State Sens. Michael Gianaris and Jose Peralta have decried the proposed lines for their current districts, which would pit the two of them against each other.

The new proposed state Senate district lines would set Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) against Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), but the longtime friends say they have no plans to duke it out at the polls.

“This actually makes it very amusing,” Peralta said.

Both senators characterized the new districts, drawn by Senate Republicans, as politically inspired. In the past, Gianaris’ district, the 12th District, encompassed most of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside with a thin tentacle extending down to take in parts of Maspeth and Ridgewood.

Meanwhile, Peralta’s 13th District mostly stayed within the area between the Grand Central Parkway and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, encompassing East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Corona, most of Elmhurst and a part of Woodside.

Peralta’s new district instead extends northwest to take in a chunk of Astoria, while another tentacle further south takes in a chunk of Woodside. The proposed 13th District also includes the Con Edison complex, LaGuardia Airport and a chunk of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which now are in Sen. Toby Stavisky’s (D-Whitestone) district, but loses parts of Elmhurst.

To make up for the pieces lost, the 12th District now extends down even further, taking in slivers of Glendale, Woodhaven, Ozone Park and Lindenwood.

Gianaris said the new district lines change the makeup of the district by about 10 percent.

“The only thing they did is that they took my house out of it,” Gianaris said.

Peralta characterized New York state as becoming more Democratic and accused the Senate Republicans of trying to maintain their majority by pitting Democrats in the city against each other.

“The only way they can do it is by gerrymandering, and they’ve done so,” Peralta said.

Both lawmakers hold high positions in the Senate. Gianaris is the chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and Peralta is the Democratic whip.

In addition to pitting the party heavyweights against each other, Peralta said his new district also loses about 20,000 Asian residents in exchange for 20,000 white residents. The new lines will put the Asian population in a new Asian district, which is now Stavisky’s, but Peralta said the lines have the effect of cutting in half the Asian residents of Elmhurst.

“There’s no concern for the Asian community in northwest Queens,” Peralta said.

Gianaris, who has long been a proponent of independent redistricting, said while politics can be a factor, the lines fail to be compact, continuous or to keep together communities of interest.

“Astoria is one community,” he said. “For them to split it in two is completely outrageous.”

The senators are not the only ones unhappy with the new districts. On his Facebook page, City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) called the new lines an “outrage” and said the 12th District resembled a “baby alien popping out of a stomach.”

Rose Marie Poveromo, a civic leader whose home would be in Peralta’s new district where she now is in Gianaris’ district, said the new districts were “disgraceful.”

“Why should it be changed?” she asked. “This is truly a perfect example of gerrymandering.”

Gianaris said he expected Gov. Andrew Cuomo to veto the new lines, but added whatever happens, he and Peralta will not run against each other.

“Sen. Peralta and I have been friends longer than we’ve been elected officials,” Gianaris said.

The proposed lines for districts represented by state Sens. Shirley Huntley (l. to r.), Malcolm Smith and Joseph Addabbo are drastically different than what currently exists.

State Sens. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica) and Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) may need to sign up for dance lessons if newly proposed district maps are approved because they will be doing the shuffle.

“It looks like a switcheroo,” Huntley said in a telephone interview Monday, comparing how the new lines give her parts of the Rockaways that are now Smith’s constituents.

Under the redistricting proposal submitted by the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, the Rockaways would be split, with Addabbo’s district representing the western Rockaway neighborhoods, including Breezy Point and Rockaway Park, while Huntley would represent Arverne and Far Rockaway.

Senate, state Assembly and congressional lines are redrawn every 10 years to account for population changes recorded by the census.

Smith now represents the entire peninsula while the Rockaways is split in Congress between U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village), who has the western part, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans).

The task force’s proposal would take away Lindenwood, Ozone Park, Woodhaven and Richmond Hill from Addabbo and give him part of the Rockaways, Fresh Meadows and Broad Channel.

If those changes go through, Addabbo’s district would be more conservative because of Republican-leaning areas in the Rockaways.

“It’s absurd the Republicans are trying every which way to stay in power,” said Addabbo, who beat longtime Republican Sen. Serphin Maltese in 2008. “The voice of the people has totally been ignored in the process and that’s a problem.”

Both Addabbo and Huntley said they would have preferred the Rockaways to be intact as the area is now. Addabbo represented part of the Rockaways in the City Council.

“I don’t mind representing the Rockaways again — I find it intriguing — but I’ve held the position that communities should not be divided. I don’t think Rockaway should have two state senators.”

The Republican-led Senate drew up the lines for its own chamber while the Democratic Assembly did the same.

Huntley said her district and Smith’s are both heavily Democratic and Republicans would have nothing to gain by tinkering with the lines in southeast Queens.

“I frankly thought our lines would stay the same,” she said. “I have no idea why anybody would do this. They could have left me how I was. It really doesn’t benefit them to do it.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he would veto any redistricting plan that is not drawn up by an independent commission, and Addabbo said it appears the lines will be legally contested.

“We are looking at lines drawn by a court at this point,” the senator said about the likelihood of litigation over the redistricting plan, which was conceived out of “the same politics that have plagued Albany for years.”

The senator said the process should be “about voters choosing their representatives, not representatives choosing their voters.

“The process is flawed to begin with,” he said.

The proposed districts of state Sens. Toby Stavisky (l.) and Tony Avella. Stavisky's home was not included in her proposed district, meaning she would have to run against Avella.

After a state body released redrawn lines for New York’s state Senate districts, cries of political gerrymandering were heard from northeast Queens all the way to Albany.

In particular, political sources pointed to the proposed districts of Sens. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who would have to run against each other if the boundaries are adopted.

A state body called the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment released redrawn political boundaries last week as part of a process that happens every 10 years to accommodate population growth.

Stavisky and Avella’s districts — the 16th and 11th, respectively — were already some of the most gerrymandered seats in the state, according to the two lawmakers.

Avella’s district is only contiguous during low tide, and a portion of Stavisky’s district is the unpopulated Cross Island Parkway.

Neither Stavisky or Avella could be reached for comment on the plan.

The proposed lines, drawn by Senate Republicans, took Stavisky out of her own district.

Every politician has to live, or at least spend a certain amount of time, at a residence in the district. Stavisky lists her address in Beechhurst, which would now lie in the same district as Avella under the proposed lines.

