Final Political Strategy of the Freedom Party

New York Election Law requires a two-pronged approach to establishing a political party in New York. First, there must be 15,000 valid signatures statewide. Second, there must be 100 valid signatures in 15 congressional districts. Thus, the Freedom Party employed an "East-West Offense". The Freedom Party actually rose in the East and set in the West.

New York State has 29 congressional districts. Approximately 13 of those congressional districts sit in New York City. On the other hand, only 8 of the congressional districts, with the largest Black populations, sit in New York City. This means that Blacks, in general, must be mobile and Blacks in Buffalo must play a key role. The same applies to Long Island and upstate New York.

Only a small window existed for the formation of the Freedom Party. Councilman Charles Barron did not declare his gubernatorial candidacy until June. The Freedom Party's pre-season was only one month. Petitioning would start on July 7. The pre-season had to include the formation of a political strategy, political education and political conditioning. The slate of political candidacies had to be expanded.

In the final weeks, the number of signatures necessary for the formation of a political party has already been satisfied facially but the signatures collected , so far, fall short of the rule of thumb of three. Moreover, the number of congressional districts must also be satisfied. There must be a specific focus on these congressional districts: 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 18th and 21st.

I have described, geographically, the congressional districts which the Freedom Party initially targeted in June. The sources are "The Almanac of American Politics" and "Congress at your Fingertips". Three of these congressional districts are in western New York. Several thousand signatures have already been collected in the 28th Congressional District with an effort afoot to satisfy the minimum requirements in the 26th and 27th.

On the next two Saturdays, the focus will be on the congressional districts with "special needs". On Sundays, the focus will be on churches with large audiences. During the week, the focus will be on subway platforms. An army of 75 persons on the next two Saturdays and an army of 75 persons for the churches on Sundays will satisfy two-thirds of these goals.

Like the U.S. Army today, our army must also be made up of volunteers but for different reasons. If you want to be a part of history like Blacks in Mississippi, who formed the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, or Blacks in Montgomery who organized and sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott, call 718-834-9034 now to receive appropriate recognition and instructions.

Congressional Districts by Territory
and Percentage of Blacks

10th Congressional District
Edolphus Towns
Brooklyn- This District takes the shape of a sideways "V". It includes Brooklyn Heights; downtown Brooklyn, Borough Hall; Fort Greene and part of Williamsburg. From there it runs southeasterly through Bed-Stuy, Clinton Hill and East New York until it hits the Queens border, where it turns to the southwest to take in three communities along Jamaica Bay.
60% Black

11th Congressional District
Yvette Clarke
Brooklyn - It begins at the edge of downtown Brooklyn and includes Grand Army Plaza; Eastern Parkway; Prospect Park; Park Slope; Flatbush; Brownsville
56% Black

6th Congressional District
Gregory Meeks
Queens - Springfield Gardens, Laurelton, St. Albans, Rosedale, Cambria Heights and Queens Village. It is bounded on the north by Jackie Robinson Parkway; on the east by the Nassau County line; and on the west by Cross Bay Boulevard. To the south, it includes part of the Rockaway Peninsula across Jamaica Bay from the rest of Queens.
52% Black

17th Congressional District*
Eliot Engel
Westchester & Bronx - Includes Kingsbridge, Riverdale, Williamsbridge, Baychester, Eastchester, Woodlawn, Marble Hill, and Spuyten Duyvil. It extends into Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and across the Tappan Zee Bridge encompassing the southern half of Rockland County, including Nyack, Orangetown, Suffern, Ramapo and part of Clarkstown.
31% Black

16th Congressional District
Jose Serrano
Bronx - Includes most of the South Bronx. It is bounded by the Harlem River on the west, East River on the south, Bronx River and Bronx Park on the east, and goes just past Fordham Rd. on the north. It includes Belmont, the industrial flatlands of Bruckner Boulevard and Hunts Point.
29% Black

28th Congressional District
Louise Slaughter
Buffalo - Includes the northeast quadrant of Buffalo, Rochester and Niagara Falls, all connected by a thin strip of land along Lake Ontario and the Niagara River.
29% Black

15th Congressional District
Charles Rangel
Harlem - Includes not just Harlem but all of northern Manhattan, down to 89th Street on the west side and 96th Street on the east side. On the west side, the district include Morningside Heights and Columbia University. On the east side it stretches from 96th Street to upper East Harlem. Farther north, the district includes Washington Heights and Inwood.
28% Black

