Overview
- A unanimous First Department panel lifted a pause and directed New York’s independent redistricting commission to reconfigure the 11th Congressional District.
- The order follows a Jan. 21 ruling by Justice Jeffrey Pearlman that the current map unlawfully diluted Black and Latino voting power and could not be used for upcoming elections.
- Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and GOP officials filed emergency applications with the U.S. Supreme Court, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor required responses from Democrats by Thursday as petitioning is set to start Feb. 24.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James urged the justices not to intervene, while the Trump administration’s Justice Department supported Malliotakis and argued the remedy amounts to a racial gerrymander.
- If new lines are adopted, observers expect Staten Island could be paired with parts of lower Manhattan, a configuration seen as favoring Democrats and potentially reshaping neighboring districts.