In the previous maps from 2002, the Beechhurst portion of District 16 already looked like a strange addition, an isolated lobe sticking out from the neighborhood of Bay Terrace. Even Stavisky has said the addition of Bay Terrace, which is thinly connected to the rest of the district by the Cross Island Parkway, smacked of gerrymandering.

A source knowledgeable about partisan politics said the Republicans might be trying to create as much infighting as possible in the Democratic Party ahead of the 2013 elections by pitting the likes of Avella and Stavisky in eastern Queens and Sens. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) and Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) in the west against each other.

The infighting could mean expensive primaries between Democrats at a time when Republicans enjoy a large fund-raising advantage statewide, the source said.

According to the state Board of Elections, as of January the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee had $164,163 in its coffers, while the state Senate Republican Campaign Committee had more than $3.7 million, which means Republicans have about 22 times as much funding as their blue counterparts.

But if Stavisky did not want to run against Avella, who once worked as her chief of staff before rising through the political ranks to his current seat, she could always move somewhere else within District 11.

The proposed District 16 also brought mixed reactions from groups calling for independent redistricting.

The Asian American Community Coalition on Redistricting and Democracy had called for a majority Asian Senate seat to represent the people with ethnic backgrounds ranging from Chinese to Bangladeshi whose population has soared.

The proposed District 16 would be an Asian-majority Senate seat, and the coalition praised the task force for at least hearing its side of the argument, according to spokesman James Hong.

But Hong said the coalition could not support the bizarre and gerrymandered shape of the district in its proposed form and would rather have seen a district centralized more around the Flushing area and eastward toward Bayside.

The proposed lines, however, might not be the final chapter in the redistricting fight. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the proposed lines “hyper-partisan” in Albany and vowed to veto them.

State Assemblyman Rory Lancman (l.) is pleased with the boundaries of his proposed district under redistricting, but Assemblyman David Weprin is not.

The proposed districts of state Assemblymen David Weprin (l.) and Rory Lancman look drastically different under the newly released plans.

Reactions were mixed after two state Assembly districts in eastern Queens were drastically changed last Thursday by a state panel in charge of redrawing political boundaries.

Assemblymen Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) and David Weprin (D-Little Neck) saw their districts — the 25th and 24th, respectively — morph to include different neighborhoods throughout northeast Queens, with Lancman’s being turned into a much-discussed majority Asian district.

Weprin vowed to testify against the current maps, calling his proposed district less cohesive, while Lancman touted his proposed district as just the opposite.

The redistricting process happens every decade after the results of the U.S. census are made final. A state body made up of politicians and civilians, called the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, adjusts political lines to accommodate for population increases.

The majority party in each house draws the maps, so Democrats created the Assembly lines and Republicans the Senate lines. The process is often controversial, and this time around is no different.

In 2002, the last time the lines were drawn, Lancman’s District 25 was largely aligned on a north-south axis. His district stretched all the way from portions of Richmond Hill in the south through Briarwood, Kew Gardens Hills, Fresh Meadows and Flushing and finally up to Whitestone in the north. It encompasses six community boards, six police precincts and four school districts.

The proposed district would be oriented east to west and lose the far-flung neighborhoods to the north and south, like Whitestone and Richmond Hill, and instead concentrate more on Flushing, Fresh Meadows and parts of Bayside.

And that would cut the number of community boards, police precincts and school districts for the seat in half.

“It helps keeps communities together,” said Eric Walker, spokesman for Lancman. “We’re happy with the outcome and look forward to reporting to our new constituents.”

The district would also be more than 50 percent Asian — which includes people of all Asian backgrounds — which is something advocated for by The Asian American Community Coalition on Redistricting and Democracy.

The coalition has said the rising Asian population in New York City warranted at least four Assembly districts so the populations could be adequately represented in government, according to James Hong, spokesman for the coalition.

The coalition ultimately supports the Unity Maps, an alternate proposal drawn up by several groups throughout the state, but Hong echoed Lancman and said the proposed District 25 is an improvement over the 2002 version.

“It is more reflective of a community that exists here in northeast Queens,” he said. “We are definitely appreciative of what the Assembly side of [the task force] has attempted to do here.”

But Hong said the coalition’s cautious optimism does not carry over to other neighborhoods like Richmond Hill, which has long been splintered into several Assembly districts.

A portion of that neighborhood was formerly represented by Lancman, but under the proposed maps, a portion of it would go to Weprin’s District 24 instead.

District 24 is currently compact and vaguely rectangular. It covers neighborhoods including Jamaica Estates and Auburndale to the west and runs through Fresh Meadows, Douglaston, Little Neck, Glen Oaks and Floral Park in the east.

The proposed district is much thinner and would run from Richmond Hill in the east and then follow the Grand Central Parkway west through Jamaica Hills, Jamaica Estates, Holliswood and Fresh Meadows before ending up again in Oakland Gardens.

“Following the publication of the draft redistricting maps, I want to state my opposition to the changes made to the 24th Assembly district,” Weprin said in a statement. “Northeast Queens is a special and distinct geographic region, whose residents and community leaders have voiced their desire to be kept together in a contiguous district rather than be divided.”

A state task force proposes these state Senate districts for Queens, which has received wide criticism in the borough.

No matter how you slice it, the redistricting plan drawn up by a state task force last week was widely panned in Queens by critics who said the proposal breaks up communities and gerrymanders the lines.

Every 10 years, districts for state Senate, state Assembly and congressional lines are redrawn to reflect population changes recorded in the census.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he would veto any plan not conceived by an independent commission.

The lines were proposed by the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, a body comprised of elected officials and members of the public selected by elected officials.

Under the group’s plan, Sens. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and Tony Avella (D-Bayside) would have to run against each other in a primary in one district and Sens. Jose Peralta (D-Corona) and Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) would face off in another contest.

“I can’t believe there are Democrats that would have to primary each other,” said Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica), whose southern Queens district would cut Broad Channel and sections of southeast Queens and add parts of the Rockaways if the plan is enacted.

The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association is against the plan because it would carve up the neighborhood among three different senators: Joseph Addabbo, Malcolm Smith and Shirley Huntley

“When it comes to the Senate lines, the people of Woodhaven are being treated as pawns in Albany’s gerrymandering games,” said Alexander Blenkinsopp, spokesman for the association.

Eastern Queens United, a group of a dozen civic associations, criticized the redistricting process for dividing communities.

