Brooklyn BP Reynoso Wants You To Apply To The Community Board

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso is taking dead aim at community boards.

He closed his State of the Borough speech last month with a call-out to reforming the longtime New York City institution, calling out, among other issues, a problem that has plagued the system of hyperlocal governance since the beginning: diversity.

His plan to fix it? Get way more people to apply and join their civic organizations before the Feb. 14 deadline.

Community Boards are made up of local community members who issue advisory, non-binding options on a slew of matters, including zoning and housing decisions, liquor licenses, street changes, park renovations, and many other issues, and are often relied on to bring community needs to the attention of those in power.

And while the boards don't have any literal power, their opinions hold a lot of sway over what happens — or doesn't happen — in a neighborhood.

"Community boards are an amazing concept in local government," Carol-Ann Church, the director of community boards at Borough Hall, told Patch, "you are truly bringing power to the people."

Members are appointed to the board by the borough president, who often takes recommendations on applicants from local city Council members. Last year, Reynoso's office conducted nearly 200 interviews in the process to appoint 449 members.

One community board in Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens, CB 9, still found itself with seven vacancies last year, the second highest in Brooklyn according to a report from Reynoso's office.

Borough Hall says the process often results in applicants that don't represent the community.
According to a 2022 Brooklyn community board demographic report produced by Reynoso's office, the average board applicant is a white homeowner between 45-64-years-old with at least a Masters Degree.

"I’m not just talking race and ethnicity. I’m talking about interests, education, or ability status," Reynoso said during his speech. "Do you drive a car or take public transportation? Do you own a home or are you a renter? Are you a single parent? Are you a NYCHA resident?"

Church said that diversity should include all kinds of residents.

"We need letter carriers, we need carpenters, we need people in the health field. So we're really looking to have boards that are very diverse in every respect that actually representative of all the interest in the community," Church said to Patch.

Past reporting shows that most community boards citywide are not representative of the communities they represent.

"Nearly one quarter of Brooklyn is 18 years old or younger, but most applicants and appointees to community boards last year were age 45-64. So, we’re also talking about age," Reynoso said in his speech.

Church told Patch that a big goal of her office is to ensure that younger residents between 16-18-years-old serve on community boards.

Her office has had informational sessions and recruitment drives at libraries, NYCHA developments, Borough Hall and across all community districts in Brooklyn.

"We are pounding the streets, literally," Church told Patch, "this is a campaign."

Curious about joining?

THE CITY published a great guide about community boards and how to apply.

If you are ready to apply, you can click here to go ahead and fill out the application.

The deadline to apply is Feb. 14.