Application Deadline: Thursday, February 16
On the heels of two wildly successful efforts to both attract new members and correct long-standing demographic inequities across Queens’ 14 community boards, Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. is again accepting applications from qualified and civic-minded individuals interested in serving on their local community board.
As with the Borough President’s prior two iterations, the 2023 community board application can be filled out online, ensuring prospective applicants can complete the process quickly and easily, allowing for a more diverse applicant pool. The application requires neither notarization nor in-person delivery to the Queens Borough President’s Office.
The application is available online at www.queensbp.org/communityboards, and the deadline to submit the form is Thursday, February 16. This deadline applies to both new applicants, and existing community board members seeking an additional term. For the upcoming round of appointments, the two-year term of service will begin on Saturday, April 1, 2023.
Over the course of his administration, Borough President Richards has worked diligently to grow interest in community board membership and address numerous demographic inequities around age, gender, background, and more, which have existed for years across Queens’ 14 community boards.
Combining the 2021 and 2022 community board processes, the Queens Borough President’s Office received a whopping 1,825 applications to serve on a community board, with both years shattering the pre-Richards single-year record for applications.
There are 59 community boards citywide, including 14 in Queens, and each holds monthly full membership meetings. The boards play an important advisory role in considering land use and zoning matters in their respective districts under the City’s Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure, in addition to holding hearings and issuing recommendations about the City budget, municipal service delivery, and numerous other matters that impact their communities.
All Queens community board members are appointed by the Queens Borough President, pursuant to the City Charter, with half of the appointments nominated by the City Councilmembers representing their respective Community Districts. Each board has up to 50 unsalaried members, with each member serving a two-year term.
All community board members who wish to continue serving on a board are required to reapply at the conclusion of their two-year term and are subject to review and reconsideration.