The task force “has abdicated its responsibility to serve the needs of the community and instead has served the needs of its politicians,” said Bob Friedrich, president of the Glen Oaks Village co-op and founder of EQU. “The new legislative maps are an abomination and are gerrymandered to break up our communities that have simply asked to remain united.”

Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck), who represents a portion of the area covered by Eastern Queens United, said he was against the task force’s map.

“Northeast Queens is a special and distinct geographic region, whose residents and community leaders have voiced their desire to be kept together in a contiguous district rather than be divided,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to offering testimony as part of [the task force’s] public review process and for my constituents to do likewise in order to end with a map that truly represents the unique character of northeast Queens.”

The Asian American Community Coalition on Redistricting and Democracy applauded the task force for drawing a new Asian-American majority Senate district in Queens and a new Assembly district but criticized the group for dividing Flushing.

“A compact district in Flushing-Bayside should be drawn to keep Asian-American communities of interest together in these neighborhoods,” the group said.

ACCORD also said the task force “has not brought equality to all Asian-American neighborhoods across New York” because Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park were divided into multiple districts.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, shown here with Lady Gaga look-alike Renee Cole at Resorts World Casino New York City, says the state's legal gambling age should be raised to 21.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said he supports raising the legal age to gamble to 21 from 18, saying the move would limit the number of youngsters with gambling addictions.

“I believe the time is right to address the issues of gambling through raising awareness and legislation,” Addabbo said in a statement Monday.

The senator said a study titled “Raising the Gambling Age to 21 in New York State” and published by the Council on Alcoholism and Addictions in the Finger Lakes region of the state found the earlier in life a person starts gambling, the more likely he or she is to experience symptoms that correlate with pathological gambling.

Addabbo, who represents the area around Aqueduct Race Track and the new Resorts World Casino New York racino, is the chairman of the Senate Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee.

He said with Gov. Andrew Cuomo in favor of changing the law to create Las Vegas- and Atlantic City-style casinos in the state, it is appropriate to consider raising the legal gambling age.

“Our economy hinges on winning the future,” Addabbo said. “For America to own this century, we must provide our younger residents with the conditions to excel academically and professionally in order to create the next Google or to invent the next critical piece of technology that revolutionizes the way people live.

“To do this, young people must have the opportunity to study in advanced fields of science and mathematics. With college costs continuing to grow, it is vital to provide a firm financial foundation for scholars to become the next entrepreneurs.”

Addabbo also said research has shown that gambling at a young age is a trigger for alcohol abuse, drug use and criminal behavior later in life, and that youngsters are more inclined to gamble than older people in games such as cards, dice and pool.

He said Youth Gambling International found young adults from 18 to 21 are three times more likely to have problems associated with gambling.

Addabbo noted that approving full gambling in the state will take a few years and that changing the legal gambling age should be done before then.

“Our state’s constitution must be amended over two consecutive legislative sessions and then a deciding vote, via the people’s vote on a referendum ballot, must also provide public assent before full casino gaming can operate in the state,” he said. “Since we have a few years before that is likely to happen, it gives us enough time to be more responsible by raising awareness to avoid youthful gambling addictions.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo addresses the crowd at Queens College. Photo by Christina Santucci

Security moves into place alongside the unidentified heckler. Photo by Christina Santucci

After his Albany address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented his budget plan for a second time in Flushing last Thursday morning, which had many Queens officials in the audience nodding their heads in agreement.

Aside from a Queens College professor claiming to represent the “99 percent,” the audience largely hung on the governor’s words as he touted statewide reforms and pushed his idea for a convention center at the Aqueduct Racino in South Ozone Park.

“Let’s build the largest convention center in the nation,” the governor said, his voice rising. “And let’s build it in Queens.”

A recent statewide Siena College poll found the public’s response lukewarm, however, with only 38 percent in favor and 57 percent opposed to the $4.4 billion plan.

But U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans) loved the idea.

“I’m excited about it,” he said in an interview after the address. “It sends a huge message that Queens is a part of New York City.”

Westerns Queens politicians, like City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), were happy to hear Cuomo’s plans for an energy highway connecting the sites in upstate and western New York, where power is generated to areas downstate like New York City, where demand is heavy.

Astoria currently bears a large burden in supplying the city with power. It is home to six power plants, in addition to Vallone’s office.

“It should have been done a long time ago, but we finally have a governor who has the guts to do it,” said Vallone. “My district provides more than 80 percent of the power for the entire city.”

Cuomo also delved into crime during his speech, which drew the attention of District Attorney Richard Brown.

The governor called for DNA information to be taken from anyone who is convicted of a crime, no matter what the crime. Currently DNA information is only taken from about 50 percent of convicted criminals. The governor’s statements echoed those of Brown, who has long called for the blanket DNA sampling.

“DNA is one of the most powerful tools ever developed to solve and prevent crimes, to exonerate the innocent and to bring justice to victims of crime,” Brown said in response to the speech. “It is the fingerprint of the 21st century, yet we are not making full use of this technology.”

At a news conference immediately following the presentation, Cuomo discussed the Cross Bay Bridge toll, saying he would like to reduce the costs for residents of the Rockaways, who use the bridge to travel to work. He has also previously said he would provide refunds to residents of the Rockaways and Broad Channel, effectively ending the tolls.

This was another win for Meeks.

“I think that bridge has more than paid for itself,” he said, hoping that it would be abolished altogether. “I’ll be working with the governor.”

Cuomo also received plaudits for taking the education and governmental bureaucracy to task for not coming up with a method to effectively evaluate teachers.

The federal government gave New York state $700 million in Race to the Top funds on the condition that it come up with an evaluation system, but the impasse means the Obama administration wants its money back.

If that happens, it will nearly negate the $800 million increase in education funding the governor has planned.

Cuomo said he would increase education funding on a state level by a further 4 percent, but only for school districts that come up with an evaluation method.

He did not cover his plans for pension reform, which have drawn criticism from high-profile union leaders.

Virginia Salow (c.), a member of the Queens Colony Civic Association, says eastern Queens has been divided into three state Assembly districts for the 30 years she has lived there. Photo by Rich Bockmann

Flushing resident Sunny Hahn voices her opinion on redistricting. Photo by Rich Bockmann

Leaders from more than a dozen eastern Queens civic groups met in Bellerose last week, demanding their communities be united by the state task force that will redraw the area’s legislative lines for the coming decade.

