Let Us Keep Virtual Meetings, UWS Community Board Says

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The majority of the Upper West Side's Community Board 7 signed their names to a letter sent on Thursday asking for an amendment to a law that would allow the group to meet virtually without risking their health amid the uptick in coronavirus cases.

In March 2020, the State of Emergency declared by Gov. Andrew Cuomo meant that community boards were able to meet virtually, while still offering the public the opportunity to watch along and participate.

However, when that State of Emergency was lifted in June 2021, it "for all practical purposes eliminated the ability of Community Boards and the other Boards to meet via virtual platforms," reads the letter.

The Upper West Side community board points to a specific section of the Open Meetings Law, which requires that the public have physical access to each site a member of the board is video conferencing in from.

This stops board members from being able to video into meetings from home unless they also want to open their doors to anyone who might want to walk in.

"Neither the members of the Boards nor the public should be required to make a Hobson's choice between participating in a public meeting or protections from a virus that continues to confound efforts to contain it," reads the letter.

Richard Robbins, one of the 31 Community Board 7 members who signed the letters, recently tweeted: "Some community board members are refusing to meet in person, yet with the expiration of the executive order allowing virtual meetings, there is no legal, safe way for us to meet."

The board is specifically asking to eliminate the provision of the Open Meetings Law that requires board members to access a video conference only from a venue that can accommodate the public.

The letter was addressed to nine New York elected officials, including Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, and Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal.

You can read the full letter here.