Generation z on the CB

They are too young to vote. Age, however, will not keep them sidelined from government. They are the 16- and 17-year-olds who choose to serve on community boards throughout Manhattan.

Four years after legislation reduced the minimum age to serve on the boards in New York to 16, nine youths under 18 currently serve on Manhattan’s 12 community boards, along with several who turned 18 after starting their service. Community Board 8 on the Upper East Side boasts three teens, including Jack Zimmerman, 16, who lives on East 80th Street.

Zimmerman joined CB8 in April. He said his principal at Eleanor Roosevelt High School suggested he apply because of his “passion for transportation and more green spaces.” Zimmerman is interested in mitigating congestion in the city by promoting bike lanes. “I personally have a little scooter that I like to take around. There aren’t many bike lanes for me to use, so safety can be an issue,” he said.

Bike lanes have become a hot-button issue for Manhattan’s community boards, which deliberate and pass resolutions on many issues facing their neighborhoods. Small businesses petition the boards for liquor licenses and sidewalk cafés; residents voice safety concerns and bemoan the latest high rise constructed on their block.

Cece King, now 18, who graduated from Riverdale Country School in June, was concerned about the number of small shops going out of business on the Upper East Side. King, who lives on East 89th Street, joined CB8’s Small Business Committee to learn what she could do to promote local retailers,

With help from fellow board member Dorothea Newman, who turned 18 last month, King organized a youth art contest held at local cafe Tenny & Betsy to “get kids involved and invested in saving small businesses,” King explained. Cafe owner Jennifer Gao happily reported that the event increased foot traffic. Gao commended King and Newman: “I just find those two were amazing. The fact that they were willing to donate the time to a community cause, I think it’s fantastic.”

So You Want to Join the Community Board?Both Zimmerman and King were appointed to CB8 by City Council Member Ben Kallos, who introduced the legislation allowing 16-year-olds to serve on community boards. Kallos told Straus News that he tries to appoint a 16-year-old to the community board every year. “I believe that the community boards need to be reflective of all voices and according to the U.S. census 20 percent of our city is under 18. My hope is that by putting 16-year-olds on community boards we will have those voices better reflected,” he said.

The application process to serve a two-year term on one of Manhattan’s community boards is “rigorous,” said CB8 chair Alida Camp. Applicants must write several essays and undergo an interview process.

Late Nights, and a Sense of EmpowermentNewman, a rising senior at the Spence School, joined CB8 when she was 16. She attends CB8 meetings three times a month: one meeting for each of the two committees she serves on — the Small Business Committee and the Youth, Education, and Libraries Committee — and one meeting with the full board. She said that meetings can last up to four hours. “I’ve gone home on school nights at 11:45 p.m. because people won’t stop talking about their feelings about the Frick Museum,” she said. “At times it’s like ‘I have to go home and do my homework.’ But it’s also just really exciting.”

Youth community board members described their experiences as empowering. “Being on the community board is relatively — to everything that I can do — really powerful,” Newman said.

Not only does youth involvement in the community board benefit the kids who serve. Camp suggested that giving kids a seat at the table encourages older board members to entertain all sides of a discussion. “Age alone can’t define people, but age contributes to experience and perspective. There are younger people who live in the community and there are much older people. Everyone deserves representation and to have their perspectives examined.”

Respect and UnderstandingEven though she is a teenager, Newman said that people on the board take her seriously. “They’re really excited to welcome new people. Even if I am out of their age range, I think it’s all about that mutual understanding of ‘I’m here to learn from you but also know that I have valuable things to say as well’,” she said.

Zimmerman believes his experiences distinguish him from other board members. “I go to school, which is publicly funded ... so I have a perspective which other people don’t. I take scooters around [so] I am more passionate about voicing the [need] to have bike lanes versus someone else who might drive a lot or take the bus,” he said.

Co-chair of the CB8 Small Business Committee Michael Mellamphy said that King and Newman, who serve on his committee, command respect: “They bring a certain confidence and perspective that they’re not shy about sharing. I think our future’s in good hands when I see people like Cece and Dori who have a passion for helping the community.”

Raising AwarenessSome of the teens serving on community boards were not aware of them until right before they applied. “I did not actually know the community board existed, I had never heard of it or seen it,” Zimmerman said.

Such lack of knowledge may be one reason participation rates among young people are disproportionately low. Out of the 600 community board members in Manhattan, only nine were under the age of 18 as of May. Kallos admitted that “it is a challenge to find [16-year-old] applicants every year.”

To raise youth awareness, former youth CB8 member Sara Solomon — who graduated from The Dalton School in 2018 — published monthly summaries of the board’s work in her school’s newspaper. Solomon said that she received emails from community members in response to her column asking how they could get involved. “Across the city, I have noticed that students are genuinely interested in public service,” Solomon said.

Newman and Solomon both encouraged other kids to get involved. “Your first impact is your local impact, and the community board is the most local you get,” Newman said. Perhaps presciently, Newman also noted that most city council members start their public service careers on the community board.

To learn more about joining a Manhattan community board, visit the Manhattan Borough President’s website.