The city’s five borough presidents are calling for a permanent state law allowing for a remote option to attend community board meetings — a move critics charge would curtail essential neighborhood face-to-face democracy.
“Community Boards across the city have been able to hold public meetings remotely throughout the pandemic, and we must make access to those remote options permanent,” the borough presidents said in a joint statement.
“These remote tools not only helped keep Board members and the public safe during the height of the pandemic, they provided better access to New Yorkers who otherwise may not have been able to participate in local governance,” the statement said.
The permanent remote option is supported by all of the Big Apple’s borough presidents, which include Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella.
The five elected officials said some community board members told them they would consider resigning due to health concerns if they were required to attend monthly meetings in person.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has approved executive orders extending virtual meetings, but the borough leaders want lawmakers to amend the state public meetings law to make the remote option a permanent feature.
Critics said virtual participation allows community board members –and the elected officials who appoint them — to avoid neighborhood protests over hot-button zoning issues.
“They would avoid dealing with an outraged citizenry,” said Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, the 2021 Republican candidate for mayor.
“Politicians and community board members have to face the fire. This is what America is founded on — the town hall meeting. Government has to be face-to-face interaction,” said Sliwa.
Sliwa said at a time when there’s a push to persuade employees working remotely to return to their office buildings, “we should not let this policy become the new normal.”
State Conservative Party chairman Jerry Kassar said legalizing virtual attendance at community board meetings is “totally ridiculous” when the COVID-19 pandemic has faded as a public health concern in the Big Apple.
“Any attempt to prevent the general public from interacting with government officials is inappropriate,” Kassar said.
“The community boards are the basic unit of government, the neighborhood link to the government. The remote option limits that at level of access.”
Kassar, who resides in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn, said it’s time “for people to come out of their homes and talk to their neighbors.”
In response, Manhattan BP Levine said making the hybrid model of virtual attendance permanent — along with in-person attendance — is “just common sense” that will make local board meetings more accessible, not less.
“Over the last three months, I’ve been hearing from board members who have serious concerns about returning to in-person meetings, and have heard from prospective applicants whose potential participation would be greatly improved if remote options were available,” said Levine.
“We should be doing everything we can to encourage New Yorkers to participate in local government,” he added.
