NYC Politics 101: The drama continues at my community board

PLUS: Join me on Monday in Tribeca or on Zoom!

Hot takes are my own and not the views of Manhattan Community Board 5.

What you need to know

3 stories from the last week in local and state politics:

Members of my Community Board, Manhattan CB5, proposed resolutions this week that would prohibit activists from voting on any matter related to a group they’re affiliated with. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine joined our meeting on Thursday, reminding CB5 that activist groups include a broad umbrella: e.g. the NAACP, Planned Parenthood. Levine shared his concern that the resolution would cause distraction from CB5’s important work, “consuming this board in endless adjudication on all the gray areas of what constitutes an advocacy organization.” We voted to table the resolutions until the next full board meeting due to version control issues with the text of the resolution. 

My CB isn’t the first one where policy has been proposed to take voice away from those whose opinions differ from the status quo. And we won’t be the last. As I’ve described the story to friends and family, they’ve shared their own stories about HOA boards and PTA groups where polarization set in and members were unable to work productively. 

The solution is more representation and voice, not less. Which means fostering norms where people who usually stay silent feel comfortable sharing their opinions. And where people who might usually talk multiple times on one topic instead save space for others to weigh in. I commented in the meeting that this is my hope, and I’m going to lean into doing a better job of this myself.

City Council members opened discussion on the “City of Yes for Economic Opportunity” package. The goal of this 18-proposal package is to update outdated zoning laws that make it hard for businesses to operate. Some specific policy changes include:

• Allowing small producers like ceramic shops and microbreweries in commercial corridors

• Allowing more businesses to operate in ground-floor and upper-floor spaces

• Allowing dancing, comedy and open mic nights in restaurants

• Allowing a wider range of businesses to be based in homes

The Council will make a final decision around the end of May.

In order for NYC to adapt and evolve as a city, we need to update our zoning. The City of Yes proposals are a great step forward, since most of the city’s zoning laws that affect business haven’t been updated since 1961. The Department of City Planning and the Adams administration have done a good job with this policy– now it’s up to the City Council to pass it.

NY state education officials unveiled a 300-page report on mayoral control of NYC schools. 

Most school districts across the country are governed by an elected school board that appoints a superintendent. Not NYC. Here we have mayoral control. And state lawmakers have to approve mayoral control, but they’ve gotten skeptical about how it’s working, so they commissioned a report back in 2022. And now the report is live. 

The report consists of 1) a study of school governance models, and 2) feedback from the public. The results of both were inconclusive. There is no relationship between school governance structures and student achievement. And parents don’t love the status quo, but they didn’t want to go back to elected school board members either. 

As someone who worked in the education accountability space for over 6 years, I’m not surprised. Voters don't tend to hold elected officials accountable for test scores. Whether they’re voting for school board members or the mayor. Voters tend to cast their education votes based on other signals. Anecdotally, I’ve heard positive things about the quality of NYC public schools, but I’d be interested in learning more. Hit me up with your recs for what I should read 🙂

New things to celebrate

We love NYC for its dynamism! Great cities are always innovating, creating, and adapting.  

Superiority Burger is back. The vegetarian/vegan burger place shut down in November 2021, but is back now at 119 Avenue A. Apparently the namesake burger is the go-to. But the twice baked potatoes and sweet & sour red beets burgers are highly recommended. 

Join me on Monday (April 15) at 6pm in Tribeca or on Zoom! 

I’m putting together an informal session called NYC Politics 101 where I’ll be sharing a short overview of NYC politics. Open New York is hosting, and it’s open to non-Open New York members as well– truly anyone who wants to learn! 

Here’s the flyer (below). Let me know if you’re interested, and I’ll send along the address and/or zoom link.