Community Board term for new members will begin May 31

Borough President Melinda Katz swore-in 345 community board appointees in April 2019. Photo courtesy of the Borough President’s Office

By David Brand

New members of Queens’ 14 community boards will not begin their terms until May 31, two months after originally scheduled, Queens’ acting borough president said Monday.

The term for new members was scheduled to begin April 1, but Acting Borough President Sharon Lee has not yet announced the appointees. Current members, whose terms were set to expire April 1, are able to serve for 60 more days. Lee cited a section of the City Charter that allows for the extension.

“I will issue the 2020 appointments to the borough's 14 Community Boards in the coming weeks,” Lee said.

The community board selection and appointment process has been complicated by the COVID-19 outbreak. Lee was set to leave her temporary post as borough president on March 24, but a special election to fill the role vacated by former borough president Melinda Katz was canceled on March 15.

Each community board is comprised of 50 volunteer members who live in, work in or have some connection to the district they represent. Half of the members are nominated by local councilmembers and the rest apply.

The members are all approved and appointed by the borough president. 

All 14 Queens’ community boards are marked by racial, ethnic, gender and age disparities, according to a November 2019 analysis by the Eagle and the organization  Measure of America.