THE RIVERDALE PRESS - Thursday, May 6, 2021 - A3
CB8 committee nearly shut down before it started n Questions raised over whether meeting was properly noticed to public By MICHAEL HINMAN mhinman@riverdalepress.com
They’re not expected to do much more than choose a pair of new committee chairs, but how Community Board 8 assembled its nominating committee raised questions about whether the board is properly notifying the public about meetings. And the current board chair has committed to do better. In the end, officials with the state’s Committee on Open Government — tasked to ensure public access to government — said CB8 was in the clear, but at least one observer says the board could’ve handled better how it shares specifics about when a meeting is going to start with the public. DAN It all stemmed pADERNACHt from CB8’s general board meeting April 13. A printed agenda of the meeting noted near the top in bold letters that a nominating committee — which had yet to be formed — would get together as soon as the regular board meeting concluded, without providing any potential time the nominating committee might actually get together. Even more, the nominating committee meeting notice didn’t include an agenda. That’s not required by state law, but it is required by CB8’s own bylaws, something some observers say the board is still obligated to fulfill. The notice also failed to provide future meeting dates — something the board voted to do just in the past year specifically for the nominating committee in
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN / File
Laura Spalter is wrapping up her first year as chair of Community Board 8. But even as she gains more experience leading the advisory group, she’s open to new learning experiences. Including a recent incident where she admits she could have followed board rules better in forming a new committee. an effort to be more transparent in the process. Dan Padernacht, a former board chair himself, said he wasn’t even sure the nominating committee could legally meet that night. CB8’s current chair, Laura Spalter, disagreed, telling him she couldn’t set dates for future meetings because all of them conflicted with other committees. “It just didn’t work for this year,” Spalter said. The meeting “is noticed. And it will take place. And it is on the calendar on the website.” Padernacht, however, said he felt like work board members put together in order to make the nominating committee more accessible was simply ignored. “When you say, ‘This is how we’ve always done it,’ we took a lot of time,
and we changed the way we do it,” Padernacht said. “I am beyond disheartened to see that there was just unilateral action here, throwing away everything that we did — and, quite frankly, everything we voted on as a board. I believe the way you did this violates the open meetings law, our board’s bylaws, and certainly our ethical guidance manual.” But no law was broken, at least according to Kristin O’Neill, the Committee on Open Government’s assistant director. “In my opinion, a notice stating that a committee of a larger body will meet ‘immediately following’ the conclusion of the meeting of the larger body is sufficient to comply with law,” O’Neill told The Riverdale Press. “Not every is-
sue is addressed specifically by law or regulation. Neither has every situation been addressed by the courts. Sometimes, we have to offer an opinion based on what we believe to be a reasonable interpretation of the statute.” And many of those opinions are considered binding to a certain extent. Including one O’Neill’s agency issued a decade ago that openly discouraged scheduling meetings without including at least some idea on when that meeting might begin. That opinion, authored by former open government committee executive director Robert Freeman, said it was “suggested” government agencies provide an approximate start time for a meeting, even if it’s going to start immediately after another one. It’s an opinion that has the support
of Paul Wolf, president of the New York Coalition for Open Government watchdog group. “The whole point of the open meetings law as stated in its declaration is to ensure that the public is fully informed,” Wolf said. Martin Wolf, a longtime CB8 member who also is the group’s de facto parliamentarian, told Spalter he believed she circumvented the organization’s rules. “I fully support what Dan has brought up, and notice should have gone out separately,” he said. However, Wolf backtracked some from that position a few days later when he told The Press that the meeting notice did adhere to state law, and while some of CB8’s bylaws may not have been completely followed, “I don’t believe an error requires as much heat as this seems to be generating.” The nominating committee has already met at least once since its initial organization. While it can put together any slate it wants for any officer or chair positions, it’s expecting only to offer recommendations to fill leadership roles on the aging committee and the traffic and transportation committee. Eric Dinowitz chaired aging until last month when he was elected to the city council in the March 23 special election, and Padernacht announced late last month he was stepping down from the traffic committee. Spalter says she’s satisfied with O’Neill’s opinion on providing public notice, but knows she could have followed the board’s own rules better. It was the first time she led those efforts as chair, and she’s chalking it up as a learning experience. “I screwed up, and everybody knows I screwed up,” Spalter said. “But this is my first year as chair, and I feel confident and comfortable that I will do better in the future. Check on this again next year, and we’ll have it right. Don’t worry.”
PRESS POINTS Ballet’s Jacques d’Amboise dies Jacques d’Amboise, a nationally renowned ballet dancer who in later years taught dance for free to many children across teh city, died Sunday at 86. Born Joseph Jacques Ahearn, d’Amboise was the principal dancer for the New York City Ballet in the 1950s, appearing hundreds of times on stage, as well as in the mov-
By Michael hinMan
ies including “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” in 1954 and “Carousel” in 1956. His National Dance Institute was a place where many young people learned to express themselves for the first time. He would travel around the city, including P.S. 24 Spuyten Duyvil, and at The Riverdale Y, where his daughter-in-law Kelly Crandall d’Amboise was an artistic director for Riverdale Dance. d’Amboise retired from
dancing when he turned 50 , and is said that his National Dance Institute has reached as many as 2 million children since its founding in 1976. His awards over the years include the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts in the 1990s, as well as a lifetime achievement honor from what is now the Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography. d’Amboise is survived by
four children, including son Christopher and daughter Charlotte, who followed their father into dancing. His wife of 53 years, Carolyn George, died in 2009.
Villaverde honored for public service
Sergio Villaverde, a Kingsbridge Heights divorce attorney, is this year’s Bronx recipient of the New York State Bar
Association’s pro bono service awards. V illaverde was among more than a dozen lawyers and law firms receiving the award, based on where they SERgIO lived. He was vILLAvERDE specifically singled out because of the thou-
sands of hours he donated to public service representing victims of domestic violence. The New York Bar hands out these awards each year on “Law Day,” honoring those who provide free legal service to those who need it. Villaverde is a retired New York Police Department officer who is a commander in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. He’s also a member of Community Board 8.
Celebrate Eid at Home to Stop the Spread of COVID-19 • Keep your gathering small and celebrate Eid al-Fitr with household members only. • If gathering in a group, wear a snug fitting face covering to protect the elderly and vulnerable. • Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, including which groups are currently eligible to receive one.
Eid Mubarak! For more information, visit nyc.gov/health/coronavirus. If you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, book your appointment by calling 877-829-4692 (877-VAX-4NYC) or visiting nyc.gov/vaccinefinder. Bill de Blasio Mayor Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc Commissioner