Beeps Say: Save the Community Boards!

Among the many heads of the seething hydra that is New York City and State government exists the most understated—and in many ways most important—entity of all: the humble Community Board. Community Boards are local representative bodies that advise elected officials on matters affecting their communities’ welfare, such as land use and budgetary needs. 59 community boards make up the five boroughs—one for each district, with as many as fifty members on each board. Yet, with the fiscal crisis beast biting massive chunks out of the budget, it looks as if CBs as we know them may be in grave danger. On Tuesday morning, the five Borough Presidents, each of whom are in charge of appointing members to the community boards of their borough, called a conference on the steps of City Hall, where they were joined by hundreds of elected officials, Community Board members and supporters, from the top of the Bronx to the bottom of Brooklyn and all neighborhoods in between to protest the proposed $35,000 cut from each community board’s already too tight budget.

Officially established under the New York City charter in 1975, the original purpose of community boards was to play an active and formal role in land use review process (ULURP) and the preparation of the capital and expense budgets, and to monitor the delivery of necessary city services, and with budget cuts looming, elected officials and community members are concerned that community boards will be weakened, and as a result, responsible economic and urban development will be scaled back as well.

“Enough is enough already,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who acted as the elected official emcee. “These cuts threaten the first line of democracy in the city, and it’s the people in our neighborhoods who figure out how communities should grow and develop. Here’s a message to the mayor: In a recession, development must move forward and we can’t get necessary information to make smart choices without community boards.”

Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz echoed Stringer, emphasizing that the community boards’ ULURP responsibilities are vital to the process of development and responsible growth.

In addition to making sure responsible and community-driven development continues in our neighborhoods, CBs serve an invaluable ideological role: they are the only purely democratic body representing the voice of the community as completely separate from and outside the scope of government. Without community boards, community members without political affiliation will be excluded from processes that will directly affect their own neighborhoods.

“We need to bring democracy to the people,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. “If we take a backwards step—that’s not America. This is the greatest city in the whole world and we’ve got to bring the people into the process.”

Among the many attendees was Comptroller Bill Thompson, who took the opportunity to criticize the Mayor Bloomberg, accusing him of attempting to weaken the community board structure in an attempt to destabilize like organizations and centralize power—rendering community boards—as a means of checks and balances—more important than ever.

“Our community boards are closest thing to the people, they are the eyes and ears, they are where members of the community go first when they need help,” Thompson said. “Their role is being lessened, and the mayor is trying to render them ineffective and reduce the people’s voice. We need our boards now more than ever, so back off and stay away from our community boards!”

The rally was also attended by Councilmembers Tish James and David Yassky, both of whom assured the crowd that city council is, in fact, committed to restoring all funding—and even advocating for increased funding for community boards—and voted unanimously against budget cutbacks last week. The next step, however, is Albany, where the state must first pass its budget. But, despite the tumultuous fiscal situation, community members and board members alike seem optimistic.

“We’ve gotten nothing but accolades and embraces from the city council,” said CB1 District Manager Gerry Esposito as he folded up a canvas banner. “I feel confident, but I’m cautiously optimistic.”