A new Democrat-drawn congressional map sent New York’s political establishment scrambling early Tuesday to see how the proposed boundaries could affect a handful of swing districts that could decide the balance of power in Congress.
But one of the proposed map’s most significant changes came in the northeast Bronx, in a heavily Democratic district that isn’t in danger of falling into Republican hands.
The map from Democratic state lawmakers would move Co-op City, a majority-Black housing development with more than 40,000 residents, into the 16th District currently held by Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a progressive locked in a bitter primary race with Westchester County Executive George Latimer.
The move would, on its face, seem to benefit Bowman, a former Bronx school principal who had a strong showing in Co-op City when he defeated then-incumbent Eliot Engel in the 2020 Democratic primary. Bowman’s supporters have advocated for the neighborhood to be added back to his district after it was removed in 2022’s redistricting.
But the 16th District’s proposed boundaries would also cede the Bronx’s Wakefield neighborhood to balance out Co-op City’s inclusion. That would leave the extensive Westchester County portion of the district intact — a potential boon for Latimer, who has represented the county in different capacities for decades.
The proposed changes, which the Democrat-dominated state Legislature is expected to approve as soon as Wednesday, drew no public declarations of support or opposition from either candidate as of late Tuesday afternoon.
In an interview with Gothamist at the state Capitol, Latimer said he hadn’t yet analyzed whether the change would help or hurt his chances in the race.
“I remember when Co-op City was Freedomland and they tore it down to create Co-op City,” he said, referring to the amusement park that predated the housing development. “So I’ve been around long enough to know, and we’ll see what happens. And whatever happens,…
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