Int. No. 88
By Council Members Ognibene, Watkins, Freed, Eristoff, Harrison, Wooten, Dear, Malave-Dilan, Koslowitz, McCaffrey, O'Donovan, Pinkett and Stabile; also Council Members Warden and Weiner.
A Local Law to amend the New York city charter in relation to Council Members making all appointments to community boards.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Section 1135 of chapter 49 of the New York city charter, as amended by the voters at the general election on November 7, 1989, is hereby amended to read as follows:
Section 1135. Restriction on community board membership of employees of council members [and borough presidents]. No person who is employed by [a borough president or] a council member may be appointed to serve on a community board to which such [borough president] council member may make appointments [or to which such council member may make recommendations for appointment].
§2. Subdivisions a and b of section 2800 of the New York city charter, as amended by the voters at the general election held on November 7, 1989, are hereby amended to respectively read as follows:
Section 2800. Community boards. a. For each community district created pursuant to chapter sixty-nine there shall be a community board which shall consist of (1) [not more than] fifty persons appointed proportionately by the [borough president for staggered terms of two years, at least one-half of whom shall be appointed from nominees of the] council members elected from council districts which include any part of the community district, for staggered terms of two years, and (2) all such council members as non-voting members. The number of members appointed [on the nomination of] by each such council member shall be proportionately [to the share of the district population represented by such council member] equal to the number of residents shared by both the community board district and the district represented by the council member. The city planning commission after each council redistricting pursuant to chapter two-A, and after each community redistricting pursuant to section twenty-seven hundred two, shall determine the proportion of the community districts' population represented by each council member. Copies of such determinations and the number of appointments such council member shall make, shall be filed with the appropriate borough president, community board, and council member. One-half of the members appointed to any community board shall serve for a term of two years beginning on the first day of April in each odd-numbered year in which they take office and one-half of the members appointed to any community board shall serve for a term of two years beginning on the first day of April in each even-numbered year in which they take office. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed but no member may serve for more than sixty days after the expiration of his or her original term unless reappointed by the [borough president] respective council member. Not more than twenty-five percent of the appointed members shall be city employees. No person shall be appointed to or remain as a member of the board who does not have a residence, business, professional or other significant interest in the district. The [borough president] appointing council member shall assure adequate representation from the different geographic sections and neighborhoods within the community district. In making such appointments, the [borough president] council member shall consider whether the aggregate of appointments fairly represents all segments of the community. Community boards, civic groups and other community groups and neighborhood associations may submit nominations [to the borough president and] to council members.
b. An appointed member may be removed from a community board for cause, which shall include substantial nonattendance at board or committee meetings over a period of six months, by the [borough president] council member who made such appointment or by a majority vote of the community board. Vacancies among the appointed members shall be filled promptly upon the occurrence of the vacancy by the [borough president] respective council member for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as regular appointments.
§3. This local law shall take effect immediately after approval upon submission to the electorate at the next succeeding general election.
Referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations.