Impact of City Council Redistricting on Community Districts

How NYC’s City Council Redistricting Altered the Distribution of each Community District’s Population Across its Component Council Districts

New York City Department of City Planning | Population

August 23, 2023

Overview

New York City is divided into 51 City Council Districts and 59 Community Districts, with each Community District represented by a Community Board. While Community District boundaries remained unchanged, New York City’s City Council District boundaries were recently redrawn following the 2020 Census. According to the City Charter, after each City Council redistricting, the Department of City Planning “shall determine the proportion of the Community District's population represented by each council member.” This latest round of redistricting, and the revised proportional distribution of the population, has implications for how many Community Board members are appointed by each respective City Council member (see NYC City Charter Chapter 70, section 2800, part a ).

The following map shows how each Community District’s 2010 and 2020 populations* are distributed across the former 2013 City Council Districts and the latest 2023 City Council Districts, respectively. A summary of Community Districts with substantial proportional changes to component Council Districts can be found below the map.

_{*Since 2010, Community District population proportions are based on a prisoner adjusted LATFOR count.}

2013 vs. 2023 City Council Districts

The distribution of each Community District’s (CD) population shown across component City Council Districts (CCDs)

Note: this map works best in landscape on phones.

Guidance for map

Slide the bar on the map to explore changes in the distribution of each Community District's population between the 2013 City Council Districts (left side of the slider) and the 2023 City Council Districts (right side of the slider).

On the 2013 map (left side of the slider), the proportion of the Community District's population represented by each City Council District is shown in black text.

On the 2023 map (right side of the slider), the proportion is shown in blue text if there has been an increase since 2013, in red text if there’s been a decrease since 2013, and in black if there has been no percentage point change since 2013.

Key Takeaways

Bronx

Bronx Community District (CD) 3 saw a sizeable increase in the proportion of the population in City Council District (CCD) 17, along with a smaller increase in CCD 15. These increases were offset by a large decrease in the proportion in CCD 16.
Bronx CD 4 had a large increase in the proportion in CCD 16, which already accounted for most of the population. There was a decrease in CCD 8, and CCD 14 no longer intersects with Bronx CD 4.
Bronx CD 6’s entire population is represented by CCD 15 in 2023, a change from 2013 when the population was distributed between CCD 15 and CCD 17.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn CD 10 saw the largest swing in its distribution, with CCD 43 decreasing from 91% of the CD’s population in 2013 to 11% in 2023. There was also a notable increase in the proportion in CCD 38. In addition, both CCD 47 and CCD 50 (which is mostly in Staten Island) now intersect with Brooklyn CD 10.
Brooklyn CD 11 also experienced sizeable shifts in its population distribution across its component CCDs. CCD 43 saw a large increase in its proportion of CD 11’s population, while CCD 47 saw an even larger decline. In a similar fashion, an increase in CCD 38’s share was offset by a decrease in CCD 44’s proportion of the CD’s population. CCD 50 (which is mostly in Staten Island) gained a new presence in Brooklyn CD 11 in 2023.

Manhattan

Manhattan CD 2 had a sizeable increase in the proportion of its population in CCD 2 and declines in CCD 1 and CCD 3.
Manhattan CD 6 saw an increase in the proportion of the population in CCD 4, which continues to hold the majority of the population, offset by declines in CCD 2 and CCD 5.

Queens

Queens CD 6 retains a majority of its population in CCD 29, but also has significant representation in CCD 30 and a new presence in CCD 24.
Queens CD 9’s population is split between CCD 29 and CCD 32 in 2023. CCD 28 and CCD 30 no longer intersect with Queens CD 9.

Staten Island

The distributions of Staten Island’s CD populations across their component CCDs were largely unchanged.
Staten Island CD 2 had the most notable change in the borough, with an increase in the population proportion in CCD 51 and a sizable decrease in CCD 50.

Links

Community District 2020 Census population by 2023 Council Districts can be downloaded here .

Community District 2010 Census population by 2013 Council Districts can be downloaded here .