The state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment is expected to release its first-draft maps within the next few weeks, and the members of Eastern Queens United stressed the importance of seeing their neighborhoods represented by one state Assembly district.

Currently, Glen Oaks, New Hyde Park, Bellerose, Floral Park and Queens Village are represented by Assembly members David Weprin (D-Little Neck), Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) and Barbara Clark (D-Queens Village).

“It’s difficult to get any of them to come to my civic association because we are on the fringe,” said Nagassar Ramgarib, president of the Queens Village Civic Association, in the auditorium of the Queens High School of Teaching, Liberal Arts and the Sciences.

Bob Friedrich, president of Glen Oaks Village, said all of these neighborhood share common quality-of-life issues and that the different civic groups all work together.

“It’s important that whoever represents us understands that when our civics speak, their words are backed up by tens of thousands of votes,” he said.

The group invited a number of politicians to the meeting, asking them to pledge their support for its cause, testify at public meetings and pledge to vote “no” on any map that divided the community.

Before leaving to attend a personal engagement, Weprin said he “fully supported keeping the communities united” and would testify at the public meeting that will be scheduled once LATFOR releases its map.

When Friedrich asked the assemblyman to make the pledge, Weprin replied, “I can’t commit to voting ‘no,’” which drew boos from a handful of the approximately 150 attendees.

“I didn’t like that he wouldn’t commit,” said Charlie Vaicels, of the Queens Colony Civic Association in Bellerose. “He probably has commitments to other people.”

Braunstein was attending an event in Whitestone that evening, and Clark did not respond to an invitation, Friedrich said.

“It goes to show you, if you’re on the periphery of their district, they don’t care,” he said.

Eastern Queens United also wants to be represented by one state Senate district.

“I’ll go to those hearings and scream my head off, but the issue will be decided behind closed doors,” said Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who affirmed Friedrich’s pledge.

City Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens), who used to hold his brother’s Assembly seat, wrote a letter to the heads of LATFOR urging the task force to create a district that resembled the one he represents in the council.

He said the real problem is that the current process is set up so that each political party can keep its majorities in the two legislative houses.

“Independent redistricting is important today because people don’t respect the government,” he said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he would veto any map not created by an independent commission, sending the decision to the courts to be decided.

“That might be the best way to go,” the councilman said. “I like that I can say, ‘The politicians didn’t do it.’”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (r.) waves as he is introduced by Lt. Gov.Roberty Duffy before his State of the State speech at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. AP Photo/Mike Groll

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he wants the Aqueduct racino in South Ozone Park to be the site of the nation’s largest convention center during his State of the State address last week.

Cuomo said convention centers are “economic generators” and the Javits Center in Manhattan is not big enough to attract the best shows and conventions.

“Let’s build the largest convention center in the nation, period,” Cuomo said.

He called the Javits Center “not competitive.”

The governor said $4 billion would be needed from the private sector to build a convention center at the Aqueduct racino.

“It will be all about jobs, jobs, jobs — tens of thousands of jobs,” Cuomo said.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said he was supportive of the governor’s proposal, but wants the community to have a say in what is built.

“I am an advocate for community input on this project and feel most people would want to see plans or drawings for the proposal,” the senator said in a statement. “Given our current economic situation, I would certainly work toward creating the thousands of jobs and revenue to the city and state the convention center brings.”

Cuomo said 2011, his first year in office, was successful for the state because it “established credibility” and “reversed decades of decline.

“We have big problems in New York. We also have big solutions in New York,” he said.

“I think we had a change of attitude last year,” Cuomo said. “We were done with the dysfunction of Albany, done with the label of dysfunction … and we made up our mind to change it.”

The governor said he wanted to expand gambling in the state to raise revenues.

“When it comes to casino gaming, I believe we’re living in a state of denial,” he said, referring to opponents the governor said fail to acknowledge the state already has gambling in the form of native American casinos and racinos like the one at Aqueduct.

“The debate … is just not true. We’re in the gaming business,” Cuomo said. “For us, it’s not about chips and cards. This is about the jobs that the casino industry generates.”

The governor said expanding gambling would generate $1 billion in economic benefits for the state.

He also called for repairing 2,000 miles of roads, improving 48 state parks and historic sites and repairing 114 flood-control projects.

Cuomo said he understands the politics behind those who do not agree with him on pension reform, but the governor said his proposal would only affect potential new employers in the future — what he called the “unborn.

“We have taxpayers who are suffering today and need help today,” he said. “Let’s respond to them.”

Cuomo said there needs to be improvement in education, saying the state ranked 38th in the country in graduation rates.

“We need major reform,” he said. “We have to change the paradigm.”

During his address, the governor also proposed what he called a foreclosure relief unit that would provide counseling and mediation to keep residents in their homes.

Cuomo said he expects the state to improve on last year, but cautioned that some observers viewed last year as a fluke.

“The cynics don’t know us and they don’t know New York because there’s no way we’re going back, we are going forward. There’s no way we’re going down, we are going up,” he said. “Last year we learned to walk, this year we’re going to run. The best is yet to be. They ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Ex-U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (r.) and his wife, Huma Abedin, had their first child, Jordan Zain Weiner, late last month. AP Photo/Barbara Kinney

Former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner became a first-time father late last month after his wife gave birth to a 7-pound boy, the New York Post reported.

Weiner, who resigned from his Queens congressional seat earlier this year after a texting scandal, announced the birth of Jordan Zain Weiner in an e-mail to friends, calling his son a “sparkling wonder,” the Post said.

“Did I mention his mom is amazing?” Weiner said in the e-mail, referring to Huma Abedin, a top aide to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “We love you for welcoming him.”

Jordan, who weighed 7 pounds 5.8 ounces at birth, is the first child for Weiner, 47, and Abedin, 36.

Weiner, who had been in office since 1999, resigned in June amid a sexting scandal in which he admitted to having online relationships with a number of women and sent them lewd photos.

Weiner initially claimed his Twitter account was hacked but then came clean in early June.

He resigned later that month during a news conference at a Brooklyn senior center where he started his political career, leading to Gov. Andrew Cuomo calling for a September special election to succeed Weiner in the House of Representatives.

The special election was won by Republican Bob Turner, who defeated state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) in the heated contest.

