One Brooklyn
November 19, 2014
BROOKLYN, NY, November 19, 2014: Yesterday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams joined educators, community leaders and advocates in the rotunda of Brooklyn Borough Hall to urge teenagers to take advantage of a new state law that now allows them to become members of the City’s community boards. The call to action came days before an organizational meeting for young people on Thursday, November 20th at 6:00 PM in the Al Vann Library of Boys and Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Borough President Adams spoke about his call for greater youth involvement in civic matters, part of his proposed community board reforms.
“Community boards are the true heartbeat of this city, because they are in touch with grassroots priorities more than any other level of local government,” said Borough President Adams. “Teenagers play a vitally important role in our communities, and it’s time they sit on these boards as well, so our government reflects the opinions of all people. I am looking forward to reviewing the applications of our young people this year and appointing some great new talent to our boards.”
Under a new law signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, borough presidents can appoint up to two teenagers over the age of 16 to each community board in New York City, marking a historic expansion of potential members. Community boards have a variety of responsibilities, including dealing with land use and zoning issues, assessing the needs of their own neighborhoods, and addressing other community concerns. The law was passed with the support of a City Council resolution, at the request of Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, which was jointly sponsored by Council Members Ben Kallos, Mark Levine, and Ritchie Torres.
“Early participation in civic life will help empower our young adults and strengthen our communities with new ideas,” said Assembly Member Nily Rozic. “I thank Borough President Adams for his longstanding advocacy on this and look forward to working with him to get the next generation of leaders involved.”
“Having teenagers on community boards is a great way to involve capable young people in the civic process,” said Council Member Levine. “I was proud to work with Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and my Council colleagues to pass a Council resolution in support of Assembly Member Nily Rozic and State Senator Andrew Lanza’s laws to allow teens 16 and over to serve on their local community boards. I look forward to seeing the change they will bring.”
“Here at Community Board 1, we never associate age with ability,” said Dealice Fuller, chair of Brooklyn Community Board 1. “We encourage the youth of today to get involved in building their tomorrow. It takes a village to sustain a village.”
“Community Board 3 is proud to stand with our Borough President and other community partners as we advocate for expanding the composition of Community Boards to include our youth,” said Tremaine Wright, chair of Brooklyn Community Board 3. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our young people to assume ownership for the neighborhoods in which they reside and to develop a working knowledge of government. This is how civics come to life. This is how we invest in our future. We need to secure a place for our youth at the decision making table.”
“Community boards are the most local form of representative government in New York City,” said Robert Perris, district manager of Community Board 2. “This state legislation will allow us to be that much more representative.”
“Young people need to get into the game of life sooner rather than later,” said Akosua K. Albritton, chair of Brooklyn Community Board 8’s Youth and Family Services Committee. “We owe it to them to ‘find their legs’ and cultivate autonomy and self-expression. I take exception to the saying, ‘our children are our future.’ Many children have adult responsibilities. It’s only fair that they have constructive means to contributing to society. I have been encouraging my committee members to bring teens to the committee meetings.”
The new law also received support from Al Kurland of the Police Athletic League (PAL), along with Sarah Andes of Generation Citizen – who last year initiated socially responsible curricular projects in 52 city high schools. Support also came from Alan Schulman, Program Director for the Center for the Study and Practice of Social Studies, which is part of the Association of Teachers of Social Studies (ATSS/UFT).
“In PAL, we have a motto, ‘In order to go places, youth need a place to go,’” said Kurland. “This especially holds true for highly motivated and committed teen civic actors who have been making meaningful contributions to their youth agencies and communities, and who now seek to extend their service to government at a local level. Guided by mentors in their own organizations, and caring adults currently sitting on community boards, we have an historic opportunity to partner with thoughtful and creative young adults who we need to listen to, and give a seat to at government advisory tables.”
“This is an important opportunity for our young people, but even more so, for our communities,” said Andes. “Allowing and preparing youth leaders to be on community boards allows us all to benefit from new perspectives, networks and energies. It’s to our benefit to identify and begin training our future civic leaders, today.”
“These are challenging times requiring all hands, including youth, on board,” said Schulman. “Our young adults are assets and stakeholders in the future and they must be given genuine opportunity to join, with influence, other stakeholders, organized and prepared for cooperative engagement in all places where the future is being discussed, decided and planned. Youth On Boards / Project 118 – and its call to youth for service in their neighborhoods and communities – is long overdue. Sitting two teenagers on each of the 18 Brooklyn community boards, and all 59 New York City boards, engaging in real time issues affecting all our lives, bringing those issues back into their school classrooms, student governments and youth organizations, tenant and block associations, churches and workplaces, is a beginning we must all encourage and support.”
“It’s time for people my age to get involved,” said Monifa StLouis, a representative of Boys and Girls High School’s Student School Neighborhood and Community Government. “I am excited to meet young adults from Brooklyn who are committed to bringing about change.”
PHOTOS
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams joins educators, community leaders and advocates in the rotunda of Brooklyn Borough Hall to urge teenagers to take advantage of a new state law that now allows them to become members of the City’s community boards; he is joined by (from left to right) Brooklyn Community Board 16 Chair Bettie Kollock-Wallace, Brooklyn Borough Hall Chief Program Officer Sandra Chapman, Assembly Member Nily Rozic, Brooklyn Community Board 3 Chair Tremaine Wright, Al Kurland of PAL, Brooklyn Community Board 2 District Manager Robert Perris, Alan Schulman of ATSS/UFT, and Sarah Andes of Generation Citizen.
Photo Credit: Kathryn Kirk/Brooklyn BP’s Office
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