Teenagers and Community Boards
April 24th, 2008
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer began his public career at the age of 16 when he was appointed to his local community board. Given his background, it may come as no surprise that he supports an effort to give teenagers the right to vote on the boards.
While state law allows two members of each board to be under the age of 18, they are not given full voting rights. But a recent bill introduced into the state legislature and a supportive resolution introduced in the City Council aim to change that.
Although many community board committees have yet to vote on the matter, the reaction among community board chairs around the city has been mixed. While some see value in gaining a youth perspective, others don’t feel teenagers would be mature enough to make responsible choices.
The bill has been introduced in both chambers of the state legislature and the city resolution supporting it has five sponsors.
“It is important to have representatives on community boards which represent a cross section of the community. Involvement of young people who represent the future of our city will bring an important and fresh perspective to the issues facing our community,” State Senator Andrew Lanza, a sponsor of the bill, said.
And some community board members agree.
“Joining a community board is a fantastic, real world introduction to grassroots democracy and citizen participation in government,” argues Craig Hammerman, district manager of Community Board 6 in Brooklyn and a candidate for City Council. [corrected]
“We let 16 year olds drive cars with learner’s permits. We let them get married with parental consent. They can be tried as adults. They work. They even pay taxes. Why shouldn’t they have some say in how their tax dollars could be spent?”
Manhattan Community Board 2 “is already focusing on issues that directly affect young people and their parents - such as school overcrowding and the need for more open space and having members from younger generations is important to our work on these issues,” says the board’s chairperson, Brad Hoylman.
But others see things differently.
“Personally, I believe teens do not have the life experience needed to vote on any community board issues,” says Theresa Scavo, the chair of Community Board 15 in Brooklyn. “Voting on issues vital to the quality of life in a community takes a certain maturity. I do not believe any teen has the interest or drive needed.”
Betty Braton, chairperson of Community Board 10 in Queens, agrees with this sentiment. “A concern would be that we would perhaps see teens seeking to be appointed more to have an item to add to a college application or resume rather than out of sincere interest,” she elaborates. “We often have young people attending our meetings, however most are their to fulfill a class assignment for a high school or college course rather than out of great interest in what’s going on.”
Still, even some strong supporters of the bill see problems simply getting young people involved with community boards in the first place. “I’m 41, and I’m considered young!” laments Tony Perez Cassino, chair of Community Board 8 in the Bronx. He points out that nobody on his board is in even in their 20s. “We are missing the youth perspective.”
By Mike Muller on April 24, 2008, 6:45 amIn category: Voting
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April 25th, 2008 at 10:02 am
This month’s CB12M General Meeting went to 10:45 PM, with few members in the room. Remember these are on school nights!
The range of experience and maturity of the “adult” board member is very varied. I do not hold their lack of experience against them. If CB membership pads a teen’s college application and they’re a good member, okay. If they are going off to college, their longevity is short at this time. We need to look at teens as an opportunity to develop the next generation of CB members.
To be honest, I wonder about the motivations & commitment of many CB members. I’m a frustrated at the range of commitment, or lack there of, of many members. Members turn up to vote a single issue and leave. Short vof locking the doors, there goes the quorum and the meeting! Why should any of us hang out all night if they don’t have the commitment. We all are busy with multiple commitments and the CB is just as important as any other meeting and certainly more important than a TV show!
I think that people need to participate in their CB before they are appointed.
Do they really know how thankless being a member can be?
Do they realize there are no perks?
Do they realize how little power members have?
What is their reason for wanting to be on their CB?