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NEW YORK STATE BLACK, PUERTO RICAN, HISPANIC AND ASIAN LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS

ROOM 442-A, LEGISLATIVE OFFICE BUILDING ALBANY, NY 12248 (518) 455-5347 FAX: (518) 455-4535

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Assemblyman Karim Camara Chairman Assemblyman William Scarborough First Vice-Chair Assemblyman Eric Stevenson Second Vice-Chair Assemblywoman Vivian E. Cook Secretary Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson Treasurer Senator William Perkins Parliamentarian Assemblyman Francisco P. Moya Chaplain

April 10th, 2012 BY ELECTRONIC AND REGULAR U.S. MAIL T. Christian Herren, Jr. Chief, Voting Section Civil Rights Division United States Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Room 7524 NWB Washington, D.C. 20530 Re: Section 5 Submission Regarding the New York State Senate 2012-1445

MEMBERS
Senator Eric L. Adams Assemblywoman Carmen E. Arroyo Assemblyman Jeffrion L. Aubry Assemblywoman Inez D. Barron Assemblyman William F. Boyland, Jr. Assemblyman Nelson L. Castro Assemblywoman Barbara M. Clark Assemblyman Marcos Crespo Senator Martin M. Dilan Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell, Jr. Assemblyman David F. Gantt Assemblywoman Vanessa Gibson Assemblyman Carl Heastie Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper Senator Shirley L. Huntley Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries Assemblyman Guillermo Linares Assemblywoman Grace Meng Senator Velmanette Montgomery Assemblyman Felix Ortiz Senator Kevin S. Parker Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes Senator Jose R. Peralta Assemblyman N. Nick Perry Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow Assemblyman Phil Ramos Senator Gustavo Rivera Assemblyman Jose Rivera Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera Assemblyman Samuel D. Roberts Assemblywoman Annette Robinson Assemblyman Robert J. Rodriguez Senator John L. Sampson Senator Malcolm A. Smith Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins Assemblywoman Michele R. Titus Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright

Dear Mr. Herren: As Chair of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, which consists of 48 minority members of the New York State Senate and Assembly; I write to urge the Attorney General to object to the pending Section 5 submission of the New York State Senate for S. 6696 which provides for a new redistrict plan for the New York State Senate. The Attorney General should object to S.6696 because the New York State Senate has failed to meet its burden of showing that S. 6696 neither has the purpose or will have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or membership in a language minority group. 42 U.S.C. Section 1973c(a). In addition, S. 6696 contains 63 New York Senate seats, a change from the existing plan that has 62 seats. Upon information and belief, the New York State Legislature also used a different methodology to calculate the number of districts in S. 6696 than was used in the existing plan. Both of these changes constitute a change in standard, procedure with respect to voting that must be precleared. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a districting plan impermissibly denies or abridges the right to vote if it has the purpose or will have the effect of diminishing the ability of any citizens of the United States on account of race or color [or membership in a language minority group] to elect their preferred candidates of choice. 42 U.S.C. Section

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Benita L. Lewis

T. Christian Herren, Jr.

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April 10, 2012

42 U.S.C. Section 1973c(b). The increase in the size of the New York State Senate from 62 to 63 and the location of new senate seat upstate New York rather than downstate where the majority of Black and other minority votes reside will have a dilutive effect on the vote and voting strength of Black and other minority residents of New York. In 2010, according to the Census, the population of New York was 19,378,102. Of that total, 8,175,133 people lived in New York City. In other words, nearly 50 percent of New Yorks residents live in New York City. The majority of New Yorks Black residents and other minorities also reside downstate, particularly within New York City. According to the 2010 Census 1,861, 295 Black people lived in City of New York: 416,695 Black people lived in the Bronx; 799,066 in Kings County; 205,340 in New York County; 395,881 in Queens, 44,313 on Staten Island, Of the 1,861,295 Black people residing in New York City, 1,421, 101 lived in the three counties covered by Section 5 (the Bronx, Kings, and New York). Likewise, the majority of the Hispanics in New York State also live in New York City. According to the 2010 Census, 2,236,076 Hispanics reside in New York City. Of the 2,236,076 Hispanics who live in New York City, 1,641,275 live within the five counties covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. In particular, 741,413, Hispanics live in the Bronx, 496,285 in Kings County, 403,577 in New York County, 81,051 on Staten Island. Similarly, the majority of Asians in New York State reside in New York City. Indeed, seven out of ten Asians in New York State reside in three boroughs of New York City, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan. According to the 2010 Census, 1,028, 119 Asian Americans who live in New York City, 508.334 live in Queens, 177,524 live in Manhattan, and 260,129 live in Brooklyn. In short, of the 1,028, 119 Asians who live in New York City. 437,753 live two of the counties (Kings and New York) covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. However, despite the substantial difference in the population between upstate and downstate New York, the new State Senate seat is located upstate, instead of downstate. The new Senate seat was located downstate rather than upstate, I believe, because the Senate majority wanted to create a new White majority district in the hope of maintaining their majority in the New York State Senate. For example, in the new state

