Ackerman For Forest Hills?

U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-Bayside, who has spent decades representing New York’s Fifth Congressional District in Queens and Nassau County, said Tuesday afternoon that , he plans to run in the newly-created Sixth District in Flushing and Forest Hills.

That plan would put him in direct conflict with at least one other Democrat — Assemblyman Rory Lancman — who also has said he plans on chasing the seat this year.

The district would potentially be created in the central neighborhoods of the borough and would have a large Asian-American population.

Ackerman said he would run in the new district because it encompasses many of the neighborhoods he currently represents.

“The new Sixth CD is a fantastic district in Queens where I grew up, went to public school and college, and started my family and my business,” Ackerman said. “It contains my political base and longtime roots, and I have had the privilege of representing approximately 90 percent of it during my 34 years in the State Senate and U.S. Congress.”

Ackerman said he has already heard from a number of supporters and community leaders who have urged him to run for the seat if it is finalized.

U.S. Rep. Bob Turner, R-Forest Hills, has not yet said if he would run in the sixth district, which currently covers a portion of his Ninth District, which was all but eliminated in the redistricting process.

The lines, as proposed, are not yet final.