U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (l.) replaced former Congressman Anthony Weiner in a November special election when Turner became the first Republican to hold the Queens-Brooklyn seat since 1920.

Heading into 2011, the Queens political scene was supposed to be uneventful, with District Attorney Richard Brown facing no opposition and the foregone conclusion that Democratic judicial candidates would defeat their Republican rivals as they have for every year in recent memory.

And while the November elections went as expected — Brown won a sixth term and the six Democratic judges on the ballot won seats on the bench — one unforeseen contest in September with an improbable ending would shock the borough and the country.

A showdown between state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) and retired Republican businessman Bob Turner was set in motion after then-U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner began a fall from grace when he lied about sending a lewd photograph of his crotch to his followers on Twitter.

As the scandal started to unfold in early June, Weiner, who at the time was considered the odds-on favorite to be the next mayor, said the photo was not of him and that his Twitter account was hacked.

But then later that month, an X-rated photo of Weiner that he sent to a Twitter follower was released and the congressman admitted it was indeed him who sent the pictures.

As calls for his resignation grew louder, Weiner at first was granted a leave of absence and said he would go to rehab.

Ultimately, as his support diminished, Weiner held a news conference in late June at the Brooklyn senior center where he launched his political career to announce his resignation from Congress, saying the distraction he caused made it impossible for him to do his job.

As soon as Weiner left his seat and Gov. Andrew Cuomo called a Sept. 13 special election to succeed the congressman, speculation grew over who the Democratic Party would select to run on its line.

In the end, Democratic leaders from Brooklyn and Queens chose Weprin and Republicans turned to Turner, who ran unsuccessfully against Weiner in 2010.

In what was widely believed to be a cakewalk for Weprin, Turner’s campaign built momentum as the weeks went by, first gaining support from former Democratic Mayor Ed Koch and endorsements from the Daily News and the New York Post.

Weprin had a number of Democratic elected officials on his side, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

A series of debates between the two candidates drew hecklers on one occasion as both men challenged each other’s views on federal spending, the deficit, Israel, Medicare and Social Security.

Early polls showed Weprin ahead, but as Sept. 13 grew closer, Turner had the upper hand.

Turner went on to defeat Weprin 53 percent to 46 percent and became the first Republican to hold that particular congressional seat since 1920.?

In Queens, Weprin bested Turner 52 percent to 47 percent, but Turner dominated the Brooklyn portion of the district 67 percent to 33 percent.

The shocking result was attributed by political observers to President Barack Obama’s unpopularity at the time and Turner’s success in making the race a referendum on Obama’s policies.

Also this year, the retirement of then-Assemblywomen Audrey Pheffer and Nettie Mayersohn opened the political stage to two aides who had served behind the scenes for years.

Phil Goldfeder, a former aide to Pheffer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schumer, defeated Republican District Leader Jane Deacy to succeed Pheffer while Mayersohn’s longtime chief of staff, Michael Simanowitz, defeated College Point Republican Marco DeSena to replace Mayersohn.

Judge Toko Serita (c.) performed a wedding ceremony for Therese Lendino (l.) and Laura Casini at Queens Borough Hall July 24, when same-sex marriage went into effect in New York state.

Supreme Court Judge Darrel Gavrin (front l.) completes marriage documents for Darryl Wong and Michael Kandel (r.), of Douglaston, who were one of the 90 couples to get married in Queens the first day same-sex marriages could be performed.

Desiree (l.) and Katrice Bussell, of Jamaica, were one of 90 pairs to get married in Queens July 24, when same-sex marriage was able to be performed in New York state.

Before Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill June 24 that would legalize same-sex marriage in New York state, Astoria LGBT activist Brendan Fay and his husband, Dr. Thomas Moulton, helped same-sex couples in New York cross the border into Canada or into neighboring states to get married.

Now he receives messages from people in Ireland and Poland eager to marry in New York state.

“It was just so great to see couples getting married and right here in our city,” Fay said.

The June 24 vote came down to four Republican senators from upstate New York who voted in support of the measure, but the debate had been fought in Queens for years. The state Assembly had voted for marriage equality in 2007 and 2009.

While 2011 would see all seven Queens senators vote in favor of the bill, in 2009 five of Queens’ senators voted against the measure: current state Sens. Shirley Huntley (D-Jamaica) and Joseph Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and former Sens. George Onorato, Hiram Monserrate and Frank Padavan.

In 2011, the Queens political scene looked much different. Onorato retired and was replaced by Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria). Monserrate had been booted from the Senate following a misdemeanor assault conviction and lost the special election for the seat to Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst). Padavan, Queens’ only Republican senator, lost to Tony Avella (D-Bayside) in a contentious race.

Queens also now had two openly gay city councilmen — Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) and Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) — to advocate for the issue.

“The presence of these two capable, community-oriented, active councilmen has shown that gay legislators will do a good job of representing their constituents across the board, which in turn reinforces the idea of gay people as members of the community,” Queens College political science professor Michael Krasner said in an e-mail.

In mid-June, a large swath of Queens legislators, led by U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), held a news conference at Queens Borough Hall in support of marriage equality. Shortly afterward, Huntley and Addabbo announced they had taken polls of their districts and found their constituents now supported it.

Their flipped votes, along with a change of heart by then-Brooklyn Sen. Carl Kruger, meant all New York Senate Democrats except for Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. (D-Bronx) were in support of the measure.

The act passed June 24 and was signed by Cuomo the same day. A month later, 90 same-sex couples lined up at Queens Borough Hall to be married.

In November, Van Bramer and his longtime partner, Dan Hendrick, announced they will be joining those who have been married in Queens next year.

“I think the main impact has been to solidify the alliances between the gay community and the other liberal groups in the Democratic Party,” Krasner said. “I also think it may have the long-term effect of isolating anti-gay marriage groups.”

Some states have seen a backlash after granting same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court of California’s decision to allow gay couples to marry ended when voters passed the constitutional amendment known as Proposition 8. Iowa voters defeated three judges who ruled in favor of marriage equality.

Krasner said Assemblyman David Weprin’s (D-Little Neck) pro-marriage equality vote may have contributed to some religious groups voting for now-Rep. Bob Turner (R-Middle Village) in the race for the 9th Congressional District, but he said the main reasons for Weprin’s defeat were his weakness as a candidate and an anti-President Barack Obama sentiment.

Krasner said Addabbo and Huntley, as incumbents, will remain hard to beat.

