How New York's Community Boards Actually Work
Advisory bodies with no binding authority and considerable practical influence.
New York City has community boards covering every district, and their role is consistently misdescribed in both directions — as rubber stamps by their critics and as decision-makers by people who have just been refused something.
What they are
Each board comprises unpaid members appointed by the borough president, half on the recommendation of City Council members representing the district. Members are residents, workers or people with a demonstrable interest in the district.
Boards employ a small paid staff and meet monthly in public, with committees meeting separately.
What they decide
Their formal role is advisory. They review land use applications within the city's land use review procedure and issue recommendations. They advise on liquor license applications, on street activity permits, and on the district's budget priorities.
None of these recommendations binds the deciding body. A project can be approved over a board's objection and frequently is.
Why they matter anyway
Influence operates through attention. A board's opposition creates a record, informs the borough president and the City Council member, and frequently produces negotiated changes before an application proceeds.
For liquor licenses in particular, the State Liquor Authority gives weight to the board's recommendation, and applicants who appear before the board with a considered proposal generally do better than those who do not appear at all.
How to use them
Anyone can attend. Meetings include a public session where residents may speak, usually with a time limit and sometimes with advance sign-up.
If you are opening a business, appear at the relevant committee early, before the application is contentious. Boards respond well to applicants who arrive before there is a dispute and badly to those who arrive after.
If you are a resident with a concern about your street, the board is the body that will actually take it up, and the one whose meetings are small enough for a single well-prepared person to affect.
