• Op-Ed: Civic Leader Blasts Community Board Secrecy


    by on Nov 21st, 2011

    The following op-ed is written by Ed Jaworski, president of the Marine-Madison-Homecrest Civic Association:

    Shhh. There apparently are secret agents, or maybe participants in a witness protection program, among the members of Brooklyn’s Community Board 15.

    Three times I have tried to learn the clandestine backgrounds of all Community Board 15 board members, who supposedly represent all residents of the community.

    Neighborhoods they are from, which specific civic groups they represent, and who appointed them: that’s the requested, highly classified information.

    Community Boards consist of 50 members, half appointed by the borough president and half divided among a community’s City Council members. The appointment process and responsibilities are described in the New York City Charter, Chapter 70.

    The Charter says that borough presidents are required to assure that appointees adequately represent the different neighborhoods within the community district, and that they “fairly represent all segments of the community.”  Has Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz informed Community Board 15’s members of the Charter’s mandate for fairness, rather than favoring one group?

    The reluctance to publicly provide fundamental facts about Community Board 15’s members presents the impression that lack of good faith, or secret deals, permeates this basic level of government. This in spite of the fact that board members are considered public officials under state law; and Governor Andrew Cuomo has vowed to restore the previously little-known quality of honest government.

    While Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer proposed that the community board appointment processes be de-politicized and involve more outreach, diversity and transparency, that’s not the modus-operandi here.  Indeed, examples of non-reappointments of opponents to hot-button projects as the Atlantic Yards, among others, show that politics control Brooklyn’s community board seats.

    One regular at Community Board 15 meetings for some 14 years came to the conclusion that his application for the board is being rejected because he is too active, too familiar with issues, speaks up too much. The Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association has existed for more than 26 years. In June 2010, we were delighted that after many years of multiple applications we finally got ONE of our officers on the board.  So, add another conclusion:  anyone who is too independent (of political and clubhouse ties) need not apply.

    Meantime, while they may be nice folks, the “whos” appointed to Community Board 15 in recent years were, essentially, previous unknowns at board meetings. And one appointee of a year ago very rarely attends.

    Our association’s late, previous president once asked about appointees and was told the question was “inappropriate.”  Upon my first request for board members to inform us about themselves, I heard groans: “Why?” and “What for?”   Well, try looking up definitions of “accountability,” “transparency,” and “democracy.”  At the last meeting, I recommended the revelations be made during “new business.”  When that point arrived, one boardmember immediately shouted for “adjournment.”

    Suggestion: Attend the next Community Board 15 meeting at Kingsborough Community College, Faculty Dining Room, Tuesday, November 29,  at 7:00 p.m.; immediately sign up to speak, and ask the representatives to tell the public about themselves.

    The citizens of this community should not be treated with disdain; and, our elected officials should not participate in the corruption of the intent of community boards. “OccupyWall Street” could find another target here where trust is in hiding and attitude mirrors the one percent.

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    • NSF

      Community boards are nothing but shams. They have no power or influence on decisions. And they usually are mere paper tigers in place to be psuedo-voices of the community.
      They should be abolished so CB members can go and idle somewhere else!

      • a good neighbor

        don’t they get paid for being on the board?

        • BrooklynBus

          I don’t believe so. I received an invitation to be on it about 30 years ago, but actually turned it down because I just didn’t have any time for it.

        • http://www.nedberke.com Ned Berke

          No. It is an unpaid position. The only paid people connected to community boards are the support staff – ie. district managers and assistants. 

          One of my first pieces out of college was covering the CB meeting Jaworski references above, and I turned out a cover story for the Bay Currents back when they still wrote things relevant to the neighborhood. I interviewed Scavo at the time, who argued that they are volunteers and still wish for a little bit of privacy while working for their community. I imagine that that remains the defense today, though I am not entirely sure.

    • http://twitter.com/Lostinservice Lostinservice

      I’m down for this. I’m looking to get into the local politics and I’d love to hear about the background of the sitting board members.

