Diversity proposals gain steam at CB 8

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Discussion about diversity — or the lack thereof — on Community Board (CB) 8 is reaching a fever pitch.

Land Use Committee Chairman Charles Moerdler proposed the creation of a diversity committee immediately after the heated June election for chair of the board, which saw Dan Padernacht win and Maria Khury claim she lost due to racism among board members. She did not cite specific examples, but said members were not comfortable with electing a Dominican woman to CB 8’s top post.

After months of inaction on diversity, Economic Development Chairman Sergio Villaverde sought to revive the topic at the Dec. 9 full board meeting.

He did not propose any resolutions, but said the board should make efforts both “internally and externally” to increase diversity.

In a phone interview, Mr. Villaverde said those efforts could include holding more committee and board meetings outside of Riverdale and hosting forums for the police to field questions from minority members of the community who feel there is a double standard in law enforcement. CB 8’s borders stretch from the Hudson River to the Jerome Park Reservoir and the city line to Marble Hill.

Mr. Villaverde, a lawyer, said he previously served as a police officer in the Bronx for about 11 years. He said a forum on policing would fall under CB 8’s purview, which includes ensuring equal delivery of city services. He added that now is an opportune time to discuss policing, in light of recent protests over the killings of Eric Garner on Staten Island and other black men at the hand of authorities.

Regarding meeting locations, he said when executive committee meetings, for instance, are held at the board office at 5676 Riverdale Ave., the board “doesn’t make itself accessible to people in my neighborhood, on Sedgwick Avenue.”

Mr. Villaverde said he also wants the internal culture of CB 8 to change, starting with “a frank discussion” of issues raised by the June vote for chair.

“I think a lot of people kind of brush it off as sour grapes, so we don’t have to talk about it,” he said. “I think the first challenge is having people recognize that there are barriers.”

Mr. Villaverde said Mr. Moerdler made a good point when Mr. Villaverde discussed diversity at the December meeting — that a special committee could simply become a burial ground for ideas on how to inculcate diversity.

“I’m starting to dislike the diversity committee name more as we speak,” Mr. Villaverde remarked.

For her part, Ms. Khury initially rejected the idea of a diversity committee, telling The Press in June, “creating that committee only serves to acknowledge that we are biased.” She did not answer phone calls requesting comment for this article.

Mr. Moerdler, who suggested Ms. Khury lead a diversity committee as part of his original proposal, said he still supports the idea — provided several conditions are met.

He said the board should specify the committee’s function and only make the undertaking if all parties have good faith.

Mr. Moerdler added that the board should analyze whether tensions in the northwest Bronx are any different than in other parts of the city, “Because if they are the same as other areas, we then have a citywide problem that I’m not sure we can deal with.”

Tensions high

Tensions were on display at the December board meeting. Mr. Moerdler himself took exception with a new member’s proposal to form a special committee on bylaws even though the Law, Rules and Ethics Committee currently has a working group looking into the matter.

He called the proposal a “deliberate disruption” to the board’s work and threatened to ask Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. to take steps to remove the other speaker, David Toledo, from the board. Mr. Toledo could not immediately be reached for comment.

The exchange prompted board member Julie Reyes to say, “I would gladly give up my seat to have a more diverse [working group].”

Later in the same meeting, Ms. Khury said she had been excluded from joining the Law, Rules and Ethics Committee’s working group.

The committee’s chairman, Martin Wolpoff, reported his November minutes as saying no one had objected to the latest developments with his working group. At the December board meeting, Ms. Khury said she had in fact objected, stating she wanted to be included in the group, and went on to propose a resolution that “Marty Wolpoff was being disingenuous” about the November minutes. The resolution failed, though the vote count could not be completely discerned on an audio recording of the session.

Toward the end of the meeting, former CB 8 Chairman Robert Fanuzzi called for greater unity on the board. Mr. Padernacht echoed his remarks.

“Hopefully, we can come together as a board… and we can focus more on the boards’ business,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr. Villaverde said he plans to raise diversity at the next executive committee meeting, which was scheduled for Wednesday of this week, to “get some small steps going.”

Mr. Moerdler pointed out that creating a new committee requires many procedural steps, and said if the diversity committee takes shape in a reasonable way, he would like to see it ready for the new board in June to appoint members.

CB 8, diversity, Maria Khury, Dan Padernacht, Sergio Villaverde, Charles Moerdler, David Toledo, Robert Fanuzzi, Julie Reyes, Martin Wolpoff, Shant Shahrigian

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