Community Boards Still Lagging In Diversity, Councilman Says

NEW YORK, NY — How well does your community board represent your neighborhood? City Councilman Ritchie Torres wants to make it easier to find out.

The Bronx Democrat plans to introduce a bill Wednesday requiring the city to create an online list of every community board member, where they live, their attendance record and other basic details that Torres says are hard to find.

The website would also show each board's demographics based on more than a dozen characteristics, including race, gender, age, income and employment status, to reflect how it reflects the makeup of its neighborhoods.

Torres wants to encourage transparency and diversity among the city's most local government bodies, which he said are "shrouded in secrecy."

"Community boards can often be woefully unrepresentative of the community districts it purports to represent," Torres said. "Far from representing a community, a board can become a lagging indicator of a neighborhood that no longer exists."

The city has 59 community boards across the five boroughs with up to 50 unpaid members appointed by their respective borough presidents. Some are nominated by City Council members and others are selected through an application process. The boards advise city officials on myriad issues and field concerns from residents, but don't have any binding authority

The boards' websites vary widely. Some have detailed information about members and meetings, but others are non-existent.

Torres' bill would require the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to create a searchable online databse of every board member's name, residence, who appointed them, how long they've served, how often they attend meetings and how many people from each neighborhood sit on each board.

Though some boards have diversified in recent years, Torres said many still don't reflect the communities they're supposed to represent. His bill would give each board member an optional survey to collect demographic details that would shine "a harsh spotlight" on whether each board is truly representing a community.

That can go beyond a majority-white board representing a mostly black neighborhood. Torres said he wants each board to have a healthy mix of renters and homeowners, subway commuters and drivers, senior citizens and young people.

The legislation wouldn't establish "quotas" for community boards, but would put more pressure on city officials to ensure diverse representation, Torres said.

"It creates an incentive for outreach," Torres said. "Without a commitment to diversity, without a commitment to outreach, the process will continue to reward insiders."

A spokeswoman for Mayor Bill de Blasio said City Hall "look(s) forward to reviewing the legislation."

(Lead image: City Councilman Ritchie Torres is pictured in October 2014. Photo by William Alatriste/New York City Council)