Koppell dumps community board housing chair(Page 3 of 3)
By Adam Wisnieski Posted 5/30/12
“What it says to me is that Ruben Diaz Jr. does just what the Ben Franklin Club wants him to do, and if you’re not a member of the club, you’re not going to be reappointed,” Mr. Scheinbach told The Press last year. John DeSio, communications director for Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. responded to questions about Mr. Durham’s removal from the board by releasing a statement. “Community board appointments are made at the discretion of the borough president, in consultation with the local City Council members. We have a long internal process. In the end, we make the selections based on how we believe people will represent both our office and their respective communities,” it said. As it stands, community board members are at the mercy of those who appointed them. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has tried to change that by instituting an independent panel made up of good government groups, non-profit organizations and community-based organizations. Still, the BP’s office and City Council members have final approval. In the Bronx, the final decisions are completely up to the BP’s office and City Council members nominate half the members. A complete list of Community Board 8 appointments and reappointments was released on Tuesday. The board’s four new members are Martin Galvin, Dana Lennon, David Kornbluh and Paul Ellis. Colleen Hanley did not reapply.
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Oliver Koppell has a woeful record on minority appointments to the Board. He has swept out half a dozen African Americans since he took office while continuing to appoint mostly white, mostly Jewish men. The only other qualification is that they are Ben Franklin loyalists. Not very representative of the community. Thursday, May 31, 2012|Report this
Xena...I agree...but the ultimate decision lies with Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz Jr. The large population of the neighborhoods covered by CB8 would allow for 50 Community Board 8 members. I believe there are currently 46 members and the vast majority of those members reside in Riverdale.
I fully supported Maria Khury as well. While she was in the "running" for position of Vice Chair of CB8, I stumbled upon an article in which Councilman Koppell blamed the failing of JFK schools on the Dominican population of the students. Councilman Koppell stated “Most of the students at Kennedy High School are from the Dominican Republic and are English Language Learners with a limited language capacity,” I beg to differ. Though there is a large Domincan population on the JFK campus, the students need competent teachers and a fully functioning administration in order to succeed. Second language learners want to learn. What Councilman Koppell did not point out in the same article is that the JFK campus resembles a prison. Students are dragged through metal detectors and treated like inmates when they forget their ID cards, forced to wait in the lobby until 10am when it is more convenient for security personnel to print temporary ID cards - thus students are missing valuable classroom time! Councilman Koppell placed the burden of the school closings on the students, rather than the adults who work at the school and run the school as a business. Blaming the Dominican population of the school for the failure of the administration, and the DOE, is unethical and offensive. Yet, I heard not a peep from local Dominican elected officials over Councilman Koppells comments. What does that say about our Dominican politicians?
Tom Durham preferred to vote for a Dominican businesswoman over Councilman Koppells choice for Vice Chair of CB8. What good is a democracy if you only have a bunch of "yes" men and women? Unfortunately, the retaliatory measures taken against Tom are pitiful in that the removal of Tom Durham from CB8 clearly defines the character of our elected officials. It would have been easy for BBP Diaz Jr. to reappoint Tom, on the strength of Tom's work for the community alone. Apparently Tom worked too hard for the residents of CB8. Perhaps he was too "community-minded"?
For shame!
Friday, June 1, 2012|Report this
I agree that Mr. Koppell has a very bad record when it comes to people (who do not think about things his way) on Committee and Boards. In my opinion Mr. Koppell only wants those who will vote exactly like he tells them. I also beleive that it is time for Mr. Koppell to step down from his post as City Council member; I say this because if you happen to live in the Kingsbridge section (meaning if you live in the area of between Broadway and Bailey Avenue) he does not want to that you exist. He has been asked to help getting rid of a Hispanic bar (which is basically a strip or exotic dancing) where the customers come out during the night and the music is so loud and then when they are leaving (getting into cars or cabs since they don’t live in the neighborhood) make so much noise they wake people up. What did Mr. Koppell say when asked to help. I don’t have that area in my district. He is nothing more than a Hispanic lover. Who needs him and his friends, let’s get rid of them all. Monday, June 4, 2012|Report this