Congressional districts have undergone major reapportionment this year.
The numbers given to districts in the borough will also shift, with key changes including Congressman Charlie Rangel’s Manhattan district now encompassing parts of Norwood and Kingsbridge, and Congressman Jose Serrano’s district taking in Castle Hill and Soundview, according to maps released by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The court drew the congressional lines after the state legislature was stalemated.
Rangel will be holding meetings in coming weeks with community groups in the areas of the Bronx he will soon represent to assess how he may better serve the needs of those communities, a spokesman stated.
“The congressman is looking forward to getting to know and earning the support of the Bronxites in Kingsbridge and Norwood, whom he is pleased are included in the newly drawn congressional district,” the spokesman said. “
Congressman Jose Serrano’s district will cover the south Bronx and as far north as Belmont and Fordham and as far east as Castle Hill, with the Harlem River dividing it from Rangel’s district. The new district will be the 15th Congressional District.
Serrano said he was pleased to pick up areas in Castle Hill and Soundview because it was an area where he knows the political leaders, and many of the constituents are people he represented when he got his start in politics in the west Bronx.
“I think this is going to be very exciting,” Serrano said. “Those are areas where I don’t have to introduce myself because folks already know who I am.”
In Congressman Engel’s newly drawn 16th Congressional District, he will represent approximately 242,000 Bronxites and adds Co-op City, Williamsbridge, and Baychester. spokesman said. He already represents Riverdale, Woodlawn and Wakefield.
“I am very enthused about the honor of representing the new 16th District of New York,” Engel said. “I have always had the honor and privilege of representing people from the Bronx and Westchester communities while in Congress.”
Engel will once again represent Co-op City, where he got his start in politics as an assemblyman, and later as a congressman. He has not represented Co-op City in ten years.
Congressman Joseph Crowley, the chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, will have a smaller portion of the new 14th district in the Bronx, according to a spokeswoman.
Crowley, in the new 14th Congressional District, will represent Throggs Neck, Country Club, Pelham Bay, Edgewater Park, Morris Park, Westchester Square, Pelham Parkway North, Allerton, Parkchester, City Island and most of Van Nest.
“Being a member of Congress is a true honor and it’s a joy to go to work every day to serve my city,” Crowley said. “We have accomplished great things for the community and I am proud of my record of serving the people of the Bronx. While I will greatly miss directly representing the communities of Castle Hill, Soundview, Hunts Point, and Co-op City, I am looking forward to continuing to represent a number of communities in the Bronx.”
