controlled
the process, making it highly
political.
However, in 2014, New
Yorkers voted on a referendum
to give the responsibility to a
new independent committee,
the IRC. Since these maps can
reshape politics and how much
a single vote counts, the IRC
has a big task ahead of them.
Though this committee
was intended to make the
process more bipartisan,
Queens residents want to see
districts accurately represent
the racial background of
their neighbors. On Nov. 17,
the IRC held a hearing at York
College in Jamaica, where
many Asian American activists
spoke about keeping their
communities together.
One woman, Julie Rong, told
the IRC that Flushing had been
split into two separate electoral
districts though they are
firmly united communities.
“The Asian American community
in Flushing is multicultural
and diverse,” Rong
said. “We are all part of one
Flushing community. The current
state Senate map has fractured
the Asian community in
a way that precludes members
of the same community from
having the same representation
in state politics. We must
not be left behind or split up.
The Asian community in
Flushing is fast-growing, and
this is a once-in-a-decade opportunity
to make sure we are
represented in state politics.”
Other advocates are pushing
for areas like Richmond
Hill, Ozone Park and South
Ozone Park to be united to
uplift Indo-Caribbean voices.
Community leader Albert
Baldeo said that unless his
community is recognized as
one, he will challenge the district
lines in federal court.
“It is unconscionable to
continue to deprive us of our
proper and rightful seat(s)
at the table of government,”
Baldeo said. “Without rooting
out this evil, emerging communities
like ours will continue
to be marginalized and
exploited, and that strikes at
the heart of democracy.”
The commission is expected
to submit a single proposal
in January. If the state Legislature
denies it, then the final
deadline is in February.
To submit testimony or
learn more about the process,
visit nyirc.gov.
Photo courtesy of NYSIRC
CONGRESSMAN TOM SUOZZI
Gubernatorial candidate Suozzi
rolls out COVID-19 holiday plan
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