Wednesday, February 23, 2011

ONLY TWO MORE DAYS TO APPLY FOR THE COMMUNITY BOARD

Every neighborhood within a community board's boundaries should be fairly represented on a board. A variety of nationalities, religions, etc. should also be fairly represented. The deadline to apply for membership on a board is February 25th--the day after tomorrow.

City Councilmember Brad Lander, whose district includes Borough Park, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Kensington, Park Slope, and Windsor Terrace, is encouraging people who live or work in any of those neighborhoods to apply.

Mr. Lander's office is at 456 5th Avenue (near 9th Street), on the 3rd floor. Phone: (718) 499-1090. E-mail: lander [at] council.nyc.gov.

Mr. Lander writes
I hope you'll consider applying for a seat on one of our neighborhood community boards. There will likely be a few vacancies on our local boards, and we want to encourage as many interested applicants as possible.

Community boards are the most local body of government, and they play a role in many issues that affect our neighborhoods. The community boards weigh in on land use and zoning matters, local infrastructure needs, municipal service delivery and many other neighborhood issues.

My City Council district overlaps with three community boards:
  • Community Board 6 (covering Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Columbia Waterfront, and Park Slope)
  • Community Board 7 (covering Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park)
  • Community Board 12 (covering Kensington and Borough Park).
Each board consists of up to 50 volunteers — people who live or work in the area — appointed by the Borough President and City Council Members. Community boards meet once each month (except for the summer) and have a range of committees. There are always many more applicants than there are slots, but applications also stay on file from year to year, so we are encouraging anyone who is interested to apply.

If you would like to submit an application, or to learn more, please contact me at lander [at] council.nyc.gov or 718−499−1090 and we will send you the materials that you need.

It's a great way to be involved in making our communities even better places to live.