An example of the map displaying changes in proportions of population across Community Districts within Council Districts. Image Credit: DCP.
On September 7, 2023 the Department of City Planning released an interactive map showing Community and City Council districts overlap after the 2023 redistricting. This data allows communities to access information about who now represents them after the redistricting this year. The map also shows the proportions of changes to districts following the redistricting. This is the first time that communities can access data in an interactive map format.
New York City has 51 City Council districts and 59 community districts. Each Community District features one Community Board. While City Council districts are changing based on the decennial census, Community Districts have stayed stagnant since 1975. Under the City Charter, the Department of City Planning is tasked with determining the overlaps after each redistricting and uses this information to determine the proportion of each Community District’s population that is represented by the corresponding Council Member. Council Members then nominate a number of Community Board Members pursuant to the proportion of the Community District they represent.
Between 2013 and 2023, the most notable shifts between Community and Council Districts can be found in Brooklyn Community District 10, Queens Community District 6, and Bronx Community District 6. Brooklyn Community District 10 had Council District 43 decrease from 91 percent of the Community District’s population in 2013 to 11% in 2023. Queens Community District 6 maintains a majority of population in Council District 29 but has also now spread into Council Districts 30 and 24. Bronx Community District 6 has changed from Council District 15 and 17 to being completely District 15.
To access the map, click here.
Dan Garodnick, Director of the Department of City Planning said, “DCP’s new interactive tool pulls back the curtain on the relationship between City Council and Community Board Districts, which has changed through redistricting. Democratizing wonky data like this is a core part of DCP’s work and I hope New Yorkers will find this tool useful.”
Joe Salvo, Institute Fellow at the Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative at the University of Virginia and former New York City Chief Demographer said, “Good governance means addressing the needs of constituents in Community Districts through representation by members of the New York City Council. That is not a one-to-one relationship in many cases, with Community Districts sometimes represented by multiple members of the City Council. By showing changes in how Community Districts are juxtaposed with Council Districts, local constituents can better understand how their needs are being represented by members of the City Council.”
Department of City Planning: “City Planning Releases Interactive Tool Exploring Community and City Council District Overlap following 2023 Redistricting” (September 7, 2023).
By: Meg Beauregard (Meg is the CityLaw intern, and a New York Law School student, Class of 2024).