Community Boards Face Big Budget Cuts
A few months ago the city told community boards that they were going to be looking at budget cuts of $5,000 for the next fiscal year, a fate that CBs across the city were a little less than thrilled to hear about. As it turns out, though, the Bloomberg administration is now looking to slash…
A few months ago the city told community boards that they were going to be looking at budget cuts of $5,000 for the next fiscal year, a fate that CBs across the city were a little less than thrilled to hear about. As it turns out, though, the Bloomberg administration is now looking to slash the budgets of New York’s 59 community boards even more as part of the larger citywide belt-tightening. Next year’s budget, as currently planned, will involve every community board losing 8 percent, or $16,000, from their $200,000 budgets. While $16,000 doesn’t seem like a huge amount of money, it is for most community boards, which have to pay for all staff members and office operating costs from the $200K they receive every year. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is opposing the cuts, and CB6 District Manager Craig Hammerman spoke out against them at this week’s general board meeting, noting that in the 16 years he’s served on CB6, they’ve never received a budget increase. It gets to a point where you cut to the bone,” he said. “The city can’t have it both ways. They didn’t share anything with us in the good times but now they expect us to give up in lean times.”
I’ve worked with Craig Hammerman professional (that is, made presentations to CB6) as well spoken to him privately about matters affecting our block. He strikes me as a right, upstanding kind of guy.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill “Community Boards are the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried.”
Now I’ll not defend their individual actions, but we do need responsible and responsive local governance. There are at least two places one might go to promote for an improved local governance system: The Campaign for Community-Based Planning at http://communitybasedplanning.wordpress.com and the BeyondVoting Wiki at http://beyondvoting.wikia.com/wiki/Beyond_Voting.
Both focus on city governance and provide an opportunity for positive griping. (Disclosure: member of former, founded the later.)
What a joke! They should be abolished and all the money should be used to repair all the damage they have done. Look at there leadership:
CB2 fires an independant manager and hires a boro president staffer!
CB6 allows there manager to run for office while he’s a city employee!
CB7 hires a low level staffer of a felon counselman.
And that’s just our local “leaders”.
Then we wonders why things don’t improve for there neigborhood.
These people create more problems then anything. Life would improve in all communities without boards.
3:11, district manager is a managerial title and therefore salaried, or to put it another way, district managers get paid the same no matter how many hours they work.
I believe that 10:38 is incorrect about Hammerman’s alleged pursuit of a law degree. And as 3:11 points out, Craig may not be in the office all the time, but he is often at work when he is not.
As for CB2, 6:13, Rob Perris seems to be trying to right a sinking ship. He currently only has a staff of one. In addition to trying to do the job of two, he has also been stuck performing the responsibilities of board secretary for months, all while taking on new tasks (e.g.: liquor license review) that CB2 never did before. He sure ain’t working no four day week.
I live in CB2, which abuts CB6. I only wish I lived in CB6! Craig Hammerman is an excellent communicator and appears to be an excellent administrator, too. The only bummer about his running for office is the loss to CB6.
Anyone complaining about Hammerman and CB6 don’t know how good they got it. This was the only Cb to stand up and take a position against the Atlantic Yards mess. Hammerman works more hours than most people I know including answering my emails at all hours of the night which I bet he doesn’t bill the Cb for. And I hope he does run for Council. We need someone like him standing up for us.
CB 6 in Brooklyn has hired a District Manager for over $90K to work a four-day week while he pursues his law degree and is condesending to the residents and businesses of his community.
After 19 years of the appointed position he now spends his days running for the soon to be open City Council seat!
What a waste of tax money!
Polemicist (and others): CB members are appointed by the Council or Boro Pres, and their role is almost entirely advisory. (And as they are appointed by council members, their “advice” is more likely to mimic the viewpoints of the CM/BP rather than to influence them.)
12:07 – Most condos are as-of-right developments (no CB action required) and do not pay property taxes (421-a abatement).
The only time the CB has any “influence” over private property is when an owner wants to do something contrary to existing zoning or when a property is landmarked.
“abolishment” is total, douchebag.