T. Christian Herren, Jr.

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April 10, 2012

Senate district, Senate District 63, Whites make up 61.24% of the population, Black people constitute 30.8% of the population; Hispanics constitute 5.30% of the population, Asians 2.62% of the population. Furthermore, while the deviations in Senate districts in New York City range from +3.47% to +3.83%, the deviations in Senate districts upstate New York range from 0.19% to 4.9%. All of the New York City Senate districts have populations that are 3.47% or 3.83 above the mean population. By contrast, of the 26 upstate Senate districts, 23 districts have populations that are 4% below the mean. The total deviation, the range between the most populous districts, for the Senate plan is 27,034 people or 8.80% of the ideal district population. Moreover, the 26 overpopulated New York State Senate districts (Senate Districts 10-34 and 36) contain 29% of the Black citizens of voting (CVAP) , 71.28% of the Hispanic CVAP and 72.86 of the Asian CVAP. By contrast, the 26 under-populated upstate Senate Districts (Senate Districts 38-63) contain 21.21% of the Black CVAP, 14.08 of the Hispanic CVAP, 13.04% of the Asian CVAP and 55.92 of the White CVAP. There are no legitimate consistently applied state polices which justify these populations deviations.

Problems With Certain Individual Senate Districts In addition, the New York State Senate plan, S.6696, splits or cracks certain long established and emerging communities of interest. These districts include the following: 10SD (South Queens) -- Splits off the area west of the Van Wyck Expressway which forms a community of interest with the area east of the Van Wyck. 14SD (South-East Queens) Cracks the Jamaica Estates community by cutting in and out of the area. Not compact. 19SD (Central Brooklyn and East Brooklyn ) Splits Flatlands area. The appendage of Marine Park should be eliminated. 20SD (Central Brooklyn) Cracks both Crown Heights and Prospect Heights. To prevent this, the northern boundary of SD20 should be placed at St. Marks Place. Also the two cultural icons contiguous to SD 20, the Brooklyn Museum and the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, should be placed in the district. The hammer-shaped appendage which places a portion of Boro Park of West Brooklyn into SD20 should be eliminated. 21SD (Central Brooklyn and South Brooklyn) Cracks both the communities of Flatbush and Flatlands. All of Flatbush should be united in SD21. Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery should be part of SD20. 25SD (Central Brooklyn) Cracks both traditional Black communities of Crown Heights and Prospect Heights. The North-East area of Bedford Stuyvesant and all of Prospect Heights should be included in SD25

T. Christian Herren, Jr.

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30SD (Harlem) Cracks Harlem into three pieces by cutting out West Harlem to Hudson River from Martin Luther King Blvd to 147Street and by cutting out East Harlem. Harlem should be kept whole from the Hudson River to East River. 36SD (Lower Westchester and Northern Bronx) Splits off East Yonkers and Fleetwood, whose residents form a community of interest with the Blacks in the Lower Westchester District. This district should have gone north to the city boundary to capture the entire community of interest in Lower Westchester. For the foregoing reasons, I strongly urge the Attorney General the Attorney General to object to the pending Section 5 submission of the New York State Senate for S. 6696. Should you have any questions regarding the information presented in this Comment letter, please contact me at 718-711-3105. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this letter.

Respectfully,

Karim Camara Chair, New York State Black Puerto Rican Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus Member of the Assembly-43rd District

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