Ebay has a great postcard (sent with a 1 cent stamp to Newark, NJ) that looks down from Morningside Park to…

Focusing on a very distinctive complex that takes up an entire block with white massed stonework on the lower two floors, and brickwork above:

It’s possible to identify this building as being between 118th and 119th Streets on Morningside avenue:

Borough President Mark Levine Nominates New Community Board Members

Former Community Board 12 member and current Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine announced his 2022 class of community board appointments – the first since taking over the Manhattan Borough President Office (MBPO) in January.

Manhattan’s 12 Community Boards are composed of 50 volunteer members each serving staggered two-year terms with 25 members appointed (or reappointed) each year. For 2022 the MBPO received 885 applications (the second-highest number of applications received by the MBPO) for the 319 appointments open this cycle. Of those, 91 are first-time appointments to the boards. Half of all appointments were recommended by the City Council Members to boards representing their respective districts.

“We need to ensure our community boards are composed of diverse local leaders so that we can recover from this pandemic equitably and stronger than we were before,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “My experience serving on a board showed me firsthand how having diverse and potent perspectives can turn a good community board into a powerful engine for change. This new class of appointments is the culmination of our efforts to begin to transform Manhattan’s Community Boards into a more fair and representative body that includes all the wonderful voices that together make Manhattan the most well-known community in the world. I look forward to the good work we will do together.”

Borough President Levine has made it a priority to shift the boards to better reflect the diverse make-up of the borough during the selection process. This has included adding a car ownership question to the applications for the first time, and emphasizing outreach to New Yorkers who have traditionally been underrepresented.

The 2022 class saw a more reflective representation in gender, racial and LGBTQ+ identities; age; car ownership; non-native English speakers; tenants; and caretakers among first-time appointments.

Of the 91 first time appointees, 70% identify as BIPOC, including a greater percentage of individuals who identify as African Americans, Hispanic/Latinx, and AAPI Manhattanites;
48% of first-time appointees identified as women, 42% identified as men, and 1% identified as gender nonconforming;
26.4% of the new appointees are under the age of 30 years, with six individuals falling under the age of twenty. This represents a significant increase, which reflects MBP Levine’s desire to get younger Mnahattanaties interested in civics and government;
17.6% identify as LGBTQ+, which is a reflection of Manhattan’s vibrant queer culture and community;
79% of first-time appointees do not own a car, a percentage more closely aligns with Manhattan communities and emphasizes the Manhattan Borough President’s desire to ensure that the perspective of pedestrians, cyclists and transit riders is well heard;
40% of new appointees live in rental units across the borough compared to less than 30% having some sort of ownership stake in their domicile. This representation is crucial as we work to address our affordability crisis in Manhattan.

“As a whole, the 2022 class is Manhattan,” said Borough President Levine. “While we have a lot of work still to do to make the Community Boards more fair, more equitable, and more representative, I am tremendously proud of our new appointments and believe we have begun the process of making the shift to what representation should look like on our Community Boards.”