Putnam County Business Council President Nat Prentice speaks out against the redistricting of Assembly District 94 with the support of Founding Chairwoman Jennifer Maher.
As the voice for Putnam County’s business community, we are contacting the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission to encourage you to preserve continuity of representation and the core of the existing district for New York’s 94th Assembly District.
For two decades, eastern Putnam County, including the Town of Carmel and the hamlet of Mahopac, has been connected to the northern Westchester towns Somers and Yorktown in a combined State Assembly district. This is significant because Yorktown, Somers, Carmel and eastern Putnam County are a single, cohesive community of interest connected by the Route 6 and Route 202 corridors, with interconnected economies and community concerns.
Despite its relatively modest size, Putnam County is extremely diverse. The Route 202 and Route 6 corridors, along with the Route 22 corridor in the Town of Southeast, Putnam County, are fundamentally different than the Route 9 corridor in Phillipstown and Cold Spring. The county’s economy is clearly bifurcated between the east and the west, with the eastern portion of the county historically integrated with Yorktown and Somers. We strongly believe the existing configuration of the 94th Assembly District provides the best representation for our county and our region and we encourage you to preserve it.
We would also like to specifically comment on the Commission’s proposal to split the Town of Carmel, which includes the hamlet of Mahopac. The Town of Carmel, including the community of Mahopac, acts as the linchpin for Putnam County on a variety levels which is why we strongly encourage the Commission to reconsider this proposal. Similarly, we strongly disagree with the proposal of separating Mahopac from the eastern portion of the county with which it has traditionally and appropriately shared representation in the State Assembly.
The Putnam County Business Council appreciates your attention to this matter and hopes that you restore and respect the longstanding communities of interest, continuity of representation and core of the existing 94th State Assembly District.