Fay said that while a potential backlash was a concern, he nevertheless believes the vote was a turning point.

“I look forward to the day when all other states follow New York,” he said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo applauds the state Legislature coming to an agreement on reforming the tax code that will lead to cuts fo middle-class earners. AP Photo/Hans Pennink

Most Queens residents will have more money in their pockets come tax time next year after the state Legislature earlier this month approved tax decreases for those making less than $300,000.

The agreement changes the income tax structure and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the revisions will add $1.9 billion to the state’s coffers.?

Under the reforms enacted by the Legislature, those making between $300,000 and $2 million will have a base tax rate of 6.85 percent, up from 6.65 percent.

For those earning $2 million and more, the rate will be 8.82 percent, up from the 6.65 percent base rate but less than the 8.97 percent they were paying under the so-called “millionaire’s tax” surcharge.

The governor said 4.4 million New Yorkers will see tax decreases under the plan, including a $690 million reduction in taxes for the middle class, which was defined as earners making $300,000 or less.

That group had a 6.85 percent base tax rate, but those making between $40,000 and $150,000 will have a rate of 6.45 percent.

Those with an income between $150,000 and $300,000 will see their rate slashed from 6.85 percent to 6.65 percent.

State Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) said the changes to the tax code were needed.

“This tax code reform is a simple matter of fairness,” Miller said. “Reforming the tax code to support middle-class families is the right thing to do and is the best way to stimulate consumer spending and jump-start the economy. This plan will give relief to the struggling middle class and put New York on the path to fiscal stability.”

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) also applauded the move, which was approved by the Legislature during a special session called by Cuomo earlier this month.

“I am thankful to have been given an opportunity to give the middle class of this state a long-overdue and certainly needed state income tax break,” Addabbo said. “The restructuring of New York state’s tax code creates a fair and progressive tax system and provides equity to citizens across this city and state.”

Since 2009, those making more than $300,000 were hit with the millionaire’s tax on top of their base tax rate that was anywhere from 7.85 percent to 8.97 percent.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo to give Queens Hospitals the same consideration recently given to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, a hospital often frequented by southwest Queens residents, which was looked at by a working group.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) wrote a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo earlier this month requesting they “start a conversation” on how to address Queens’ and the Bronx’s diminishing health care access following the establishment of a work group to deal with Brooklyn hospitals.

“The focus of late has been on Brooklyn, but we have concerns in Queens County as well,” Crowley said.

The Brooklyn Health Systems Redesign Work Group, or the Berger Commission II, recently released a report at the end of November with recommendations to increase the financial security and quality of care of Brooklyn’s health system.

The study looked at six hospitals, one of which was Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, which many residents in southwest Queens use. The study recommended that Wyckoff, along with Interfaith Medical Center, be integrated into a system with Brooklyn Hospital Center, which has recently emerged from bankruptcy, at the head.

Brooklyn Hospital should then guide Wyckoff and Interfaith in streamlining their care to make it sustainable in a way that helps the communities’ needs and helps the hospitals fix their own financial problems, the study said.

Crowley said while he wants Brooklyn’s health care situation to improve, he wrote to Cuomo Dec. 1 requesting they discuss how to deal with similar issues for Queens and the Bronx’s hospitals.

Crowley said Queens also needs attention after four hospitals closed in the last five years. He said the closings have put a burden on Queens’ existing hospitals and resulted in the lost of hospital beds and emergency rooms in the borough.

“I want to find solutions,” Crowley said. “I want them to be addressed, particularly emergency rooms.”

The hospitals in Queens that have closed include St. Joseph’s Hospital in Flushing, which was converted into the drug abuse support facility Cornerstone of Medical Arts Center in 2007; Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills, which shut its doors in 2008 due to a recommendation from the first Berger Commission; and Mary Immaculate in Jamaica and St. John’s Queens Hospital in Elmhurst, which were closed in 2009 after failing to get $36 million from the state to cover operating costs.

Crowley said the loss of emergency rooms was a particular concern as time could mean the difference between life and death in many situations. He also said that closing a hospital is a loss to the local businesses that employees once patronized.

“Hospitals are an economic engine and they are in our communities,” he said.

The congressman said some possible solutions could be relieving hospitals of their debt or creating a free-standing emergency room like the one being set up at the former site of Manhattan’s St. Vincent Hospital in Greenwich Village.

“I think there’s room for a lot of creativity here,” he said.

Crowley’s district, which encompasses Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Corona, Woodside, Maspeth, College Point and parts of the Bronx, does not include any of the shuttered hospitals, but he said the closings have had an effect on his constituents.

But his district does cover Elmhurst Hospital Center, which has been working to expand its services.

Ex-state Comptroller Alan Hevesi is serving a one- to four-year sentence in an upstate prison. He was denied parole last week. AP Photo/Westchester County DA

In a 2-1 decision, disgraced former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi was denied his first shot at parole last week and will remain in an upstate prison, where he is serving time for corruption, for at least one more year.

Hevesi, who was sentenced to one year to four years in prison in April for taking $1 million in campaign contributions and travel expenses in exchange for pension business while state comptroller, told the parole board he was “certainly guilty.

“And there’s some refinements on the edges, but the answer is I’m guilty. I hurt a lot of people … and I’m feeling bad. I have time in prison to think through all the people I’ve hurt,” the former Forest Hills resident told the parole panel at Midstate Correction Facility in Marcy, N.Y, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Hevesi also represented Forest Hills and parts of western Queen in the state Assembly and served as the city comptroller.

Then-state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who filed the charges against Hevesi, said he went on trips to Israel and Italy funded by Elliot Broidy, of Markstone Capital Partners, a firm that specialized in Israeli investments, in exchange for Hevesi’s investing pension funds with Markstone.

During his parole hearing, Hevesi said the Italian trip was just a stopover in a Rome hotel for one night on the way back to New York from one of the Israel visits.

Hevesi also said the travels to Israel “were serious business trips” and not luxury vacations as the charges against him made them out to be.

When asked why he should be paroled, Hevesi said it was not likely he would commit another crime.

“I’m not a career criminal,” he told the panel. “I’ve made this awful, terrible error. I acknowledge how many people I hurt, which I never intended. I’m going to either work –– if you think that’s appropriate, I’m glad to do that.”

But Hevesi said he would spend most of his time taking care of his ailing wife, who is in a nursing home, and watching after his grandchildren.

