This is NOT the official website for Community Board #1.
Their official site is located at: www.cb1.org
This is the response from Anthony Notaro
Annual elections with two year term limits for officers of the Board.
This issue encompasses both the term of office and the number of terms. While our current By-Laws provide for three terms this needs to be reviewed with the input of the full Board. With regard to the term of office, there are sound arguments for and against one-year terms. Allowing the Chair to establish an agenda and have the time to work with City agencies and policy makers has merits. Yet the ability of the Board to elect a Chair each year allows for more candidates, more inclusion and prevents the Chair from being unresponsive.
In the end, this issue along with others calls for a full review of our By-Laws by our Board. This should be accomplished by a Task Force, which reports to the full board, not just the Executive Committee.
All Community Board & committee meetings must be open to the public
Simply, all Community Board & its committee meetings must be open & properly announced. However, any standing committee or the Chair may call for Task Forces or subcommittees to be established from time to time to address specific topics. At their establishment, all Board members should have the opportunity to volunteer and join this activity. Recently, we have had the experiences of subcommittees that formed for the purpose of reviewing EIS's and formulating analyses & recommendations. Other examples are the work that was done consulting with the NYSDOT on the design of the South Route 9A. These meetings, by their nature may be closed to the public. But again, the membership of these subcommittees is open to any Board member.
The guiding principles that should always apply are:
· When any Task Force or subcommittee is established, its membership must be open to all Board members.
· Whether a Standing Committee or the Chair establishes these, their objectives, timeframe and rules must be announced.
These subcommittees can make no action or decisions since they will report their findings to the full Board or through the Standing Committee.
Explanation of the relationship between CB#1 & Friends of CB#1
I believe that an external community-based and community-focused organization that can raise funds that benefits our residential and business community is valuable. However, there should be a clear and transparent relationship between CB#1 and "Friends"
Encourage participation from all members and reduce impact of Executive Committee
The purpose of the Executive Committee is for the Board Officers and Committee Chairs (along with any Board member who wishes to attend) to coordinate the activities and priorities of the committees. This process must be open to full Board. Any candidate for Chair must ensure that the Executive Committee operates as an advisory body and that the work of the Board be driven through the standing committees.
Introduce more "Subject Matter Expert Committees"
When I started on the CB#1, I was a member of the Quality of Life Committee. I believe it's time to bring this back. With the challenges that we face in new residential development, business & retail regeneration, large scale construction, education, waterfront development, Governor's Island development & usage, we will need to adjust the makeup of our standing committees. This process and subsequent decisions must be open and may be made over time in order to be proactive and must be based on our vision for Lower Manhattan. We can quickly respond by using Task Forces to address many issue. I believe that this approach will also create an environment of inclusion by involving more members.
Removal from By-Laws the clause that allows Exec. Comm. to remove members for cause
Our By-Laws must conform to the City charter. As said before, I would convene a Task Force to review & propose a new By-Laws document.
Discussion of how funds raised by Street Fairs are used.
This discussion needs to happen. I believe that it's important that for the full Board to understand all the facts.