Happy Wednesday in New York, where redistricting officers are about to get squiggly with it.
The national redistricting war waged its most consequential battle last week, when the Supreme Court ruled that a key tenet of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, which barred state maps that diluted the voting power of racial minorities, constituted illegal gerrymandering.
The decision opens the door for Republican lawmakers to dismantle majority-Black congressional districts and aggressively redraw maps across the South, likely picking up a number of seats in Congress.
In response, New York is getting serious about its own redistricting efforts. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents New York’s 8th District, sent U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle as an envoy to meet with Governor Kathy Hochul in Albany yesterday, where the two talked about fast-tracking a full-scale gerrymander of the state’s congressional map.
“After the VRA decision, all bets are off,” David Wasserman, senior editor at the Cook Political Report, told Gothamist. “We’ve entered a new phase in which Democrats will be looking to exact any revenge they can, even if it means extracting even more advantage out of states they’ve already gerrymandered.”
Redistricting usually happens once every 10 years, after the U.S. Census releases updated population information. But New York Democrats are pushing to vote on a state constitutional amendment that would move up that timeline before the 2028 election.
Democrats insist their gerrymandering efforts are a tit-for-tat response to the president, who cast the first stone when he pushed Texas to pursue a rare mid-decade redistricting effort to pick up five House seats ahead of the midterms.
“I don’t feel like I should be handcuffed in a fight for our democracy,” Governor Hochul told reporters. “I’ll not be handicapped in that fight.”
Through it all, elected officials on both sides of the aisle are teaching the children of this country an important lesson: If you’re having trouble coloring inside the lines, just redraw the lines.
The city announced plans for a street safety redesign along Bergen and Dean streets from Court Street to East New York Avenue, 10-mile routes that are key cycling corridors.
The intersection of Pineapple and Henry streets was officially dedicated as “Dorothy Day Way,” in honor of the antiwar activist, champion of the poor, social justice worker and Catholic radical who was born steps from the intersection.
Silent alarms would be required in all New York state classrooms, under legislation sponsored by Assemblymember William Colton.
Brooklyn Bridge Park unveils new public art exhibition, “Guardian Spirit,” a collection of redwood and bronze sculptures installed along the Brooklyn waterfront.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the appointment of Dr. Ayesha Delany-Brumsey as commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety on Tuesday.
A woman and her cat were rescued from the East River underneath the Manhattan Bridge, near Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Our World In Photos
Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
BROOKLYN — Inside the converted Williamsburgh Savings Bank, an iconic launch occurs: Ronnie Wood, left, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards attend The Rolling Stones' "Foreign Tongues" album launch event on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in New York.
For more pictures like this, see Our World in Photos.
Writing what he knows: David Lindsay-Abaire’s new play pulls inspiration from his Brooklyn neighborhood
Derek McLane designed the set for “The Balusters,” modeled after the large Victorian homes characteristic of Prospect Park South, where Lindsay-Abaire lives. Photo: Jeremy Daniel
“The Balusters,” now playing on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, features big, old Victorian houses on grassy lawns; a diverse, well-to-do community in a big city; and a riotous neighborhood association in a heavily landmarked area. David Lindsay-Abaire may have named the neighborhood at the center of his newest play Vernon Point, but Brooklynites may recognize it as Prospect Park South, where the playwright has lived with his wife for 14 years.
“I was scared — I think my wife was more scared — that people were going to egg our home,” Lindsay-Abaire joked to the Brooklyn Eagle. “But no. Many neighbors have come to see the play, including the entire board who came on one night together. I was terrified, but they were downright giddy about it.”
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For the Road
Sacred Sites: Three churches in Brooklyn and the Green-Wood Cemetery are participating in this year’s Landmarks Conservancy 16th Annual Sacred Sites Open House. The Sacred Sites Weekend, May 16-17, is a free, statewide event, inviting visitors to explore the architecture, art and history of New York’s houses of worship. Participating sites will showcase their buildings, histories and community programs through guided tours, lectures and musical performances. Learn more.
Happy Birthday to Atlanta Dream forward Angel Reese!
On This Day in 1910, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “What’s the matter with the Boston Red Sox? That is the question that the Boston writers and fans are asking.”
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