Can Zohran’s Executive Order Turn Community Boards into Mass Engagement Machines?
And my ideas for making NYC’s most local government actually engaging
One of Zohran’s first executive orders was to restructure a bunch of already-existing departments into the Office of Mass Engagement, with the goal of increasing civic engagement.
I’m so on board with this goal. I ran a whole civic engagement bootcamp in the spring to help more New Yorkers get engaged in local politics. And I’m optimistic that Zohran will be good at mass engagement, as evidenced by the success of his campaign’s volunteer game. So I read the Executive Order to learn more about his next steps.
The Executive Order doesn’t give any fun ideas or detailed plans, it just says which already-existing departments will fall under the Office of Mass Engagement.
But here’s what caught my eye at the end of the order: there’s a whole section that talks about Community Boards. Which is interesting because Community Boards are the antithesis of what I would consider Zohran-type mass engagement. Zohran hosted a NYC scavenger hunt that drew thousands of (younger) New Yorkers to learn historical facts about local politics. Community Boards host long boring meetings that mostly attract older homeowners.
And yet, it looks like Zohran’s administration is interested in how Community Boards could be part of the solution.
That makes sense. Community Boards are the most local form of government and their sole function is to be the voice of the community.
This post will cover:
How does Zohran’s Executive Order propose to leverage Community Boards for mass engagement?
What are my (more fun!) ideas for how the administration can leverage Community Boards for mass engagement?
Should Zohran stack Community Boards with Hot Girls for Zohran?
Should you join your Community Board?
How does Zohran’s Executive Order propose to leverage Community Boards for mass engagement?
The Executive Order basically just says that the Mayor’s Office will comply with what the City Charter already requires– so status quo, nothing groundbreaking. The order also adds language about maintaining strong communication with Community Boards.
I like the idea of more meaningful two-way communication between the Mayor and Community Boards. The Executive Order says the Mayor’s Office will communicate with Community Boards to hear concerns and share information, but that’s already standard practice. Under Mayor Adams, this meant a liaison calling into meetings to deliver one-way updates that felt more like a campaign ad than engagement. There were no questions, no district-specific information, and no sign that our feedback mattered.
A real feedback loop- where Community Boards could see their input reflected in the Mayor’s actions- would go much further in making neighbors feel connected to City Hall.
Stronger communication is an okay idea, but ultimately, the Executive Order doesn’t propose anything that would change how Community Board meetings are really long, boring, and difficult to access. Which is what I see as the major barrier to Community Boards as a vehicle for mass engagement.
What are my (more fun!) ideas for how the administration can leverage Community Boards for mass engagement?
Today’s Community Boards are not structured for mass engagement– they’re structured to privilege the voices of those who have the time and energy to engage with them. And they’re structured to meet the requirements set out in the city charter: review rezonings and liquor license applications, provide budget priorities once a year.
Each community board has their own bylaws- the Mayor can’t make them restructure.
But what if the new administration created incentives to think outside the current structure? Incentives to get creative and engage more neighbors?
Two ideas:
Run a competition between Community Boards for who can engage the most neighbors to weigh in on neighborhood budget priorities. The Community Board that collects the most emails/ tweets/ sticky notes wins tea with the Mayor at Gracie Mansion 🫖
Run a mini grant competition for Community Boards to compete for one-time funds to pilot new technology to engage residents. Technology is a powerful tool for mass engagement, and Community Boards don’t use it at all. For example, my Community Board used a Google Form to ask residents about their budget priorities. We didn’t have any reason to push ourselves to get more creative than that.
Both of these ideas put the onus on Community Boards to come up with new ideas to break the current mold. Locals will have the best ideas for how to engage their neighbors– what works in Coney Island might be really different than what works in Washington Heights. So the administration shouldn’t spend time putting together a playbook for community engagement, they should set a north star for an outcome and let neighborhoods figure out how to get there.
Seeding fun competition between Community Boards is also an effective use of the administration’s time, because it’s inexpensive and attention-worthy. Using competition as a tool provides TikTok-worthy content, generates positive publicity that makes the administration look good, and celebrates the efforts of Community Boards that innovate to move the needle on mass engagement.
Community boards already have budgets, staff, and highly engaged volunteer labor. They have the resources they need to involve more neighbors, but no real urgency to do so.
Should Zohran stack Community Boards with Hot Girls for Zohran?
No, unfortunately the new administration can’t stack Community Boards with young hip new recruits. The mayor doesn’t have that power. Community Board members are appointed by the Borough Presidents, not the mayor.
If the Hot Girls want their issues taken up by Community Boards, here’s my post on how to get your Community Board to listen and take action. The post is about one time when a handful of community members showed up at my Community Board with a specific issue, a committee took up that issue, drafted a resolution, and the Community Board voted to recommend it.
Should you join your Community Board?
Applications are open now (or will be soon, depending on your borough)!
Open New York made this helpful link to all the deadlines and application pages:
Resources I recommend if you’re considering joining your community board:
My post on 4 Reasons to Join Your Community Board
If you’re interested in advocating for more housing at all levels of affordability, join Open New York and their staff and volunteers will connect you with folks already serving on Community Boards, support with the application, and more!
Abundance New York is also hosting a series of events to help interested New Yorkers apply to their Community Boards. Sign up for more information here.
Zachary Thomas wrote a sample Community Board Application and a Cheatsheet for the Group Stage of the Manhattan Community Board Interview (Note: since Manhattan has a new Borough President, the process will probably change slightly for 2026)
This is so great, and I enjoyed tuning in virtually to the ONY session about Community Boards the other week. As a newish parent, a renter, and an artist/freelancer with 18 years of NYC life under my belt, I feel especially invested in having a voice on the local scale, but it's ironically all those same factors that also prevent me from easily committing to those long, boring, bureaucratic meetings 3x a month 😕
Love this post and the idea of incentivizing community boards to find creative ways to engage younger/new audiences!
You mentioned running a bootcamp for how to get engaged in local NYC politics. Any way you could share some resources? I recently moved to New York and am looking for ways to get involved. Appreciate any insight you can share!