bklyn1977 t1_jbhylhq wrote
Nobody in this sub knows how a community board works. You can join yours. You can speak at yours. You can participate. If you don't like the board, get involved and take over.
These votes equate a recommendation to the city and the Councilmember. It does not block the rest stop from proceeding.
If you are spending all your time being mad on the internet, maybe you should get involved with your block and speak up at a board meeting.
ObjectivePitiful1170 t1_jbj31pb wrote
> You can speak at yours.
Not at BK CB11. They pride themselves as the most efficient CB in the city since normally they don't take input from the community. Webex mute button made it possible.
What most people don't realize is that different CBs are run differently. Some are more democratic, while others just organize an event to vent grievances to each other and have a very strong political or social agendas. They don't even have to live within CB's boundaries.
Also, the same people get the spot at the CB as long as they reapply, so good luck trying to get on it.
Die-Nacht t1_jbjidfn wrote
CBs are supposed to allow a Public Comments section at the beginning of every meeting. All you have to do is sign up to speak and they have to let you speak. There are also committees for all sorts of topics, where you can sign up to present and get resolutions passed.
> Webex mute button made it possible.
Randomly speaking during the meeting isn't ok. Webex made that simpler, but CBs have to meet in person now, so that's out of the window.
ObjectivePitiful1170 t1_jbjn9k2 wrote
> CBs are supposed to allow a Public Comments section at the beginning of every meeting.
Again, different CBs are run different ways. CB11 prides itself in not doing it when they don't want to. They called it efficiency. It is, in fact, the most efficient CB in the entire city!
> There are also committees for all sorts of topics, where you can sign up to present and get resolutions passed.
Stop by the BK CB11 transportation meeting when the DOT is coming over briefly suggesting safety improvements to realize how little the CB has to do with the community. You will see some real marvels that day.
Die-Nacht t1_jbjuoug wrote
I may be spoiled, as I'm part of Queens CB6. Though it has its nimbys, they don't seem to run everything.
TheDoct0rx t1_jbkx02b wrote
Staten Island CB3 is 100% NIMBY town. They but threated DOT when they wanted to put in bike lanes. (which they did anyway, fuck you nimbys)
Die-Nacht t1_jbl9vf4 wrote
Yeah, I suspect Staten Island, as well as the other more suburban parts of NYC will be 100% NIMBYs. My CB covers a good amount of suburban areas in Queens, but all the density along Queens Blvd may be canceling it.
bklyn1977 t1_jbjiry4 wrote
This is certainly true, but it seems the common response here is just defeatist and accepting that nothing can ever change.
BrentonHenry2020 t1_jbi096g wrote
I hope you don’t mind. But I read this in the voice of Fran Lebowitz.
bklyn1977 t1_jbi8a5q wrote
She would phrase it better than I have.
Unfair t1_jbixdew wrote
You can’t just join one - community board members are appointed by the borough president.
curlycake t1_jbj19k3 wrote
you can absolutely show up and speak
trainmaster611 t1_jbjfy56 wrote
And they're completely free to completely ignore you because they're not democratically elected officials.
Die-Nacht t1_jbjisxk wrote
I mean, elected officials can ignore you too. The point is to get your voice out there because complaining on Reddit isn't gonna do anything.
And if they are still ignoring you, well that means you're easy to ignore. You gonna have to build a small movement. Having a petition signed by ppl locally usually gets their attention.
bklyn1977 t1_jbjj3bj wrote
They president appoints members based on applications. I have done a two year term. I am not wealthy or white.
Unfair t1_jbkwj7x wrote
What was the application process like? Was there an essay and an interview?
bklyn1977 t1_jblpeu8 wrote
I had been active at meetings for a while. The application may have been more a formality. They need a range of voices so you need a good mix of parents, homeowners, students and so on. Get involved and push out the dead weight.
MissCherryPi t1_jbji4wj wrote
But you can apply to be appointed
b1argg t1_jbjj81v wrote
Which you won't be if you aren't politically connected
MissCherryPi t1_jbkvpph wrote
Not necessarily. Being a CB member is a lot of work and a pain in the butt. It’s not always easy to fill seats.
mowotlarx OP t1_jbj6pr3 wrote
Council members almost always back up Community boards and kill projects like this. These CBs, especially rich white ones in Manhattan, have insane amounts of actual power despite not having a binding vote. Let's be real here.
bklyn1977 t1_jbjipb4 wrote
My board meetings are all about getting our council rep to work for us. That's the whole point. Let's be real here, your participation in your community shouldn't stop at voting.
mowotlarx OP t1_jbjk3ic wrote
>My board meetings are all about getting our council rep to work for us.
