Members of a Manhattan community board are readying to vote on measures that would exclude advocacy group staff or board members from serving in key positions or voting on their issues of interest — steps aimed squarely at the board’s new chair and other members affiliated with a pro-housing development organization.
The proposal, expected to be considered at Community Board 5’s meeting Thursday night as a resolution, would prohibit any employee, board member or lobbyist of any advocacy group or 501(c)(4) organization from voting on any matter related to their group’s stated purpose.
The resolution would also bar such people from serving as chair or vice-chair of any committees or serving on CB5’s executive committee, which consists of the committee chairs along with the board’s chair and vice chairs.
It’s the latest move in a power struggle that has besieged Community Board 5, which covers the central slice of Midtown Manhattan from 14th Street up to Central Park South.
Board Chair Samir Lavingia assumed the post last month in the wake of resignations that included two previous chairs and chair of the board’s land use committee. He’s a campaign coordinator on the staff of Open New York, an advocacy group that promotes policies to encourage housing development, and is a registered lobbyist for the organization. Other CB5 members associated with Open New York include Sachi Takahashi-Rial, a member of the organization’s volunteer board of directors.
Some community board members and even speakers from outside the district lambasted Lavingia and Open New York at an emergency meeting last week that ran for more than three hours. While Lavingia had intended to provide comments at the top of the meeting, the other board members cast a vote for the public to speak first.
Lavingia told THE CITY in response to last week’s criticism that “every board member is there in their personal capacity. No one is there to represent anyone else except the community, and to make any other accusation is simply just a misinformed accusation.” He added that he joined the community board over two years before starting to work at Open New York, where he has been working since February 2023, according to his LinkedIn.
Community boards consist of up to 50 volunteer members who are appointed by their borough president, half at the recommendation of City Council members. Boards issue recommendations on matters that include liquor and cannabis licenses, land use rules and budget items.
Their votes on proposed development projects also weigh on whether a local Council member will give their blessings.
Among other contentious land use issues, CB5 has engaged in the drama around redeveloping the Penn Station area, where Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo have attempted to preempt local control. The board gained attention for opposing Hochul’s plan to allow developers of properties surrounding Penn Station to build immense towers around the area in exchange for payments to restore the transit hub.
During an executive committee meeting Tuesday, board member Tod Shapiro, who runs a conference center in the district, said he was working on the resolution with board member Joe Maffia.
Maffia, who declined to speak for this article, ran unsuccessfully for state Assembly in 2022 and was fined $1,000 by the Conflicts of Interest Board that year for having a CB5 staff member perform research during work hours related to liquor licenses to inform his decision on whether to invest in a restaurant supply business.
Previously he voiced his concerns about Open New York to THE CITY.
“What I take exception to is someone on a community board, offers their opinion and it’s not their opinion,” he said last month, “or may or may not be their opinion, but it’s certainly the opinion of their employer, the board that they serve on, or the organization they’re a member of.”
Another proposed resolution would clarify certain informal discussions between board members as subject to Open Meetings Law, while a third resolution would aim to address technical issues that disrupted online streaming of the board’s meetings.
Lavingia said to THE CITY that while he expects the board to consider the resolutions, they ought to be vetted by official agencies.
“Assuming these resolutions are passed, we really should go to the law department and make sure that they agree that these resolutions are not superseding any city or state law before they’re implemented,” he said.
‘A Mortal Threat’
Among those who spoke at the emergency meeting was Layla Law-Gisiko, who resigned abruptly last month from the board, having chaired the Land Use and Landmarks committees, stating in a letter that “the presence of board members who work or are affiliated with an organization that lobbies and represents special interest is very disturbing.”
Law-Gisiko, who is president of the preservation group City Club and also ran for an Assembly seat, described the situation with Open New York as inappropriate and unethical.
“It is imperative to address these issues promptly,” she said at the emergency meeting. “Lack of independence poses a mortal threat to the board.”
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who recently joined a “housing league” with other elected officials to promote more flexible development policies, has been criticized by board members for appointing Open New York affiliates to community boards. While Council members recommend new applicants to the community boards, borough presidents have the final call on appointments.
Levine told THE CITY that last week’s emergency meeting was potentially the most contentious he’d ever witnessed and said he was left dismayed by the amount of vitriol being slung around.
Levine said that he has put the full weight of his office behind the need to create more housing, especially affordable housing, saying that if more housing isn’t created, “we’re going to lose an entire generation of Manhattanites.”
However, he said that he reappointed upwards of 90% of returning applicants to the community board and welcomed a diversity of opinions on the boards, pointing to members affiliated with advocacy groups focusing on transportation, historic preservation and other causes.
“I think what’s happening in Community Board 5 is part of a larger trend, where we have a new generation of board members coming in — younger board members all over Manhattan boards and I think maybe even citywide, that have a different view on housing,” Levine said “And for a very simple reason: that they’re at a stage in life where they’re still trying to find housing.”