The Joint Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment recently reduced the number of Congressional Districts (C.D.) throughout the state from 31 to 29. The change, made every 10 years in an effort to ensure that citizens are appropriately represented by their elected officials, has resulted in dramatic population increases in each of Nassau County's three congressional districts.

Both the 4th C.D., which currently includes Levittown and East Meadow and falls under the jurisdiction of Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy and the 3rd C.D., which includes parts of Wantagh and Seaford and falls under the jurisdiction of Congressman Peter King, are expected to gain more than 74,000 constituents. 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 addition to the above mentioned towns, the 4th C.D. also includes Floral Park, Garden City, Mineola, Elmont, Franklin Square, West Hempstead, Uniondale, 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. McCarthy 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." According to information found on the task force's website, www.latfor.state.ny.us, the 3rd Congressional District's population will increase by 74,024. Of that increase, more than 40,000 people resided in a different district prior to the change in congressional lines while the remaining are new to the communities in the past 10 years. In addition to Wantagh and Seaford, the 3rd C.D. comprises those communities south from Mill Neck to Massapequa and extends west to Baldwin and south again through to Long Beach. The district also comprises East Norwich, part of Glen Cove, Greenvale, Oyster Bay, Mill Neck, Muttontown, Plainview, Farmingdale, Massapequa Park, parts of the Merricks and Bellmores, Oceanside, Island Park, Lido Beach, Point Lookout as well as sections of Plandome, Munsey Park, Roslyn Estates and North Hills. The change in congressional lines, however, means that the 3rd C.D will most likely lose several current communities and gain others. The newly reapportioned 3rd C.D. will include the communities mentioned above, with the exception of Manhasset, most of Plainview, Albertson, Woodbury, the northern portions of Old Bethpage and Jericho and most of Oceanside, Baldwin, Freeport and East Rockaway. At the same time, the 3rd C.D. will gain West and East Islip, parts of Babylon, all of Glen Cove, Sayville, Center Island, Levittown, Cove Neck, Laurel Hollow, Amityville, Lindenhurst, Copiague, Oak Beach, Bay Shore and Brightwaters. King said that for the most part, the base of the 3rd C.D will remain relatively the same, with the addition of a few communities from southwest Suffolk. "My concern was that sometimes, with reapportion, a district can be divided hundreds of ways," he said. "For the most part, the district remains intact. The new part is really an extension of what I already have. I will [represent] more people and will have to work harder, that's for sure. It is going to be a challenge and I am looking forward to it." 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. 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.]" 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 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. The new congressional lines adhere to the principles expressed in the Voting Rights Act and follow each decennial census of the state's population. All congressional seats are two-year terms and will be up for re-election this November. As a result, the new boundaries will be in effect for the 2002 election.