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Brooklyn Borough Board approves agenda and minutes, schedules bylaws committee and keeps open-meetings hybrid on the agenda
Summary
At its March 4, 2015, meeting, the Brooklyn Borough Board approved the meeting agenda and amended minutes, heard a series of member announcements about upcoming community events, formed a bylaws committee and agreed to continue discussion of the state open-meetings law hybrid provision ahead of its expiration.
The Brooklyn Borough Board convened on March 4, 2015, at about 6:13 p.m. at Brooklyn Borough Hall and approved the night’s agenda and the minutes of the previous meeting with two amendments. Chairperson (meeting presider) confirmed a quorum early in the meeting and handled routine business before members gave updates on programs and upcoming events across the borough.
The approval of the agenda was moved and seconded and carried without objection. The board later approved the minutes for the prior meeting after members proposed and accepted two amendments, including a clarification that the community board had voted to reject an application described in the minutes as the “ULERP” (as recorded in the meeting).
The session included a number of member updates and announcements. Chairperson Baptiste told members that the Downstate advisory board will hold a final meeting on March 13 at Downstate University Hospital and that the advisory board’s recommendation is scheduled to be issued by April 1; members were invited to testify or submit written testimony. Community Board 14 announced a youth conference for high-school-aged youth on March 12 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Flatbush YMCA near Farragut with information on internships and Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) opportunities. A community health and resource event hosted with Bridge Street Development Corporation is scheduled for March 6 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street.
A representative from Council member Banks’ office said the office is organizing two committee forums: one focused on public safety and transportation and another on nonprofit capacity building for smaller nonprofits. The nonprofit forum was scheduled for March 22 at Hope City Church, listed in the meeting as 369 New Watts Avenue at Pennsylvania Avenue and Hegeman Avenue; final times were noted as pending in the discussion.
Miss Church (staff member) reported that community-board applications have closed and that more than 1,100 applications were received, the largest number since the current administration took office. She also said the borough landing page on the borough president’s website will include meeting dates, agendas, minutes and attendance and is expected to go live before the next monthly meeting. Members were reminded that Borough Day is set for April 10 at Boys and Girls High School, with doors opening at 6 p.m. and the program starting at 7 p.m., and that the borough president will hold a Women’s History Month celebration honoring former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm the following day.
Community Board 5’s cannabis committee said it has distributed a flyer to collect reports of illegal cannabis retailers and recommended that residents file complaints through 311; the committee said it will also share the flyer with the sheriff’s office to seek enforcement balance and to help legal cannabis retail opportunities proceed.
The board agreed to keep the hybrid provision of the state open-meetings law on future agendas for continued discussion; meeting participants noted that the hybrid provision is set to expire next summer and requested that it remain a recurring agenda item. Members also formed a borough board bylaws committee constituted of representatives from multiple community boards and council offices; the committee’s membership list will be confirmed by email and the committee will meet virtually.
Business concluded quickly and the meeting adjourned at 6:33 p.m.
Votes at a glance - Approval of the March 4, 2015 meeting agenda — motion moved and seconded; approved (no objections recorded). - Approval of minutes from the prior meeting with two amendments (including the ULERP demapping note) — motion moved and seconded; approved (no objections recorded). - Adjournment at 6:33 p.m. — carried.
Why it matters: The board used this meeting primarily for procedural approvals and to document and publicize several community events and forums where residents can participate, while also creating a bylaws committee and continuing deliberations about how the borough will treat hybrid meeting arrangements once the state provision expires.