“I’d rather focus on my wife. I’m her connection to the outside world. I’m the one who visits her every day, takes her to medical appointments to her doctors outside the nursing home,” he said. “And I will be a baby-sitter and I will focus on the family.”

Hevesi also said he wanted to write and was thinking of penning “a couple of books.

“I will be the kind of parolee that the parole officer would be delighted in having,” he said. “I know what I did was wrong and it’s a painful process to come to that conclusion, how wrong and stupid and criminal I was.”

But the parole board did not believe Hevesi was being sincere and accused him of minimizing his crimes.

“During your interview, while you expressed that [the crimes] happened on your watch, your explanation of your culpability was shallow,” wrote one of the three commissioners of the state Commission of Correction.

The commissioner said that while Hevesi admitted his failures, “the majority of the panel finds more compelling the course of conduct from which you have attempted to distance yourself, the violation of your trusted role as an elected official and the loss of integrity of the New York State Office of the State Comptroller.”

A second commissioner agreed with the written opinion and a third dissented, but chose not to explain why she was siding with Hevesi.

Hevesi’s next parole board hearing is scheduled for November 2012.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation says the city's drinking supply will be spared from hydrofracking by the use of a buffer zone, but two Queens members of the City Council say residents should still be concerned. AP Photo/Mike Groll

The state Department of Environmental Conservation released regulations last week concerning the controversial process of hydrofracking that calls for a 1,000-foot buffer zone between an upstate New York shale formation and the city’s watershed.

Two Queens city councilmen criticized the regulation for being too soft and said the 1,000-foot zone is not enough to protect the city’s drinking water supply from hydrofracking.

Hydrofracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial method used to drill for natural gas that leads to toxins becoming trapped in the rock formation, which opponents say can travel into the city’s watershed.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in favor of the gas drilling and supporters say the drilling will lead to more jobs upstate.

Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), chairman of the Council Environmental Protection Committee and a geologist, said the DEC’s draft regulation ?“brings us one step closer … to the possible unprecedented contamination of New York City drinking water and other drinking water supplies throughout the state and the degradation of a large swath of our state through the irreversible industrialization of ‘hydrofracking.’”

Hydrofracking has been taking place in Pennsylvania and the documentary “Gasland” shows how the gas drilling method polluted water in the state, with some homeowners being able to light their drinking water on fire using a match.

Gennaro said the 1,000-foot buffer proposed by the DEC does not even stop hydrofracking from within the buffer, but triggers a notification to the city Department of Environmental Protection that a drilling application was filed and that the state agency has final say as to whether the drilling will be allowed.

Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), chairman of the Council Public Safety Committee, said the DEC’s regulations “do not sufficiently protect our water supply from the dangers of ‘fracking.’

“The state must act quickly to change this proposal, as well as provide a guarantee that if city water is harmed, state money will be used to fix it,” Vallone said.

State Sen. Toby Stavisky stands on a crosswalk hovering above a portion of her district containing no constituents: the Cross Island Parkway. Photo by Christina Santucci

The Queens lawmaker who has one of the most clearly contorted boundary lines in the borough wants to take redistricting power out of the hands of politicians.

When state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) looks at her coverage area, she sees “a Rorschach test for troubled people.”

It is barely contiguous, which is required by the state. Between Clintonville and 148th streets in Whitestone, her district is actually just the Cross Island Parkway.

“If I walked the perimeter of my district, I would get hit by a car,” she said, standing on a crosswalk high above the thoroughfare.

Her constituents saw many things when asked to look at the lines defining her district.

Andrew Gurski, of Bay Terrace, thought it looked like a frog with “a leg problem.”

Gabby Federici thought the oddly shaped boundary resembled a dragon carrying something in its mouth.

Hassan Krayem thought it looked like an upside-down monster.

And Stavisky knows who created that monster.

The corridor-like portion of the district was drawn in 1992, before Stavisky took the seat, she said, ?by the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. The parkway serves as an umbilical cord connecting the Democratic neighborhoods of Beechhurst and Bay Terrace to the main hub of her Democratic district in Flushing.

By connecting the two neighborhoods to the 16th District, the committee took them out of the neighboring district, which was then held by former Sen. Frank Padavan.

Padavan was a Republican, and since the neighborhoods in question typically vote Democratic, they would have hurt his chances for re-election, according to Stavisky, which is why they were removed. But the Democrats benefitted as well, since the addition of the neighborhoods made the 16th District a deeper hue of blue.

“It was wrong in 1992, and it’s wrong now,” she said.

The tentacles of her x-shaped district also encompass parts of Glen Oaks, Hillcrest, Fresh Meadows, Pomonok, Kew Gardens Hills, Oakland Gardens, Maspeth, Flushing, Rego Park, Forest Hills, East Elmhurst and oddly, the power plants north of Astoria.

Stavisky is one many lawmakers calling for redistricting to be done by an independent body, since in the past lines have been shifted to keep incumbents on both sides of the aisle in office, she said.

The task force is currently made up of politicians in both houses as well as non-politicians. With the Republicans enjoying a majority in the Senate and the Democrats a majority in the state Assembly, the dominate parties draw the lines to keep themselves in power, Stavisky said.

Then, according to a longstanding, unspoken agreement, each house approves the other’s plan.

But that agreement might be missing a key party this year.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said repeatedly that he will veto any lines not drawn up by an independent redistricting committee.

The lawmakers on the task force balked at that suggestion, saying there is not enough time, but Stavisky disagreed.

Stavisky said districts should follow a guideline she calls “The Three C’s.”

“You’ve got to have districts that are compact, contiguous and there should be a common thread,” she said.

Debris litters Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel following Tropical Storm Irene. Photo by Christina Santucci

It has been nearly four weeks since Tropical Storm Irene came through Queens, but residents in heavily affected areas in southeast Queens are still reeling from the storm, elected officials said.

Fortunately, the federal government is now lending a helping hand to those victims.

U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica) announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is offering disaster assistance to residents in the 6th Congressional District, which includes the neighborhoods of Jamaica, St. Albans, Laurelton and the Rockaways.

The storm forced thousands of residents to evacuate the Rockaways and destroyed several properties that were close to the shore, according to Meeks. One home in Broad Channel was completed destroyed when the storm touched down in Queens.

“FEMA disaster assistance will bring significant relief to individuals in our community who suffered loss and damage because of the storm and are already under financial distress,” he said in a statement.

