Who's On The UES Community Board This Year? New Members Are Named

Upper East Side NY

17 May, 2022

11:56 AM

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UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Curious who's voting on new developments, liquor license applications and bike lanes on the Upper East Side? The new appointments to Manhattan's dozen community boards have been revealed — and some of your neighbors may be on the list. The appointments were made Friday by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine's office and shared exclusively with Patch. Half of each board was up for reappointment this year, with each board's 50 members serving staggered two-year terms. On the Upper East Side's Community Board 8, several longtime members are departing this year, with eight new people joining the volunteer panel. (Scroll down to see the full CB8 list.) New members include Lindsey Cormack, a political science professor at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, and a leader of the neighborhood group UES Mutual Aid. "Seeing the changes over the past few years in the neighborhood have made it really motivating to be a part of local government," she told Patch. "I want the Upper East Side to remain a place that people of all types can thrive in and want to call home." A total of 885 people applied to Manhattan community boards this year — the second-highest number ever — for just 319 positions. This year's appointees include 91 first-time members, according to Levine's office. Those departing CB8 include Elaine Walsh, a 25-year member who had until recently led the board's Zoning committee. Walsh told Patch that she had re-applied, and news of her removal came as "a shock." "I was told that they needed diversity," Walsh said — a rationale that she disputes, since she is "an elderly lesbian" and a caretaker of a disabled partner. Also leaving CB8 is Barry Schneider, a neighborhood fixture who had served on the board since 1992, leading a slew of committees and task forces. "I think it was time to give someone else a shot at it," he said. But Schneider-lovers need not fear: Judy Schneider, Barry's wife and a fellow longtime board member, will rejoin CB8 after a five-year hiatus. Bill Angelos, a neighborhood resident who helped lead the unsuccessful push to defeat last year's New York Blood Center rezoning, will also join the board this year; as will Sahar Husain, a board member of Muslim Volunteers for New York, which is active on the Upper East Side. Community Board 8 members, 2022 Abraham SalcedoAdam WaldAddeson Lehv (new)Alida CampAnju Surresh (new)Anthony CohnBarbara RudderBill Angelos (new)Billy FreelandCarolina TejoCharles WarrenCos SpagnolettiCraig LaderDavid Paul HelpernEdward HartzogElizabeth AshbyElizabeth RoseEvan MeyersonFelice FarberGregory MorrisJane ParshallJohn McClement (new)John PhillipsJudy Schneider (new)Lindsey Cormack (new)Loraine BrownLori Ann BoresWilma JohnsonLynne Strong-ShinozakiMarco Antonio TamayoMargaret PriceMichele Jane BirnbaumMohit Agrawal (new)P. Gayle BaronPaul KriklerRami SigalRebecca DangoorRebecca LamorteRita Lee PopperRussell SquireSahar Husain (new)Sarah ChuSaundrea ColemanSharon PopeSharon WeinerTaina BorreroValerie MasonVanessa AronsonWilliam SanchezYma Rodriguez-Thoma Other departing CB8 members include Harrison Pierson-Panes, Lowell Barton and Peter Patch. Half of all community board members are recommended by the local City Council member, while the rest are appointed directly by the borough president's office. New this year, Levine's office asked applicants to say whether they owned cars — the first time that question has been posed. The result: 79 percent of first-time members say they don't have a car, which Levine's office says aligns more closely with Manhattan's demographics. In a reflection of added outreach to underrepresented groups, 70 percent of first-time appointees identify as BIPOC, including an increased percentage of African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and Asian American/Pacific Islander members. Nearly 18 percent identify as LGBTQ, and 40 percent are renters, compared to 30 percent who say they have an ownership stake in their residence. "We need to ensure our community boards are composed of diverse local leaders so that we can recover from this pandemic equitably and stronger than we were before," Levine said in a statement, noting that he had served on a community board himself before entering politics. Other statistics of note: 48 percent of first-time appointees identify as women, compared to 42 percent as men and 1 percent as gender nonconforming. About 26 percent are under the age of 30, including six who are under the age of 20 — a "significant increase," according to Levine's office.