You are reading

Applications to Serve on a Queens Community Board Are Now Open

Queens Community Board 1 in Astoria (Photo: Queens Post)

Jan. 13, 2021 By Christina Santucci

The Queens borough president’s office has launched its first-ever online application for seats on the borough’s 14 community boards.

Those interested in serving on a Queens community board must submit their application by Feb 19. The appointments are for two-year terms that begin on April 1.

This year the application process has been digitized given COVID-19. Previously, the forms had to be notarized, and applicants were required to mail their documents to Queens Borough Hall or drop them off in person.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said in a statement that the goal of the digitized application was to streamline the process, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and attract a more diverse applicant pool of “qualified and civic-minded individuals.”

Richards noted that the online form would be safer, quicker and easier, particularly for those in areas of the borough with less access to public transportation.

“This common-sense overhaul of the outdated community board application process represents a significant step toward ensuring that our 14 Queens Community Boards truly look, sound and feel like the diverse neighborhoods of each district,” Richards said in a statement.

To be eligible, applicants must live, work, go to school, own a business or have a significant interest in the district in which they would like to serve. The application form includes questions about potential conflicts of interest, demographics and access to transportation and technology, as well as an essay section.

Community boards act in advisory roles for elected officials and government agencies about land use and zoning issues in their respective districts.

The boards, which are limited to 50 members and meet monthly, also issue recommendations about the city’s budget, municipal services and other matters specific to their communities.

Community board members, who do not receive salaries, must reapply every two years for their seats and may serve up to four consecutive terms.

Approximately half of the members’ terms expire each year, so appointments of roughly 350 new and returning members are expected to be made this year.

The Community Board Districts in NYC. There are 14 in Queens represented in purple (NYC)

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Jamaica man indicted in 2018 cold-case murder of Brooklyn rapper at a Woodhaven bar: DA

A Queens grand jury indicted a Jamaica man for the fatal drive-by shooting of a rapper outside a Woodhaven pub in 2018.

Johnathan Rice, 43, of 178th Street, was arraigned on Friday on an indictment charging him with murder in the second degree for allegedly gunning down 35-year-old Frank Synder, a Brooklyn hip hop performer and party promoter known as “Hollywood Play,” outside the Tavern Lounge in Woodhaven, where he was hosting an event for a friend’s birthday.

Richmond Hill man sentenced for killing two South Ozone Park neighbors in drunk driving collision last year: DA

A Richmond Hill man was sentenced Monday to seven to 21 years in prison for a drunk driving collision that killed two neighbors from South Ozone Park in June 2023.

Tamir Khan, 23, of 117th Street, pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court in July to aggravated vehicular homicide and DWI charges for speeding through a Richmond Hill intersection and slamming into a vehicle driven by Inderdeo John, who was driving Charles Harris to his job as a custodian at a nearby public school.

South Richmond Hill senior killed after fire breaks out in his illegal basement apartment on Thursday afternoon

A 72-year-old man was killed after a fire engulfed his illegal basement apartment in South Richmond Hill on Thursday afternoon.

The FDNY received a call just after 5 p.m. of a house fire at 94-14 132nd St. Firefighters confirmed the blaze broke out in the basement. The FDNY dispatched 12 units and 60 firefighters and EMS personnel to the scene. Paramedics rescued the 72-year-old victim, and EMS rushed him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead a short while later.