4th Congressional District*
Carolyn McCarthy
Long Island - Comprises Garden City and the towns around it. The district also takes in several suburbs just north of the Jericho Turnpike - New Hyde Park, Mineola, Westbury and a large swath of southern Nassau County east of the Queens County line. This territory includes Hempstead, Uniondale, Rockville Center, and Valley Stream as well as Lawrence, Inwood, Cedarhurst, Hewlett and Woodmere.
19% Black

7th Congressional District*
James Crowley
Bronx and Queens - Includes the East Bronx off the Bruckner Expressway near the cluster of highways north of the Whitestone Bridge; Bruckner, Morris Park, Schuylerville, Throgs Neck, Parkchester, Co-op City and City Island. Across the bridges, it include Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Woodside.
16% Black

2nd Congressional District
Steve Israel
Long Island - Includes most of western Suffolk County, part of the town of Islip and a small portion of Nassau County --Plainview, Woodbury, and part of Jericho.
11% Black

18th Congressional District
Nita Lowey
Rockland & Westchester - Contains the heart of suburban Westchester County and crosses the Hudson River into Rockland County to Haverstraw. It includes Eastchester, New Rochelle, Scarsdale, White Plains, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Rye, Harrison, Armonk and Chappaqua.
10% Black

12th Congressional District
Nydia Velazquez
Brooklyn & Manhattan - Includes Brooklyn Heights waterfront, Carroll Gardens, Sunset Park. "DUMBO", Vinegar Hill Williamsburg, Bushwick. In Manhattan, it includes parts of the Lower East Side, Chinatown and Little Italy.
9% Black

21st Congressional District*
Paul Tonko
Albany & Schenectady - Includes most of the Albany metro area; all of Albany County; Schenectady County, including Schenectady; Montgomery County, including Amsterdam and Troy. It also takes in Fulton and Saratoga counties.
8% Black

22nd Congressional District
Maurice Hinchey
Sullivan, Ulster, Dutchess - Includes all of Sullivan and Ulster counties and most of the Catskills area. It covers part of the Hudson Valley and parts of the counties along the New York-Pennsylvania border. Its two population centers are on its east and west ends. On the east are Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, and Kingston. In the west, are Binghamton and Ithaca and New Paltz
8% Black

13th Congressional District
Michael McMahon
Brooklyn & Staten Island- Made up of Staten Island plus Brooklyn which Includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Gravesend and Fort Hamilton.
7% Black

25th Congressional District
Dan Maffei
Rochester & Syracuse - Includes all of Syracuse and Onondaga County; West of Syracuse, it includes territory just south of Lake Ontario, northern Cayuga County and Wayne County. Its western end is in the suburb of Rochester in Monroe County which is split up between four districts.
7% Black

27th Congressional District*
Bran Higgins
Buffalo & Jamestown - Consists of the eastern and southern two-thirds of Buffalo, plus most of the Erie Country suburbs east and south of the city from Cheektowaga and Lackawanna to Hamburg and Orchard Park. It also includes Chautauqua County.
5% Black

8th Congressional District
Jerrold Nadler
Brooklyn & Manhattan - Stretches from the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan Island and spreads north and south. It includes the Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, Battery Park City, TriBeCa, SoHo, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Clinton and the Theater District. It moves up the west side of Manhattan taking in Central Park West, West End Avenue and Riverside Drive. It crosses into Brooklyn running along the waterfront into Borough Park, Seagate, Brighton Beach and Coney Island.
5% Black

5th Congressional District*
Gary Ackerman
Queens - Includes most of Queens east of Flushing Meadow and north of Union Turnpike - Corona Flushing, Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck (but not the airports); the northwest corner of Nassau County --Great Neck, Sands Point, Lake Success, Port Washington and Kings Point.
4% Black

9th Congressional District
Anthony Weiner
Brooklyn & Queens - It begins in Queens near Fresh Meadows, just inside Nassau County. It runs west through Pomonok and the Kew Gardens and Forest Hills and continues west to Rego Park, Middle Village; Glendale and part of Maspeth. From there, it heads south taking in Woodhaven, Lindenwood and Howard Beach. It crosses over open parkland to include the shoreline areas of Bergen Beach, Mill Basin.
4% Black

14th Congressional District*
Carolyn Maloney
Queens & Manhattan - It begins at East 96th Street and runs all the way down to East 9th Street in the East Village. It includes Murray Hill and Gramercy Park It takes in part of the East Village, Roosevelt Island. It encompasses part of Queens across the East River, Long Island City; Steinway; Sunnyside and Astoria
4% Black

26th Congressional District*
Chris Lee
Buffalo - Covers much of western New York; Buffalo -- Erie and Niagara counties. It extends from the city limits of Buffalo to the city limits of Rochester
3.6% Black