Section 52. District plan; criteria

1. In the preparation of its plan for
  dividing the city into districts for the election  of  council  members,
  the  commission  shall  apply  the  criteria  set forth in the following
  paragraphs to the maximum extent practicable.  The following  paragraphs
  shall  be  applied  and  given  priority  in the order in which they are
  listed.
    a. The difference in population between the  least  populous  and  the
  most  populous  districts  shall  not  exceed ten percentum (10%) of the
  average population for all districts,  according  to  figures  available
  from   the  most  recent  decennial  census.  Any  such  differences  in
  population must be justified by the other criteria  set  forth  in  this
  section.
    b. Such districting plan shall be established in a manner that ensures
  the  fair  and  effective  representation  of  the  racial  and language
  minority groups in New York city  which  are  protected  by  the  United
  States voting rights act of nineteen hundred sixty-five, as amended.
    c. District lines shall keep intact neighborhoods and communities with
  established ties of common interest and association, whether historical,
  racial, economic, ethnic, religious or other.
    d.  Each  district shall be compact and shall be no more than twice as
  long as it is wide.
    e. A district shall not cross borough or county boundaries.
    f. Districts  shall  not  be  drawn  for  the  purpose  of  separating
  geographic concentrations of voters enrolled in the same political party
  into   two  or  more  districts  in  order  to  diminish  the  effective
  representation of such voters.
    g. The  districting  plan  shall  be  established  in  a  manner  that
  minimizes  the  sum  of  the  length  of  the  boundaries  of all of the
  districts included in the plan.
    2. Each district shall  be  contiguous,  and  whenever  a  part  of  a
  district  is separated from the rest of the district by a body of water,
  there shall be a connection by a bridge,  a  tunnel,  a  tramway  or  by
  regular ferry service.
    3.  If  any district includes territory in two boroughs, then no other
  district may also include territory from the same two boroughs.