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The community boards of the
New York City government The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...
are the appointed advisory groups of the community districts of the five
boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
. There are currently 59 community districts: twelve in
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, eighteen in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, twelve in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, fourteen in
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, and three in
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
. They advise on land use and zoning, participate in the city budget process, and address service delivery in their district. Regarding land use they are only advisory and mostly serve as mobilizing institutions for communities opposed to specific projects. The City Charter also allows boards to submit their own plans for the development, growth, and improvement of their communities. Community boards each have up to 50 volunteer members appointed by the local borough president, half from nominations by
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
members representing the community district (''i.e.'', whose council districts cover part of the community district). Non-board members may also join or work on board committees. Each community board is led by a district manager, with an office and staff, whose primary purpose is to coordinate the delivery of services to the community. Each borough also has a borough board, composed of the borough president, council members from the borough, and the chairperson of each community board in the borough.
New York City Charter The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. As of January 2018, it includes a non-numbered introductory chapter, plus chapters identified by a number (1 through 75) or a number plus a letter suffix.Uniform Land Use Review Procedure Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) is a process mandated by the 1975 revision of the New York City Charter that is invoked when a proposed development will affect certain legal protections afforded to the existing area and/or its inhabitan ...
(ULURP), after the Department of City Planning certifies as complete an application respecting the use, development, or improvement of
real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...
, affected community boards (along with borough boards) may hold public hearings and submit recommendations for consideration to the City Planning Commission before its decision. Such applications include those that involve city land or facilities, changes to zoning, and the use of public street and sidewalks. The Board of Standards and Appeals generally has jurisdiction over
special-use permit A special-use permit authorizes land uses that are allowed and encouraged by the ordinance and declared harmonious with the applicable zoning district. Purpose Land use is governed by a set of regulations generally known as ordinances or municipa ...
s of a local nature (along with zoning variances), such as for gas stations, clubs, camps and public utility installations, and its approval process deviates from the ULURP by allowing community and borough boards to review and recommend applications; the City Planning Commission retains jurisdiction for projects that have greater impact or involve planning issues beyond the local neighborhood. Projects that are "as-of-right" (i.e. the city has no discretion) are not subject to community review. The City Charter also allows community boards to submit their own plans for the development, growth, and improvement of their communities.
New York City Charter The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. As of January 2018, it includes a non-numbered introductory chapter, plus chapters identified by a number (1 through 75) or a number plus a letter suffix.capital budgeting Capital budgeting in corporate finance is the planning process used to determine whether an organization's long term capital investments such as new machinery, replacement of machinery, new plants, new products, and research development project ...
, their impact has been minimal.


Structure

Each board is composed of up to 50 volunteer members, with half of the membership appointed by the local borough president each year.
New York City Charter The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. As of January 2018, it includes a non-numbered introductory chapter, plus chapters identified by a number (1 through 75) or a number plus a letter suffix.City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
members representing the community district (''i.e.'', whose council districts cover part of the community district). Additionally, all City Council members representing the community district are non-voting, ''
ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
'' board members. Meetings occur once a month and are open to the public.


Board members

Board members are selected from among people who must reside, work, or have some other significant interest in the community district. The board members serve for two-year terms, staggered so that half of the full membership is up for appointment each year. The minimum age to become a board member was lowered to 16 years old in 2014. In November 2018 voters overwhelmingly approved term limits of 4 consecutive 2-years stints. After 2 years off the Board, members are eligible to be reappointed. Appointments to the board are usually made each spring.


Committees

Each community board has committees that do most of the planning and work on the issues that are brought to action at board meetings. Committees may be functional committees that deal with specific
New York City Charter The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. As of January 2018, it includes a non-numbered introductory chapter, plus chapters identified by a number (1 through 75) or a number plus a letter suffix.New York City Charter The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. As of January 2018, it includes a non-numbered introductory chapter, plus chapters identified by a number (1 through 75) or a number plus a letter suffix.Department of City Planning. DSC meetings are not subject to New York's
Open Meetings Law Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (YF ...
and therefore need not be open to the public.


