NYCuriosity · One-Page Cheat Sheet
How to Be an Effective NYC Community Board Member
The whole playbook on a single page. Master process, build relationships, and act where decisions are made, in committee, early.
The three levers of influence
- Coalitions. Know each member's leanings; ally with the aligned, bridge to the rest, trade support over time.
- Stakeholders. Build relationships with council staff (discretionary $), agency liaisons, the BP's office, and your District Manager.
- Participation. Show up, speak prepared, build a record. Credibility compounds meeting by meeting.
Where the decision is really made
HIGH
Committee
Researched, debated, drafted. Engage here.
MED
Cmte vote
Sent up to full board.
LOW
Full board
Usually ratified, little debate.
- Influence flows backward, engage early.
- Track the committee calendar, not just the full board.
- No appointment yet? Join a committee as a public member.
Anatomy of a resolution
TitleOne sentence: what it's about.
Whereas… (×N)Context, evidence, reasoning, agreements.
Be it resolvedThe specific, concrete ask.
- Whoever drafts, wins, volunteer to write it.
- Name the agency, location, and action.
Robert's Rules, the bare minimum
- Quorum = majority of appointed members present.
- To pass: yes > no + abstentions (abstaining isn't neutral).
- Be recognized by the Chair; votes are public record.
- Four motions do the work: main, amend, table/call the question, point of order.
- No proxies, absentee, or phone votes, be in the room.
The one rule that matters most: if you care about a policy coming before your board, influence it at the committee stage, before positions harden. And don't skip the District Needs Statement (committees draft in June): it's the rare CB tool that agencies are obligated to answer in the city budget.
Quick-start checklist
- Pick one committee; attend every meeting.
- Learn the committee calendar; engage early.
- Volunteer to draft a resolution.
- Make a clean main motion.
- Meet the District Manager & a council staffer.
- Map your board's allies & skeptics.
- Put a priority in the District Needs Statement (June).
- Stay clean, disclose, recuse, follow COIB.