The disaster grants can pay for rent and home repairs, replacement for personal property, and could reimburse medical, storage and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance or charities. Small businesses affected by the storm are also eligible for low-interest federal disaster loans from the federal Small Business Administration.

Interested residents need to register with FEMA directly by either calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362)? or by logging on to disasterassistance.gov. Applicants must give ?the address of the affected property, a description of the damage, insurance information and a Social Security number.

Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace their primary residence and may borrow up to $40,000 to replace personal property.

“I would like to thank Gov. Andrew Cuomo for working diligently on submitting Queens County to FEMA for assistance,” Meeks said.

FEMA last provided relief to southeast Queens residents in 2007 following a massive rainstorm that produced heavy flooding in the neighborhood. The agency provided financial aid to more than 2,800 residents for that storm.

U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (r.) chums it up with Mayor Michael Bloomberg over breakfast in Howard Beach, as the two businessmen meet for the first time. Photo by Christina Santucci

The victory by U.S. Rep. Bob Turner (R-Howard Beach) in the race for the 9th Congressional District seat has complicated plans for the congressional redistricting that is set to take place next year.

“It kind of flips things on its head,” said Alex Camarda of the government watchdog group Citizens Union in New York. “It obviously complicates things for the Democrats downstate. That was the seat they were planning to get rid of.”

In the 2010 census, the decline in the state’s population corresponded to losing two seats in Congress, which will bring the number to 27.

The typical thinking would be that each party would lose a seat. One would be picked from upstate and the other from downstate, according to Camarda. Afterward each district in the state would become slightly larger to absorb the people who lost their representatives.

As the election unfolded, it was widely thought that state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) would win the seat, which would then be eliminated, and the Republican Party would pick an upstate seat to dissolve.

But now that Turner is in office, both parties will have to change their strategies.

One factor is that Turner has repeatedly expressed his willingness to stay in Congress, even if his seat is eliminated.

He met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg Monday for the first time over breakfast in Howard Beach. The two businessmen-turned-lawmakers talked about their careers, the acquaintances they had in common and the future of New York City.

Turner said he would run against other incumbents, which means he could become a possible contender for other Democratic seats in the area, which are held by U.S. Reps Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica), Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) or Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside).?

But Republicans will have to choose whether they want to protect Turner’s seat, which could go back to a Democrat in the future, or protect some upstate legislators who recently won elections, according to Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director for the League of Women Voters.

It also remains to be seen whether Democrats will go after Rep. Kathy Hochul (D-Greece), who won upstate in a heavily Republican area.

Regardless of how the new lines will look, Bartoletti said the process will be decided by party politics behind closed doors.

“The party bosses and special interests gain in situations like this,” she said.

If Turner’s seat is eliminated in Queens, she said the Democratic Party will look to protect more senior members like Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria).

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said he will veto any legislative lines that are not drawn by an independent commission, a position he shares with several Queens lawmakers.

Vincent Tabone, vice chairman of the Queens GOP Party, said the Turner victory was a statement that voters in the district did not want to lose their representation.

“The people of the 9th Congressional District voted to maintain their congressional representation,” he said. “They fully comprehended that had they voted for Weprin, they were consenting to a dissolution of their congressional seat.”

In addition, voters voiced their opinion that the country was heading in the wrong direction, Tabone said.

The lawmaker represents an unpopulated, rocky stretch of sand that forms a border around — but does not encroach upon — the neighborhood of Bay Terrace. It connects the neighborhood of Whitestone to the rest of his district by winding around the coast of Little Bay near the Throngs Neck Bridge — but only during low tide.?

Avella visited this portion of his district last week. Even several hours before high tide it was barely passable, since even the sea wall at the edge of the street is not in his district. To get to it, he had to hop a fence and climb down a pile of boulders.?

“I’ve seen it, but I’d never walked it,” he said. “I think there should be reform.”

Avella had co-sponsored a bill and put into writing the growing call for independent redistricting in the state.

On Sept. 7, civic associations and Queens residents spoke out against the legislative boundaries that divide their neighborhoods at a hearing at Borough Hall ahead of the redistricting process that will redraw state and congressional legislative districts in 2012.

The hearing was held by a state body made up of both elected officials and citizens that is currently tasked with redrawing the district lines. Many of those in the audience testified that the new boundaries should keep communities and neighborhoods with cohesive populations in the same district — something that has not happened in the past.

Harpreet Toor said the neighborhood of Richmond Hill — a rectangle-shaped enclave below Forest Park comprised of mainly South Asian residents — is currently divided into four City Council districts, five state Assembly districts and three state Senate districts, according to Toor.

“Right now the district lines are going right through the heart of the neighborhood,” he said. And because the population is split, the voting power of the neighborhood is divided and diminished, Toor said.

State Sen. Tony Avella stands in his district, a sandy and rocky stretch that disappears during high tide. The ledge on the right is not part of his district. Photo by Christina Santucci

A representative from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund outlined several other neighborhoods around the borough that are divided.

Flushing is split into two Assembly districts and two Senate districts, according to Jerry Vattamala, an attorney for the fund. Vattamala said Bayside, which is also split into several districts on the state level, should be lumped in with Flushing whenever possible, due to the similarities in the neighborhoods’ population.

Elmhurst, home to a variety of immigrant populations, is divided into five Assembly districts, four Senate districts and four Council districts, according to a report complied by the fund.

Jamaica Houses, a politically active housing project, is split into two Assembly districts, according to Assemblywoman Barbara Clark (D-Queens Village).

Assemblywoman Marge Markey (D-Maspeth) testified at the hearing and said that while her district seems to be based in Maspeth, she has small portions of Astoria, Woodside and Elmhurst. The residents in the latter set of communities do not have enough people to sway the vote for her seat.

“It needs to be whole communities,” she said when asked what ideal district lines would look like.

Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) co-sponsored a bill with Avella to promote independent redistricting and offered blunt advice for the panel.

“Disband yourself and establish an independent commission,” he said at the hearing.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is also a fan of independent redistricting and has said he will veto any lines the panel presents.

Some residents who testified said independent redistricting would require a state constitutional amendment, which would be too time-consuming to pursue this time around.

But Avella said it is perfectly legal to allow for independent redistricting. Republicans drafted a bill that would require the amendment, but it has not passed in both houses of the Legislature.