How Redistricting Will Impact New Hyde Park

The public hearing over the proposed redistricting of legislative boundaries in Nassau County took place Monday at 10 a.m. at the  Theodore Roosevelt Legislative Building in Mineola. For some of those in ninth district, which is lead by Leg. Richard Nicolello (R-New Hyde Park), they may be shifted into the 11th district, which is Leg. Wayne Wink's territory, Nicolello explained.

While Republicans say they are abiding by the law on Monday at 1 p.m., Democrats disagree.

“We will be fighting it,” said Leg. Wayne Wink (D-Roslyn), whose district includes Port Washington.

The proposed redistricting would cut Port Washington out of Wink’s district, in a process that

The plan puts “lines in place without the involvement of the community,” Wink said. “It violates the spirit of the letter of the charter.”

That charter, he said, clearly calls for the establishment of a bipartisan redistricting commission that holds public hearings to gain comments and input to proposed new district lines based on that public participation.

Now, Wink said, “there will be one public hearing at best without any public participation.”

as possible to ensure that county residents are fairly represented by their government.

Wink said Democrats would fight the plan “since legally they [Republican leaders] are not allowed to do this and we will win this in court.”

For those whose district might change, this will not happen until the next election if the plan goes through, Nicolello explained. He added that just because some people may no longer be in his district does not mean that he will no longer take phone calls from them or help them with their issues. During his recent at the , Nicolello listened to a couple's problem with the and they were not in his district.