The Harlem Neighborhood Block Association

Neighbors united to improve the quality of life in Harlem

Tag: Community Boards

Morningside Park View

Posted on by Harlem Shill

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.”

Harlem board members

Community Board 9 (West Harlem)

  • Alex Hunter
  • Annette Robinson
  • Anthony Fletcher
  • Arelis Mejia
  • Barry Weinberg
  • Carlton Davis (new)
  • Carolina Ramirez (new)
  • Carolyn Thompson
  • Daniel Cohen
  • Daria Hardeman
  • David Hanzal
  • Deirdre McIntosh-Brown
  • Derrick Johnson
  • Edwin Torres
  • Georgiette Morgan-Thomas
  • Heather Jason
  • Jonathan Sinagub
  • Hugo Torres (new)
  • Iliana Mercado
  • Jane Arendell-Johnson (new)
  • Jenny Garcia
  • John George
  • John-Martin Green
  • Jonathan Thomas
  • Joyce Adewumi
  • Kelsey Bettis
  • Ken Miles
  • LaQuita Henry
  • Lydia Gerson (new)
  • Maritta Dunn
  • Marti Cummings
  • Michael Palma
  • Miriam Aristy-Farer
  • Monica Dula
  • Monique Hardin-Codero
  • Padmore John
  • Patricia Ramos (new)
  • Patricia Watler Johnson
  • Sean Farrow (new)
  • Shaneeka Wilson
  • Signe Mortensen
  • Solomon Prophete
  • Theodore Kovaleff
  • Tiffany Khan
  • Tina Lumley
  • Victor Edwards
  • Victoria Benitez
  • Walter Alexander

Community Board 10 (Central Harlem)

  • Asena Tuione (new)
  • Bailey Jeremie (new)
  • Barbara Nelson
  • Brianna McClure (new)
  • Charles Johnson
  • Charles Powell
  • Cheryl Smith
  • Christina Curry
  • Cicely Harris
  • Dana Points
  • Daniel Peterson
  • Delsenia Glover
  • Deneane Brown-Blackmon
  • Derek Perkinson
  • Dominick Boyce
  • Donna Gill
  • Elvin Garcia (new)
  • Fatoumata Magassa (new)
  • Genisha Metcalf
  • George Harrell
  • Hazel Dukes
  • Jaran David Manzanet
  • Jose Mendez
  • Kamaria Milford
  • Karen Dixon
  • Karen Horry
  • Kathy James
  • Keith Taylor
  • Kimberly McLaurin
  • LaShanda Myers
  • Leevert Holmes (new)
  • Lisa Downing
  • Lydel Tyson (new)
  • Ma’at Mack (new)
  • Marquis Harrison
  • Maurice Franklin
  • Mikaela Berry (new)
  • Milan Reed
  • Nathan Quist (new)
  • Shadawn Smith
  • Shamier Settle
  • Shawn Brannon
  • Staci Ramos
  • Stanley Gleaton
  • Stephanie Palmer
  • Tahanie Aboushi
  • Tiffany Bowen (new)
  • Valone Brown (new)
  • Verna Diggs
  • Wilma Brown

Community Board 11 (East Harlem)

  • Adem Brija
  • Alonzo Johnson
  • Angela Donadelle
  • Ann Marie Vasquez
  • April Autry
  • Arturo Perez
  • Beverly Pabon
  • Brandon Gillespie
  • Briana Dacosta
  • Carlos Diaz
  • Claudia Perez
  • David Giodano
  • Dawn Sanders
  • Devan Cronshaw
  • Diane Collier
  • Erick Aucancela
  • Ernando “Jason” Villanueva
  • Eugene Rodriguez
  • Giselle Malave
  • Hilda Candy Vives-Vazquez
  • Isaac Scott
  • James Horton
  • Jason Wu
  • Jennifer Meyer
  • Jessica Elliot
  • Jessica Morris
  • Jewel Jones
  • John Green
  • Jordan Wright
  • Jose Altimirano
  • Judith Febbraro
  • Juhaid Choudhury
  • Kenneth Crouch
  • Leroy Andino
  • Malik McCollough
  • Marissa Mack
  • Michelle Wiltshire Clement
  • Natassia Rodriguez
  • Nilsa Orama
  • Osendy Garcia
  • Raja Flores
  • Roberto Perez
  • Rosa Diaz
  • Russell Shuler
  • Shavasia Robinson-Teague
  • Stephanie Arroyo
  • Vincent Torres
  • Wanda Hopkins
  • Wilma Brown
  • Xavier Santiago

Join Your Community Board

Posted on by Harlem Shill

The Manhattan Community Board Application Deadline is March 1.

Each board has up to 50 members, all volunteers. Board members serve via staggered two-year terms, which means half must be reappointed or replaced every year.

All of those people are appointed by their own borough president. City Council members can recommend new applicants, but the final call rests with the BP.

You can apply to join Manhattan’s boards and get chosen without special access or expertise, you just need to care about the issues that are relevant and important to the community. There are no prerequisites to join a board, except that you must live or work in the district where you’d like to serve. Any city resident 16 or older can join. Community Boards are particularly lacking New Yorkers without cars on boards.

Here is what The City recommends:

  • Attend a board meeting, or several, before you apply. It’ll give you a sense of how — and how well — your local board is run, and votes are cast. Many of the board applications ask whether you’ve attended meetings, so be prepared. Bonus points if you attend a committee hearing!
  • A board application is a bit like applying for a job. You may be asked for a resume or references. Bear in mind, applications are subject to the Freedom of Information Law, meaning they could be made public down the line.
  • Usually, new members “have an issue that’s hard in their minds that they want to deal with,” said Winfield — parks funding, or homelessness. But whatever it is, he tells new members: “Don’t lose it. Once you get on the board, keep that issue and join the right committee.”
  • Don’t count yourself out. Boards don’t necessarily need experts, people of a certain professional class, or veteran movers and shakers. Washington said a community gardener with 20 hours a month to dedicate to the housing committee is worth way more than “the best accountant in the world” with only “two minutes a month.”
  • That said, if you’re accepted, get ready to dedicate a good chunk of time to it, Washington said. He estimates it may take up between 10 to 15 hours every month between meetings and brushing up on the issues on the agenda. For super-members like Winfield, it’s even more. “It’s a lot of reading and it’s a lot of investigating,” Winfield said.
  • Get ready for some… spirited debates! Much of board life is a bit mundane, or procedural, but when there’s a divisive issue on the agenda, it can get heated. Keep your cool — and bring snacks and water for occasional long meetings.

Many people looking to work in government or run for office in New York get their experience at a community board first. The proof is in the pudding: current Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin, and former Speaker Corey Johnson all served as chairs of boards, in southeast Queens, Harlem and Chelsea, respectively.

“You learn a lot about the city government structure,” said Winfield. “It’s a learning place.”

https://www.cb11m.org/

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The Manhattan Community Board Application Deadline is March 1.