Community boards can play an important advisory role in major projects.

In Manhattan, for instance, Community Board 6 in east midtown came up with a plan – adopted by the city and the developer – that increased affordable housing and open space, while reducing overall density on the multi-block site formerly occupied by Con Edison on the East River.

Borough President Stringer said, “The city’s proposed cut to community board budgets threatens the first line of democracy in our city. Although these are tough economic times, it doesn’t make sense to cut back 59 agencies that reduce the workload for other departments, promote community involvement and protect our vibrant and historic neighborhoods.”
Each community board is composed of 50 members appointed by the Borough President, half proposed by members of the City Council. The boards review zoning, land use, business licensing and service delivery for neighborhoods that average more than 135,000 residents.

The 50 board members per district serve without pay. City funds – which would be reduced from last year’s $189,895 executive budget to $169,709 in the current executive budget for each community board – pay for office expenses and the staff who manage the day-to-day operations for each board.