Community Board Suggestions

Governance July 2026

Suggestions to Improve NYC Community Boards

Data behind NYCuriosity's recommendations for the Civic Engagement Commission's Better Public Meetings study: what all 59 community boards actually get to run on, how their funding fell behind City Hall's over the past decade, and the full 14-point reform table from the article.

$22.3M Combined FY2027 budgets of all 59 boards, 0.019% of the city budget

$2.63 Per resident per year for the bodies charged with representing them

30% vs 61% Board budget growth vs. the Mayor's Office since FY2017

1 IT support person serving all 59 boards, per the 2021 district managers' report

Visuals in this post

Ranked Bars

Board Budgets

Every board's FY2027 adopted budget, ranked and colored by borough: a median of $383,130, a $234,000 spread from top to bottom, and rent rather than need driving the differences.

59 boards · FY2027 Explore →

Line Chart

Budget Growth

Ten years of adopted budgets indexed to FY2017: the Mayor's Office grew 61%, the citywide budget 47%, and the boards 30%, roughly even with inflation.

FY17–FY27 · 3 series Explore →

Table

14 Recommendations

The full reform table: members, meetings, and structure, with the actor who can deliver each fix and what it takes. Several are free; only one costs real money.

14 fixes · 3 categories Explore →