This was the year New York State lawmakers were going to stop protecting incumbents by gerrymandering political maps to improve their re-election chances.

Some 138 legislators signed a pledge saying they would turn over the redistricting process, which is required once a decade, to an independent panel. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo promised to transform the way the capital operated. And across the country, led by California, states took advantage of advances in computer technology and citizen engagement to improve their political mapmaking in the wake of the 2010 census.

But in Albany, as they say, it is déjà vu all over again.

Minutes before midnight on Sunday, leaders of the Legislature’s redistricting task force filed a 253-page bill specifying, street by street, proposed lines for State Senate and Assembly districts.

Mr. Cuomo, who had threatened to veto any boundaries drawn by lawmakers instead of an independent panel, now says it is too late for an independent process; he is trying to negotiate a deal that would allow the Legislature to determine district lines this year in exchange for the promise of a constitutional amendment that might improve the process — after the 2020 census.

The deal taking shape is being derided by advocates for black and Hispanic New Yorkers who say their communities are denied fair representation in the Legislature’s proposed maps, and reformers who say it is unacceptable to put off change for another decade.

“These people are afraid they can’t make a living if — God forbid, from their point of view — the people threw them out, so they will do anything to stay in office,” said former Mayor Edward I. Koch, who pressed members of the Legislature to pledge during the last elections that they would support independent redistricting.

“It’s the most devious Legislature in America,” Mr. Koch said. “We tried our best, and the ghouls won.”

New York, the third most populous state, is behind almost every other state in establishing legislative and Congressional districts this year. It is required to reduce the size of its Congressional delegation — to 27 from 29, as a result of slow growth identified in the 2010 census.

But at the same time, a legislative task force is proposing to increase the size of the State Senate, to 63 from 62. That move, Republicans say, is required by the State Constitution, but Democrats call it a bald attempt by the Republicans to tighten their loosening grip on the chamber.

The slow pace of redistricting is a boon for incumbents, because it makes it more difficult for potential challengers to organize campaigns and raise money. The state’s new election schedule allows Congressional candidates to begin gathering signatures next week to qualify for the ballot, but, at the moment, there are no agreed-upon boundaries for any of the House districts.

Making matters even better for incumbents, the Legislature has refused to consolidate a messy 2012 election calendar, leaving in place a multitude of election days that seem certain to depress turnout. New York is scheduled to have three statewide primaries — in April for the presidency, in June for Congress and in September for the Legislature. There are also, in some areas, village and special legislative elections this month, and school budget votes in May. Then the general election is in November.

But electioneering details rarely capture the imagination of the general public, leaving politicians generally free to do what they will. And a Supreme Court decision regarding redistricting in Texas, which ordered a greater deference to the actions of lawmakers, has further emboldened incumbents in Albany, who believe that if they can make a deal with one another, the courts will stay out of the way.

“The State Legislature has the constitutional authority and obligation to draw the lines,” said Jerry H. Goldfeder, a New York election law expert. Referring to complaints about the maps drawn by lawmakers, he added, “Perhaps they’re an easy punching bag, but it’s unfair.”

Much is at stake in how legislative districts are redrawn, including control of the State Senate, which is currently held by the Republican Party even though just one-quarter of the state’s electorate is registered Republican.

The Senate Republican majority has proposed legislative district maps that would make it more difficult for the Democrats to gain control of that chamber. And Speaker Sheldon Silver, the top Democrat in the Legislature, has indicated that he does not intend to interfere with the Senate mapmaking, so long as he can determine the district lines for the Assembly.

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