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community boards

community boards

  • Manhattan Borough President Adds Affordable Housing Focus to Community Board Appointment Process

    Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine (photo: William Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit)


    Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is opening up the annual application process for community boards on Thursday with a new question on the application, asking would-be members about their priorities around housing development in the borough as part of an effort to encourage pro-housing voices in local matters.

    New York City’s 59 community boards, 12 of which are in Manhattan, are its most local form of government, playing an

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  • Seize the Moment to Modernize New York Democracy for the Digital Era

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    The digital era comes to government meetings (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    In late June, more than 200 people packed into a church basement for a Manhattan Community Board (CB) meeting on the contentious proposed rezoning of parts of Soho and Noho. Representatives of the New York City Department of City Planning were scheduled to make a presentation, but opponents of the rezoning booed and shouted over the planners. 

    This kind of scene is all too familiar to those who’ve attended community board meetings in the past. But it

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  • 'Open' Government Amid an Outbreak

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    Wrestling with government during a pandemic (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo suspended aspects of the state's Open Meetings Law with an executive order Friday, as officials grapple with how to keep government running during a pandemic without jeopardizing public health or sacrificing accountability.

    As state and city officials continue to prepare for the long haul of coronavirus (COVID-19) management, and as most public events are postponed to limit the virus’ reach, one emerging question is how government agencies will continue to hold

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  • Term Limits Heighten Need for Community Boards to Become Data Literate

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    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    On November 6, New York City voters approved a ballot proposal to impose term limits on community board members for the first time since their role was written into the city’s Charter in 1963. The proposal was introduced by Mayor de Blasio’s Charter Revision Commission and proved to be the most contentious of the three proposals listed on this year’s ballot.

    Several City Council members and one borough president, among others, argued that imposing term limits would help diversify boards that have historically

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  • Next Steps for 3 City Charter Revisions Passed Election Day

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    (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
    Find the rest of the series here

    Voters approved three ballot proposals on Election Day to amend the New York City charter, the city’s foundational

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  • What's the [DATA] Point? 3, with Cesar Perales, Charter Commission Chair

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    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 58 -- 3, Cesar Perales, chair of the mayor’s 2018 charter revision commission [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    cesarpicCesar Perales, chair of Mayor Bill de Blasio's 2018 Charter Revision Commission, joined the podcast to discuss the commission's work and the three ballot proposals it put forth that go

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  • Prominent Elected Officials Oppose De Blasio Charter Revision Proposals

    Mayor de Blasio

    Mayor de Blasio (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio is seeking to make a lasting impact on city governance through a charter revision commission that would transform the city’s campaign finance system, promote greater civic involvement in city affairs, and inject new blood into local community boards. But prominent elected officials, most of whom are Democrats like de Blasio, don’t agree with the proposals the mayor’s commission has put on the November 6 ballot and are urging New Yorkers to reject them.

    The mayor’s commission put ...

  • Law Department Issues Warning as Community Boards Consider Charter Commission's Term Limits Proposal

    Mayor town hall

    (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    One of three questions placed on this year’s general election ballot by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s charter revision commission would, if approved by voters, impose term limits on community board members. Though the proposal has left many community board members fuming about the potential impact, the city’s Law Department has sought to remind the boards that they cannot pass official resolutions taking a position on a ballot question.

    In a September 13 memo sent to the director of the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit,

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  • Term Limits and Other Community Board Reforms Strengthen Local Democracy

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    A Manhattan community board meeting (photo: @ManhattanCB5)


    Community boards are our most participatory, hyper-local form of government in New York City. In November, we will have the chance to vote for necessary reforms that will help ensure our community boards represent the diverse perspectives of our communities. These reforms will likely include term limits for community board members, greater transparency in the appointment process, and better technical assistance for community board members to make fully informed decisions. They will be put before voters as a

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  • Community Board Reps Tell City Council They Need More Funding

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    Council budget hearing (photo: John McCarten)


    Community boards need more money. That was the overarching message provided to the City Council’s Governmental Operations Committee by two district managers for Manhattan community boards at a preliminary budget hearing on Monday.

    The mayor’s $88.7 billion preliminary budget for fiscal year 2019, which begins July 1 of this year, outlines $17.4

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  • Eyeing Diversity, New Push for Demographic Data on Community Board Members

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    Council Member Ritchie Torres (photo: William Alatriste)


    In an effort to ensure that local community boards are representative of their neighborhoods, New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres will introduce a bill on Wednesday requiring the city to publish demographic information about board members.

    The bill, co-sponsored by Council Members Jimmy Van Bramer and Ben Kallos, is straightforward and reads much like a general population census. It would require the reporting of community board members’ names,

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