Lincoln Restler Drawn Out of Old District

From today's City & State Heard Around Town: * In a fundraising pitch sent out this week, millionaire Democrat Bill Samuels appealed to potential donors for Brooklyn district leader Lincoln Restler's campaign by stating that Brooklyn Democratic Leader Vito Lopez had "gerrymandered Lincoln's apartment out of his own district." In fact, the truth is a little more complicated, as a source noted to us yesterday. Restler actually moved from his Fort Greene home last fall - a residence that did end up being cut out of his old district - to a new residence in Greenpoint that is now in his redrawn district. In other words, Restler moved months before district lines were finalized. In a statement, Restler said that it had simply been an open secret in Brooklyn political that he would be drawn out of his old district: "I thought it was ironic that the chairman of the Housing Committee wanted to evict me from the district, so like a lot of New Yorkers with a bad landlord I moved as soon as another aptartment became available," he said. Undoubtedly, redistricting cutting Restler's old home base in Fort Greene from the seat will hurt his re-election odds against a tough opponent backed by Lopez; however, the move to Greenpoint would have the benefit of allowing him to potentially run in 2013 against Brooklyn Councilman Steve Levin. * Because 2013 is a post-redistricting year, Restler could run against Levin even from outside Levin's Council district.