History

The 1898 Charter of the
City of Greater New York The City of Greater New York was the term used by many politicians and scholars for the expanded City of New York created on January 1, 1898, by consolidating the existing City of New York with Brooklyn, western Queens County, and Staten Is ...
gave the Municipal Assembly the power and duty to number and name 22 districts of local improvements, which were at that time coterminous with the senatorial districts of the city but whose boundaries the Municipal Assembly had the power to modify. Each district was under the purview of a Board of Local Improvements, also known as a "local board", which was composed of the district's Borough President and the members of the Municipal Assembly in the district, who all served without compensation. The 1901 Charter, effective January 1, 1902, increased the number of districts to 25 and gave them their numbers and names. These districts comprised various wards and senatorial districts. The local boards remained composed of the Borough President and each
alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
in the district, and they continued to serve in the boards without compensation. In 1918 their number was reduced to 24 and they were thereafter based on aldermanic districts.Laws of New York 1916, c. 540 §2 The 1938 Charter imposed a City Council elected by borough-wide proportional representation; Local Improvement Boards thereafter comprised the Borough President and each member of the Council elected from the Borough, and numbered nine in Manhattan, eight in Brooklyn, four in the Bronx, two in Queens, and one in Staten Island. The 1963 revision of the
New York City Charter The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. As of January 2018, it includes a non-numbered introductory chapter, plus chapters identified by a number (1 through 75) or a number plus a letter suffix. The 1975 revision of the New York City (NYC) Charter set the number of Community Districts/Boards to 59, established the position of the district manager for the community districts, and created the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) (pronounced "you-lurp") which gave the community boards the authority to review land use proposals such as zoning actions, and special permits. The 1990 revision of the NYC Charter, in section 197-a, granted community boards the authority to prepare plans for development within their district, and submit them to the City Planning Commission and the
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
for approval. Plans submitted under this rule are known as "197-a" plans. The 2018 NYC Charter Revision Commission proposed term limits for community board members. The term limits proposal was one of three measures pertaining to the Charter that were up for a vote as part of the November 2018 elections. It, additionally, required borough presidents to seek out persons of diverse backgrounds for appointment. NYC voters resoundingly elected to place term limits on community board members. After
Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
suspended in-person government meetings in 2020 by declaring a state of emergency at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, the City’s 59 boards migrated to online video platforms such as Webex and Zoom. In 2021, when boards were threatened with the prospect of resuming meetings in person despite civic engagement soaring after going virtual and the ongoing health crisis, some openly declared their intent to break state law to keep meeting online, resulting in Governor
Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the firs ...
signing legislation to extend virtual public meetings.


See also

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Borough boards of New York City In the New York City government, each of the five boroughs has a borough board composed of the borough president, City Council members from the borough, and the chairperson of each community board in the borough.New York City Charter § 85(a) The ...
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City Environmental Quality Review City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR) is a process New York City agencies must undergo to determine if any discretionary action they approved has any deteriorating impact on the environment. Projects that have to be reviewed by CEQR are either ...
*
Community boards of the Bronx Community boards of the Bronx are the 12 New York City community boards in the borough of the Bronx, which are the appointed advisory groups of the community districts that advise on land use and zoning, participate in the city budget process, a ...
*
Community boards of Brooklyn Community boards of Brooklyn are New York City community boards in the borough of Brooklyn, which are the appointed advisory groups of the community districts that advise on land use and zoning, participate in the city budget process, and addres ...
*
Community boards of Manhattan Community boards of Manhattan are New York City community boards in the borough of Manhattan, which are the appointed advisory groups of the community districts that advise on land use and zoning, participate in the city budget process, and addr ...
*
Community boards of Queens Community boards of Queens are community boards of New York City, New York City community boards in the borough (New York City), borough of Queens, which are the appointed advisory groups of the community districts that advise on land use and zo ...
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Community boards of Staten Island Community boards of Staten Island are New York City community boards in the borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, a ...
*
Neighborhoods in New York City The neighborhoods in New York City are located within the five boroughs of the City of New York. Their names and borders are not officially defined, and they change from time to time. Boroughs New York City is split up into five boroughs: the ...
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Uniform Land Use Review Procedure Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) is a process mandated by the 1975 revision of the New York City Charter that is invoked when a proposed development will affect certain legal protections afforded to the existing area and/or its inhabitan ...


References


Bibliography

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External links


New York City Community Boards

BoardStat
from BetaNYC {{Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, state=autocollapse Government of New York City Urban planning in New York City