An appeal to include greater Richmond Hill areas into one electoral district

Dear Editor,
During the mandated consultation process earlier this year to redraw state and federal election boundary lines for seats to the State Assembly and U.S. Congress from New York City, a group of Guyanese activists, myself included, lobbied officials to prevent the gerrymandering of the greater Richmond Hill neighbourhood.  Gerrymandering is a norm in American electoral politics.
We appealed to Governor Cuomo and pressured officials who did the redrawing to allow Richmond Hill to be in one district to increase the likelihood that a Guyanese American can get elected to the state assembly or Congress from Queens.
Federal law requires that districts be drawn to keep communities in “whole” and to allow ethnic communities to elect their own representatives.
Our pleas to politicians were ignored and our lobbying for a seat failed.  The greater Richmond Hill area where some 100,000 Guyanese and another 100,000 Trinis as well as where some 50,000 South Asians live, has been divided up again. As it was for the last 30 years, the areas have been gerrymandered into four N.Y State Senate Districts, six Assembly Districts and four U.S Congressional Districts – making it virtually impossible for a Guyanese to be elected from the area for the next decade.
Seats must be redrawn decennially after the census. The last census was held in 2010 and the new boundaries take effect for elections this year. New York City is required to redraw its boundaries for elections next year to the Council’s 51 seats legislature.
Last month, several leaders in the South Asian, Guyanese and Afro-Jamaicans communities came together to plan a new strategy to request the redrawing of boundaries for NYC Council to benefit our respective communities.
Richmond Hill advocates like myself, Vishnu Mahadeo and Albert Baldeo are urging city officials to include the greater Richmond Hill neighbourhood into one district to allow for an ethnic minority to be elected from the area. The greater Richmond Hill is currently divided into four seats making it almost impossible to win a seat to the council. Several Guyanese ran for office in previous years but were not even close in the race because of the gerrymandering of the community.
We are urging city officials not to gerrymander the greater Richmond Hill area into multiple districts as in the past to water down the peoples voting power. City Council elections are due next year and we should get fair representation. An organization called Taking Our Seat is leading the struggle for a seat.
Several Guyanese are on board and are strongly supporting the effort. The group aims to unite Guyanese neighbourhoods and the South Asian community into a single district.
In a briefing paper released, the organization said “lessons learned during the redrawing of state boundaries process will help them now”.  The redistricting process at the state level verified what Taking Our Seat knew to be true. To make the best case for drawing neighbourhood focused districts, the overarching argument must include stringent demographic analysis, a unified voice from the community and a politically palatable solution.”
Guyanese New Yorkers and other Americans are urged to support the effort.
Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram