Who's On Your UWS Community Board This Year? New Members Are Named

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Curious who's voting on land-use actions, liquor license approvals and other issues on the Upper West Side. The new appointments to Manhattan's 12 community boards have been revealed — and some of your neighbors may be on the list.

The appointments were made Friday by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine's office and shared exclusively with Patch. Half of each board was up for reappointment this year, with each board's 50 members serving staggered two-year terms.

(Scroll down to see the full membership list for each of Midtown's three boards.)

A total of 885 people applied to Manhattan community boards this year — the second-highest on record — for just 319 positions. This year's appointees include 91 first-time members, according to Levine's office.

Also new this year, Levine's office asked applicants to say whether they owned cars — the first time that question has been asked. The result: 79 percent of first-time members say they don't have a car, which Levine's office says aligns more closely with Manhattan's demographics.

In a reflection of added outreach to underrepresented groups, 70 percent of first-time appointees identify as BIPOC, including an increased percentage of African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and Asian American/Pacific Islander appointees.

Nearly 18 percent identify as LGBTQ, and 40 percent are renters, compared to 30 percent who say they have an ownership stake in their residence.

Community Board 7, Upper West Side board members

• Andrew Albert
• Richard Asche
• Elizabeth Caputo
• Joshua Cohen
• Robert Espier
• Steven Brown
• Anthony Thomas
• Blanche E. Lawton
• Courtney Metakis
• Seema Reddy
• Susan Schwartz
• Erana Stennett
• Kristen Berger
• Mark Diller
• Natasha Kazmi
• Ira Mitchneck
• William Ortiz
• Madge Rosenberg
• Ethel Sheffer
• Polly Spain
• Sonia Garcia (new)
• Kevin Corte (new)
• Audrey Isaacs
• Barbara Adler
• Jay Adolf
• Daniela Alvarado
• Louisa Craddock
• Sheldon Fine
• Doug Kleiman
• Rev. K Karpen
• Michele Parker
• Andrew Rigie
• Peter Samton
• Roberta Semer
• Kristina Villarin
• Benjamin Wu
• Linda Alexander
• Kenneth Coughlin
• Page Cowley
• Beverly Donohue
• Miranda Goodwin-Raab
• Sarah Lind
• Klari Neuwelt
• Melissa Rosenberg
• Howard Yaruss
• Christina Cordova
• Madelyn Innocent

The Upper West Side is currently only adding two new board members.

"We need to ensure our community boards are composed of diverse local leaders so that we can recover from this pandemic equitably and stronger than we were before," Levine said in a statement, noting that he had served on a community board himself before entering politics himself.

"This new class of appointments is the culmination of our efforts to begin to transform Manhattan's Community Boards into a more fair and representative body that includes all the wonderful voices that together make Manhattan the most well-known community in the world."Other statistics of note: 48 percent of first-time appointees identify as women, compared to 42 percent as men and 1 percent as gender nonconforming.

About 26 percent are under the age of 30, including six who are under the age of 20 — a "significant increase," according to Levine's office.

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.