The Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council (GMNC) on Monday night focused much of its attention on a newly redrawn state Senate seat that would include much of the neighborhood within its boundaries. The maps for new districts at the state level have been approved by the State Legislature and are awaiting approval by Gov. Baker.

The contours of the 2nd Suffolk State Senate district were being re-drawn as Sen. Sonia Chang Diaz announced she was running for governor next year, meaning she won’t be up for re-election. With Baker’s okay, the new map will put Mattapan squarely in a district that runs up Blue Hill Avenue and mostly cuts out the 1st Suffolk District, which is now represented by Sen. Nick Collins.

“We will be a majority 2nd Suffolk neighborhood when whoever is in the seat that Sen. Chang Diaz now holds is elected,” said Fatima Ali-Salaam, chair of the council. “What’s new in that would be a majority representation for our area. That’s a pretty big deal.”

State Rep. Russell Holmes, who spoke at length on Monday’s call, said the district runs up Blue Hill Avenue to Warren Street, roughly following the bounds of an earlier Senate district held by Dianne Wilkerson and other Black elected officials who preceded her.

“Over the last 20 years, because of voter turnout, we’ve seen the 1st and 2nd Suffolk being heavily influenced by South Boston and the JP and Rozzie vote in the 2nd,” said Holmes. “This new seat constitutes the old Black district.”

Left out of Monday’s discussion was any mention of former state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry, a Black woman from Lower Mills who represented much of Mattapan when she was the state senator in the First Suffolk district. Forry won a special election in 2013 and was twice re-elected, serving until she resigned in 2018.

The state representative districts that cover Mattapan will not change substantially. However, the 11th Suffolk district by Franklin Park, now held by retiring Rep. Liz Malia, has been eliminated. The new 11th will now be in Chelsea, and Malia’s old district will not include Mattapan or Dorchester.

Also discussed on Monday’s call:

•How the City Council will re-draw its districts now that the state and federal boundaries are complete. That process will begin in January and is very important to Mattapan, as the neighborhood is now bisected by District 4 and District 5.

•The hot-button Mass. and Cass issue was on the agenda, with Suffolk Sheriff Steven Tompkins on standby to talk about his plan and how it would affect Mattapan. But in an unexpected turn of events, the discussion on re-districting ran much longer than anticipated and Tompkins had to leave without presenting.

“This is really unfortunate because this is such an important issue, especially on the night before the election,” said Ali-Salaam. “We’ll have you come back in December and you’ll be the sole person on the agenda and you can talk at length.”

•The council talked at length about restarting conversations with any new administration about siting a high school in Mattapan, an issue that has been on the front-burner for the neighborhood since the 1990s. Residents said it has become even more important now with the closure of the Hyde Park and West Roxbury high schools. Now, students from Mattapan have the option of attending the Brooke Charter School on American Legion Highway, but there is no other high school in the neighborhood. In fact, some residents said, students have had to travel by public transit at least an hour to get to a public high school.

•The Wave gas station at 841 Morton St. has applied for a liquor license, but there has been no date set at the License Board. That application follows the contentious bid of Petro Plus on Cummins Highway for a beer and wine license, which it received over the objections of the neighborhood. Petro Plus did get restrictions on selling nips and single beers, and there is no consumption allowed on site.

•The new housing development at the old Cote auto dealership, known as Cote Village, is nearing completion. The city held a lottery for 24 affordable units and had 1,800 applicants. The city has whittled it down to 115 applicants and will make decisions soon.

By December, new residents will start moving into the townhouses on Regis Road. There are 52 affordable units in the larger building facing Cummins Highway and that building is scheduled to be completed in February. Applications for the affordable units are expected to become available this month.