Like I said, community boards wield a ton of power despite not being elected officials or being representative of a community. They have Council members under their thumbs for the most part, and especially in wealthier areas the boards are able to kill most public projects that would benefit someone other than themselves. It's a travesty.
bklyn1977 t1_jbjm95c wrote
Are you expressing this travesty to your rep? Your borough president? Those council members won't be there forever. The next one should be you.
mowotlarx OP t1_jbjng6t wrote
Oh please spare me with this phony civic duty crap. It is justifiable to criticize Community Boards (whose members ARE NOT ELECTED) and the elected Council members who bow down to them to the detriment of the rest of the city and surrounding neighborhoods. Telling people to vote (I do) and run for office (lol there are 51 council members in a city of almost 9 million) is lazy. The CB system is corrupt and outdated and our elected are too scared of them to ever change the system.
bklyn1977 t1_jbjohfa wrote
I would love to invite you to my community board to see all the corruption. Instead you will just stay mad on the internet.
edit: our meeting and hearings are announced here where you can register to attend:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb16/announcements/announcements.page
mowotlarx OP t1_jbjs5mc wrote
Oh of course, your Community Board isn't like other Girls.
Are the members elected by popular vote in an open election in your district?
bklyn1977 t1_jbjthwr wrote
I served for two years. I think we need more younger people involved. Members are not elected by popular vote as this is not a role in public office.
I will advise you that you should have a record of attendance and involvement with your community board before applying as that will factor into the decision. Call directly to your borough president office (you may have elected that person) and they will guide your through the process.
You probably have much to bring to the table.
koreamax t1_jbias3l wrote
I'm waiting to hear back to see if I got accepted for mine
Die-Nacht t1_jbjjb2b wrote
If you don't get it, see if your CB has "public members". These are like board members, but:
- They can't vote on the main board meeting
- They don't have to show up to the main board meeting
- They are only assigned to one committee (board members are assigned to at least 2), which they have to go to, and they get to vote on
This is a great way to get involved, without the large time sink, and usually increases your chances of getting into the main board in the future. Also, note that the committees are where stuff usually happens. The main board vote is big and loud, but committees are the ones that actually get shit done.
Not all CBs have public members though. So email them and ask if they do. If they don't accept you, you may get automatically invited to be a member, but check with them anyways.
bklyn1977 t1_jbjitxw wrote
Don't wait. Attend the next meeting.
koreamax t1_jbkohoa wrote
I've been to a few
139_LENOX t1_jbjw3gz wrote
This is kind of naive. Sure I'd love to contribute to my CB meetings, but I have a full time job and not a lot of free time. I'd imagine that lots of folks are in the same boat.
You know who has the time to participate in CB meetings? Old rich retirees. Which is why CBs are universally full of curmudgeonly NIMBYs.
TheHonorableSavage t1_jbk1anl wrote
Literally a system where the least productive members of society control the city’s development.
A well-adjusted person doesn’t have time to show up and debate every time a parking spot is added or removed, a bike path installed, a liquor license awarded, or a building refurbished. They elected a representative to make those calls. This just rewards the 10 people radically against something in the face of the 1000 people moderately for it. And many of these people’s identities revolve more around what they are against than what they are for.
bklyn1977 t1_jblh1we wrote
Community Board meetings are full of working professionals. You seem to be making massive assumptions about something you never participated in. You should attend your own. They run late and are probably all online at this point.
b1argg t1_jbjj37x wrote
CBs are unelected and should be abolished
bklyn1977 t1_jbjji2w wrote
Or instead of abolishing community involvement you should take part instead.
b1argg t1_jbjmjsq wrote
there's no "involvement" when the "representatives" are unelected. CBs are an overcorrection from Robert Moses and simply exist to empower NIMBYs.
bklyn1977 t1_jbjootl wrote
The participants at my meetings are neighbors and lifelong residents. Taking away this forum is a disservice to the community. Why fight for less means of involvement?
b1argg t1_jbjwf1f wrote
Make them elected then, not political appointees. It's still a bastion of NIMBY power though, and that power needs to be eroded.
kapuasuite t1_jbolhh7 wrote
That's what elections are for - we vote for people to make and enact policies, we shouldn't need to get "involved" beyond that to help counterbalance the miniscule number of people who make it onto a Community Board.
Barnabas_Stinson17 t1_jbkt9i1 wrote
Reddit would cease to exist if people actually got involved instead of being mad on the internet
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