The state legislature recently approved a new plan that shrinks New York's congressional districts by two and alters all five of Long Island's congressional boundaries. Similar changes took place months back in the New York State Assembly.

The new boundaries, as drawn by the Joint Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, add a significant amount of constituents to the 4th Congressional District (C.D.), which currently includes towns like Floral Park, Garden City and Mineola and has been under Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy's jurisdiction for the last six years. All congressional seats are up for re-election this November.

The Task Force researches and provides technical plans for meeting the requirements of legislative timetables for the reapportionment of senate, assembly and congressional districts. It consists of six members, including four legislators and two non-legislators. Senator Dean Skelos and Assemblyman William Parment are task force co-chairs.

Specifically, the 4th C.D. will gain 74,022 people due to the change; 43,000 of those people are completely new to the district. The remaining 31,022 constituents are a result of a population increase since the 1990 census. In determining the new congressional lines, Tom Dunham, spokesperson for Skelos who's served as co-chair of the Task Force, said, "Unlike Senate and Assembly districts, which can have population differences of up to 10 percent, Congressional Districts must be virtually the same size.

"Because we had to reduce the districts from 31 to 29 seats, each district had to increase by 74,000 people. In this case, that means a difference of one, two or three people [per district]," he said.

Dunham also noted that a high priority was placed on preserving the cores of the existing districts. "Since population on Long Island grew at the same rate as the rest of the state, it was easy to preserve the existing districts."

The 4th C.D. consists of Floral Park, South Floral Park, Garden City, Mineola, Elmont, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Uniondale, East Meadow, Malverne, Lynbrook, Cedarhurst, Inwood and more. Due to the new plan, the revised district will pick up East Rockaway and partial areas of Oceanside, Merrick and Bellmore in addition to the existing areas already covered. She said most of the new constituents reside mostly in the northeast and southeast areas of Nassau County.

"I look forward to going into the new areas and getting to know my constituents," she said. "Perhaps, most importantly, I'm happy to have the chance to represent the 4th Congressional District again. For six years, I have worked to ensure people in my district are well served. My record reflects that."

The approved plan comes after the 2000 census documented slow population growth. Two of the state's 31 districts have been eliminated, specifically two western New York districts as well as two Hudson Valley districts have merged respectively while Long Island's boundaries were slightly tweaked. The plan passed the Assembly 113-28 while the Senate passed the plan 50-8.

"While my colleagues and I regret the necessary diminution of our congressional delegation, I am very pleased with the final plan the Senate fought to achieve. It responsibly addresses the challenges that we, as a state, have faced throughout reapportionment...," Skelos said in a written statement.

The new congressional lines, which Skelos deems the result of a "fair and balanced" plan, adhere to the principles expressed in the Voting Rights Act and follow each decennial census of the state's population.

According to Cecelia Prewett, McCarthy's communications director, the Long Island delegation, consisting of Peter King (R, 3rd C.D.), Steve Israel (D, 2nd C.D.), Gary Ackerman (D, 5th C.D.), Felix Grucci (R, 1st C.D.) and McCarthy (D, 4th C.D.), met approximately 10 months ago to discuss where they'd need to pick up voters.

"Suggestions came out of that meeting and were passed along to the Speaker's office. Then, when things really started moving in Albany, the Speaker's office solicited a plan from the delegation again. We submitted a plan that was not just ours, but rather on behalf of the delegation. That plan was given to the Speaker's office, as they were the ones who had requested it," Prewett said. The legislature, however, did not pass their plan.

"If there were no population changes we wouldn't have to do this. [The] US Supreme Court's requirement for equal representation, the so-called one-person one-vote standard, must be met following each census," Parment noted.

He continued, saying, "Redistricting...is really a response to the knowledge that the current districts are mal-apportioned if measured by the criteria of whether or not they have substantial equal numbers of residents residing within the current districts."

The new boundaries will be in effect for the 2002 election.