Civic-Minded Brooklynites
Can Apply Online For
Seat On Local Community Board
BOROUGH PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES ROLLING APPLICATION PROCESS FOR BROOKLYN COMMUNITY BOARDS, ENCOURAGES YOUTH TO GET INVOLVED
BROOKLYN, NY, January 10, 2017: Today, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams encouraged civic-minded Brooklynites to apply for a position on one of Brooklyn’s eighteen local community boards, inviting interested candidates to submit their application online for the first time in the borough’s history. Community boards, which have existed in their current form for more than 40 years following the Charter Revision of 1975, are the most local representative bodies of government in New York City; they are responsible for dealing with land use issues, assessing neighborhood needs, and addressing community concerns. Borough presidents are responsible for the appointment for each of their community board’s 50 unsalaried members, half of whom are nominated by local members of the City Council. Borough President Adams announced that his office has completed its commitment to a paperless application process this year, following last year’s landmark digitization of the forms on his website, brooklyn-usa.org; hard copies will still be provided, but only by special request. Additionally, he announced that the application will remain available online on a rolling basis to encourage a robust and diverse pool of submissions year-round.
“The men and women who serve on Brooklyn’s community boards make our neighborhoods stronger, amplifying the voices of the residents they represent,” said Borough President Adams. “Community boards provide invaluable forums that help us ensure City services are delivered and hyperlocal issues find solutions. Last year, when I introduced a digital application for the first time in Brooklyn’s history, our office saw an encouraging growth in the number of submissions we received. It is my hope that going paperless with this process, as well as making applications available on a rolling basis, will further expand an applicant pool that is engaged and representative of the diverse identities and interests that make up our borough.”
Borough President Adams emphasized his special interest in receiving community board applications from local teenagers. Since 2015, he has used the authority granted under a new State law that gives borough presidents the ability to appoint two members who are at least 16 years of age to each community board. Borough President Adams has previously stated his goal to appoint youth members on every community board in the borough.
Applications for appointment and re-appointment for community boards are now available at brooklyn-usa.org. The application deadline for those interested in being appointed or re-appointed this year is Wednesday, February 15th. Applicants must be New York City residents in order to serve on a community board; to qualify for a particular board, they must live, work in, or have a professional or other significant interest in that board’s district.