New York's 26th congressional district

The 26th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in Western New York. It includes parts of Erie and Niagara counties. The district includes the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

The office of representative for this district became vacant on February 9, 2011 following the resignation of Republican Chris Lee. A special election was held May 24, 2011, and Democrat Kathy Hochul was elected. After redistricting, Brian Higgins has represented the district since 2013.

Voting

Change of district boundaries over time

Until the 2002 redistricting, most of this area was in the 27th District. During the 1980s this area was primarily in the 31st District. Two districts covered this area in the 1970s, the Erie County based 38th and the Monroe County based 35th. The 26th District covered the area now in the 22nd District during the 1990s and the area now in the 23rd District in the 1980s. In the 1970s this district was centered in Orange and Rockland counties. During the 1960s it covered areas in Westchester County now in the 18th and 19th District.

New York State Route 26

New York State Route 26 (NY 26) is a north–south state highway that runs for 203.80 miles (327.98 km) through Central New York in the United States. Its southern terminus is located at the Pennsylvania state line south of the town of Vestal in Broome County, where it becomes Pennsylvania Route 267 (PA 267). Its northern terminus is located at a junction with NY 12 in the village of Alexandria Bay in Jefferson County. NY 26 serves three cities along its routing; one directly (Rome) and two via other roadways (Binghamton via NY 17 and Watertown via NY 3).

NY 26, as a single route, was established in the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York; however, portions of the route had been signed state routes since the 1920s. Since 1930, the route has been realigned several times in the North Country, resulting in a modern routing significantly different from its initial alignment. For a brief period during the 1970s, NY 26 ended in Carthage. The truncation directly led to the elimination of one of NY 26's two spur routes, and the second was absorbed by other routes shortly afterward.

New York State Route 38

New York State Route 38 (NY 38) is a north–south state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with NY 96 in the town of Owego in Tioga County. The northern terminus is at a junction with NY 104A in the town of Sterling in Cayuga County. NY 38 is a two-lane local road for most of its length. The route is the main access road to parts of Auburn, Dryden, Newark Valley and Port Byron. It passes through mountainous terrain in Tioga and Cortland counties, but the terrain levels out as it heads through the Finger Lakes area and Cayuga County.

The route intersects several long-distance highways, including NY 13 in Dryden, U.S. Route 20 (US 20) and NY 5 in Auburn, and NY 31 in Port Byron. It passes over the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90 or I-90) north of Port Byron; however, there is no connection between the two. NY 38 has two suffixed routes. The first, NY 38A is an alternate route of NY 38 between Moravia and Auburn, while the other, NY 38B, is a simple east–west connector in the Southern Tier. While NY 38 runs along the western shore of Owasco Lake, NY 38A travels to Auburn along a routing east of the lake.