Politics & Government

Riverhead Proposed for Move to Second Assembly District

Assemblyman Dan Losquadro would still hold into Riverhead, should he gain re-election in the fall, however he expressed concern that Southold and Riverhead would be split up.

If a redristicting plan based on the 2010 census is adopted by the New York Legislature, Assemblyman Dan Losquadro - should he be re-elected in the fall - would hold onto all of Riverhead, though he would lose Southold, as Riverhead would move into the second Assembly District.

Losquadro, R-Shoreham, said he knew when he was elected that his district would be split up. However he expressed concern on Thursday that many of his current constituents on the North Fork would share a representative with the South Fork seat, currently held by Assemblyman Fred Thiele, I-Sag Harbor.

"I think the North Fork is better served by being contiguous with the North Shore as far as representation goes," Losquadro said. "Shelter Island has its own unique set of issues and could be served by either the North or South Fork, but the issues are different between the two forks. For one, the North Fork has a much higher rate of primary homeownership than the South Fork. And the North Fork has a much larger agricultural sector than the South Fork."

Find out what's happening in Riverheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The second A.D. as proposed extends further west, to Mount Sinai Harbor. Its current western boundary ends at Mount Sinai-Coram Road. To the South, Losquadro said the district gain parts of Coram.

According to the first-term state legislator, the first A.D. is currently the most populous in the state, hovering near 150,000. According to 2010 census numbers, each district should have 129,809 residents.

Find out what's happening in Riverheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The redistricting plan will be subject to public hearings and amendments and the final adopted plan will take affect in time for the 2012 election. Losquadro said he doesn't expect much to change in Riverhead from what has been proposed.

"The process is controlled by the New York City, Democratic majority, and having a majority member to the east and west, I think it's unlikely that things are going to change."

While the second A.D. would lose Southold, a predominately Republican rural area, Losquadro said the change for him could be null as he picks up the area he previously represented as a Suffolk County Legislator, before

According to a Newsday report, on the whole, Long Island will pick up one more Assembly seat at the expense of upstate New York.


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