By BRENDAN McHUGH Community Board 8 voted last week to elect a slate of candidates for next year’s executive board, but not before a heated debate took place over the ethics and procedure of the nominating committee. The new officers for the board are Robert Fanuzzi, chair; Maria Khury, vice chair; Joyce Pilsner, secretary; and Philip Friedman, treasurer. Khury was one member of the fiveperson nominating committee, causing a debate over the unclear procedure of what to do when a committee member runs for office. According to current chairman Damian McShane, past members of the nominating committee have run for a position, but the lone exception is that no member has run for chair. He said because of the precedent set over the past 30 years, the board should consider it an acceptable move not only for people on the nominating committee to run for office, but also to vote for themselves. The slate passed overwhelmingly, with more than 20 yes votes compared to one no vote and seven abstentions. New board member Ari Spett said that since there is no clear ruling in the by-laws of the board, the precedent should take hold in this situation. But a number of board members said Khury should have either resigned from the nominating committee or not voted for the vice chair position. According to multiple board members, the vote was two votes for and two for another candidate, essentially making her vote the tiebreaking measure in her own race.
Some say her actions do not bode well for the board’s reputation. “In my view, what they have done discredits this board and discredits the individuals involved,” land use chairman Charles Moerdler said. “This is a pure, unequivocal breach of the decency standards and the credibility of this board.” The law, rules and ethics committee said they plan to examine the procedure at the start of next year to clarify the protocol for cases such as this. The issue they will have to discuss is whether or not to restrict people from running for office. “This issue was raised this very year. Irving [Ladimer] raised it; I raised it,” said Sergio Villaverde, next year’s economic development chair. “I hate to be the one to say I told you so, but it’s a bad process. But it’s a process that this board has accepted.” The thought going into the meeting was that someone may nominate Steve Froot from the floor for vice chair and the board would vote on each candidate. However, that never happened. According to multiple board members, there was also talk about nominating Robert Press to run against Khury. After he had narrowly won a mostly ceremonial vote concerning the highly controversial ice-skating rink planned for Van Cortlandt Park, some members thought he might be able to win the vote based on politics alone. Press later said he believed that he could have won the election but that the community board would wind up divided, and he chose not to run in the hope of bringing the board back together—a process which, he added, has already begun.
The 7 Wonders of Van Cortlandt Park By VERONICA VAY Walk across Broadway near the Van Cortlandt Park riding stables and you’re in a different world—thanks in large part to the Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, who unveiled the natural and historic wonders of the area last Wednesday. The Friends of Van Cortlandt Park have been conserving and improving the park for almost twenty years. What started as a small informal group sponsoring park programs is now an organization leading the community toward unity and growth. In order to create a meet-and-greet and update locals on what the Friends have been working on, the Seven Wonders of Van Cortlandt Park event was created. Though the John Muir trail was declared one of the first wonders, six options remained. More than thirty community
members arrived to vote on which of the fifteen natural and historic attractions should be included in the top seven. Members of the community who didn’t attend the event can vote online. Go to www.vancortlandt.org to choose the remaining wonders. Among the possibilities are the parade grounds, the museum, both golf courses, and the Memorial Grove. “We were able to introduce a lot of people to the park,” said Tyrone Stevens, an assistant volunteer coordinator with the Friends. Van Cortlandt has undergone many changes throughout the years, but the Friends are making sure the alterations are for the better. After hors d’oeuvres and a brief information session, the whole group set out to take a short hike to view and experience some of the wonders and improvements along the way.
5 The RIVERDALE REVIEW • Thursday, June 23, 2011
Rancor marks board election chaos