Members of Community Board 8
Dilafroz Ahmed
Jagir Singh Bains
Carolyn Baker-Brown
Dr. Allen J. Bennett
Robert Block
Maurice Braithwaite
Susan D. Cleary
Kenneth Cohen II
Monica Corbett
Maria DeInnocentiis
Allen Eisenstein
Mary Maggio Fischer
Florence Fisher
Carolann Foley
Kevin Forrestal
Hoard A. Fried
James Gallagher, Jr.
Joshua Glickman
Marc A. Haken
Michael Hannibal
Robert Harris
Tami Hirsch
Steven Konigsberg
Mark J. Lefkof
Mitch Lisker
Elke Maerz
Frank Magri
Tamara Osherov
Simon Pelman
Frances Peterson
Virginia Rallis
Charlton Rhee
Samuel Rodriguez
Jesse Rosenbaum
Nily Rozic
Steven Sadofsky
Annie Salvatore
Anna Sawchuk
Seymour Schwartz
Michahel F. Sidell
Harbachan Singh
Norma Stegmaier
Martha Taylor
Robert Van Pelt
Alvin Warshaviak
Jacob Weinberg
Stanley Weinblatt
Albert Willingham
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What is a Community Board?
New York City is divided into 59 geographic Community Districts, each one having a respective Community Board. The Community Boards are municipal bodies of up to 50 representative Board Members. Board Members are appointed by their respective Borough President, half of them at the recommendation of their local City Council Member. They serve in a voluntary capacity for two year staggered terms. Board Members are your neighbors - people who live, work, own a business, or have some other significant interest in the Community District. The Community Board hires a District Manager who is responsible for running the District Office.
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What does the Community Board do?
The Community Board is the official municipal body whose primary mission is to advise elected officials and government agencies on matters affecting the social welfare of the district. Community Board Eight (CB8) meets on the second Wednesday of each month, except during July and August. All meetings are open to the public.
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Who does CB8 Queens represent?
CB8 represents the neighborhoods of: Kew Gardens Hills, Briarwood, Jamaica Hills, Utopia Estates, Jamaica Estates, Holliswood, West Cunningham Park, Fresh Meadows, Utopia Estates, Hillcrest, Flushing Heights and Flushing Suburban. Our boundaries are from the Long Island Expressway to Hillside Avenue and from the Van Wyck to the Clearview Expressways. We have approximately 146,000 people.
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What issues does CB8 get involved in?
Community Boards in general have three distinct areas of focus - land use, budget, and service delivery. CB8, in its advisory capacity, sponsors public meetings where topical issues involving the projects, programs and policies that affect the district will be presented, discussed and, at times, debated in an open forum.
Land Use. The Community Board routinely reviews applications that involve the acquisition, disposition and/or significant change of use of City-owned properties. It hosts Public Hearings and sponsors open meetings to discuss and formulate recommendations on land use matters coming before it. The Community Board is the first stage at which land use matters are formally reviewed in accordance with the City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
In addition to matters pertaining to City property, the Community Board also reviews items related to private properties where property owners are seeking approval to use, develop or otherwise modify a property in a way that would not automatically be allowable under the property's zoning designation. These would be Board of Standards and Appeals items.
Budget. The Community Boards are required to submit to the Mayor and City Council their Capital (projects) and Expense (programs and services) budget priorities for consideration in the formulation of the City's budget. CB8 is constantly receiving input from the public on projects, programs and services that are needed within the district. While the Community Board submits budget priorities on behalf of the district for consideration, the final decision over which projects, programs and services get funded in the City's budget is made by the Mayor and the City Council, with input from the Borough Presidents.
Service Delivery. The day-to-day processing of citizen complaints and requests for municipal services are handled by the District Office under the supervision of the District Manager. The District Office is prepared to take complaints and requests for service from any constituent of the district. It is important to contact the District Office with complaints and requests for services so that the Community Board can monitor and work toward improving service delivery in the district. Calls such as these also provide the Community Board with important indicators of the levels of resources that might be most needed in the district, reflected by the types of calls received.
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What does the District Office do?
The CB8 District Office has two primary functions - to process citizen complaints and requests for services, and to provide administrative support for the Community Board. The District Office maintains all the public records of the activities of the Community Board and is responsible for setting up and preparing notices of all Community Board meetings and functions. Additionally, the District Office processes Street Activity Permits for Block Party street closures, monitors the delivery of municipal services and, in general, acts as a one stop shopping point for information and referrals pertaining to all City government matters. The District Office is a professional, non-partisan office and there are no fees for any services provided. We are a little city hall, right here in your community.
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What kinds of complaints does CB8 handle?
Just about any complaint that involves a municipal service can be called in to the District Office. This includes such items as, but is not limited to:
> Reporting a pothole
> A tree that needs pruning
> Missing or damaged signs
> Malfunctioning street light
> Clogged catch basin
> Missed garbage collection
These are some examples of the more common complaints that are called in to the District Office. By acting as the community's eyes and ears and reporting items such as this to the Community Board you can take away the satisfaction of having made a positive contribution to improving the quality of life in your neighborhood. The biggest mistake people make is that they assume that someone else will report a problem. Many problems go unreported because of this. You have the power to make a positive change in your community with just one phone call!
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How do I report a complaint?
Call the District Office at (718) 264-7895. If you choose to, you can also write, fax, 718-264-7910 or email us (qn08@cb.nyc.gov). Please note all pertinent information (e.g., exact location or street address, cross streets, etc.) related to the type of complaint you wish to report. We suggest that you try to have as much information as possible available at the time that you call. Remember, in order for us to help resolve your complaint, you must help us by accurately identifying the problem. The District Office will follow up with you.
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How can I get more involved in CB8?
Easy! There are several things you can do to get more involved in CB8 -
1) Report a service complaint or request for service to the District Office.
2) Attend a meeting of the Community Board. Call the District Office and ask to be put on the Mailing List to get a monthly Newsletter with meeting notice.
3) Sponsor or attend a Block, Civic or Merchant Association meeting. CB8 has several active organizations in the district that focus on issues, problems and concerns at a more grassroots level. If you want to know whether your block has an association, or would like information regarding any other community-based organization, call the District Office.
4) Join a CB8 committee. Each year CB8 takes in applications from non-Board Members who are interested in serving on CB8's standing committees. It is generally advisable that you attend a meeting prior to requesting membership in order to give you firsthand exposure to how the committees function and the types of issues they routinely discuss.
5) Apply for membership to the Community Board. Many non-Board Members who join committees eventually are interested in applying for Board membership. You may do so by contacting the Queens Borough President's Office at (718) 286-2900.
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