    • Info

      Manhattan Beach is top heavy on CB 15. There are too many people from our neighborhood on the Board and that is not reflective of the geography of CB 15. Also, the present composition of the Board is far from reflective of the demographics ofnthe area thatnis represented. In other words, too many white folks in plain English.
      If you want to talk politics, think about this. How many officers of Ed’s group, and most other groups are on the Board? The Manhattan Beach Co,munity Group which will be 70 years old next month has not one officer on the Board. In fact, one of our members who has gone to almost every CB 15 meeting for years has given up trying to get on the Board. Yet, our rival group, the Manhattan Beach Civic Association which has been around for a grand total of 4 years, has every one of their officers on the Board. They are all from Manhattan Beach and they are all white. Complaints to Marty Markowitz went in one ear and out the Atlantic Yards. Political? You bet they are.
      The sad part is that these appointments are clearly in violation of the NYC Charter and that is being ignored. Some electeds feel they are above the law.
      Ed Jaworski is asking questions that each one of us has a right to ask. This is a public agency not a private business. Transparency should be the rule not hidden
      agendas.

    • LeaterK

      Theresa Scavo
      Chairperson
      OFFICERS

      Dr. Alan Ditchek
      First Vice-ChairpersonRita Napolitano
      Second Vice-Chairperson

      Jack Erdos, Esq
      TreasurerHon. Anne M. Dietrich
      Secretary
      EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

      Robert Gevertzman

      Morris Harary, Esq

      Dr. Oliver Klapper

      Joyce Arberman

      Hon. Eileen M. O’Brien

      Allen Popper, Esq

      Helen Sarubbi

      Ronald Tawil

      Ira TeperBOARD MEMBERSJoyce Arberman
      Joseph Aron
      Igor Balaluyev
      Dr. Ronald Biondo
      Donald Brown
      Cliff Bruckenstein
      Edmond Chalom
      Raisa Chernina
      Anne Dietrich
      Alan Ditchek
      Joseph Dorinson
      Edmund Dweck
      Ed Eisenberg
      Jack Erdos
      Harvey Fertig
      Henni Fisher
      Joel Garson
      Robert Gevertzman
      William Glassman
      Debra Greif
      Morris Harary
      Peter Hermida
      Inna Idelchik
      John Isikli
      Joyce Kaminsky
      Howard Katz
      Oliver Klapper
      Lilya Kostyuk
      Jay Lieberman
      Herb Medetsky
      Rita Napolitano
      Vincent Nocella
      Eileen O’Brien
      Chick Pallotta
      Allen Popper
      Helen Sarubbi
      Theresa Scavo
      Mitchell Shpelfogel
      Al Smaldone
      Nancy Sondag
      Ronnie Tawil
      Ira Teper
      Harold Tobman
      Sam Tsang
      Isabella Vais
      Richard Warner
      Morris Weiss
      Gloria Wittels
      Lana Zolon
      Eli Zami

      • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001 Lisanne!

        Those are the names. What do you know about them?

    • Mike Curatore

      If you ask Borough Hall for a list of the Community Board members, they will give you a list of names along with who recommended them for the appointment – either (BP) or the Council District number for the corresponding Council Member.

      Community Board members are unpaid and are entitled to privacy as individuals, but if the public feels the boards are not providing balanced representation by their composition they have to take that up with the appointing officials.  Community Boards are not self-appointing bodies and have absolutely no control over the appointment process.  Council Members can recommend potential members, but the City Charter is clear that all Board Members are appointed by their respective Borough President.

      If you want the composition to change you need to convince your Council Member to recommend different people for the slots.  Ultimately, however, you need to convince the Borough President to change the composition.  And if you disagree with the current lot, you need to wait until we get a new Borough President in 2014.  So if you want more of the same, make sure you vote for Marty Lite aka Carlo Scissura for an extension of the Markowitz brand of governing.

    • Paul

      Every single member of every single community board in the City of New York is listed on that CB’s area of NYC.gov. Here’s a link to the list for all the CB15 members. 
      http://www.nyc.gov/html/bkncb15/html/about/members.shtml
      Took me 15 seconds to find it by doing a Google search “Brooklyn Community Board 15″
      You may have some beef with who’s on it, but there they all are. 

    • Coachedj

      Getting the names is easy.  Reread the essay
      Neighborhoods and which specific civic groups they represent, and who appointed them: that’s the requested information.