Queens Community Board Demographic Report Issued July 1, 2021 Per the requirement of New York City Charter §82(17)(a), the Office of the Queens Executive Summary Borough President issues the following report detailing demographic information A demographic analysis of Queens Community Board membership in calendar year 2020 revealed and the appointment process for Queens Community Board members. the boards are generally older, show vast gender inequality, and are less ethnically diverse than the communities they represent. Upon taking office in December 2020, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. and his team began addressing these disparities immediately. Where Things Stood: Demographic Data for In 2021, the Queens Borough President’s Office (QBPO) overhauled its Community Board application Queens Community Boards in 2020 process by allowing aspiring members to submit their applications online, a first for the Office. QBPO also conducted culturally competent community outreach in multiple languages and offered the Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. took office in December 2020 and appointed application in both English and Spanish, seeking to expand the applicant pool to include those who his first class of Community Board members on April 1, 2021. His primary objective was to ensure have been historically underrepresented on Community Boards. These efforts resulted in 941 that his initial class of new appointments would move Community Boards closer to reflecting the applications—an increase of 58.2% from 2020 and a Queens record. diversity of the communities they represent. To achieve this goal, in early 2021 the Office of the Queens Borough President analyzed the existing demographic profile of each Community Board’s Much work remains toward ensuring that Community Boards reflect the communities they represent, membership, compared each Board-specific profile to the most up-to-date demographic profile but this year’s class of new appointees is a significant step in the right direction. Of Borough President available for the Board’s community district, and identified discrepancies in representation. QBPO Richards’ 110 first-time appointees: used this information to help design its applicant outreach efforts and selection process. • Women comprised 62.4% of new appointees, a 19.1-point increase from the prior rate of women Attached to this report is a list of all Queens Community Board members as of June 1, 2020, the appointed to Queens Community Boards. date on which last year’s Community Board appointments were made. Queens Community Board • Appointees 45 years old or younger comprised 74.3% of new appointees, and those under 35 members are appointed for staggered two-year terms that begin annually on April 1. However, due comprised 43.1%. to the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s appointments were delayed until June 1, 2020. During the application process, these appointees were asked to voluntarily disclose demographic information • Compared to 2020 board membership, the 2021 appointee class has greater percentages of about themselves. The spreadsheets attached to this report include collected information from the those who self-identify as Latinx/Hispanic (24.8%), African American/Black (24.8%), immigrant (17.4%), application process, presented in an aggregated and anonymized manner, for members serving East Asian/Pacific Islander (11%), South Asian (14.7%), and LGBTQIA+ (8.3%). on a Queens Community Board as of June 1 last year. Reviewing this demographic information allowed QBPO to identify specific demographic priorities for each board. Each board has specific discrepancies, but this information demonstrated that Community Boards in Queens are generally older, more male, and less racially diverse than the areas they represent. Specifically, of those who provided information regarding age, only 24.4% of Queens Community Board members in 2020 were 45 years old or younger, while 75.6% were 46 years old or older, and 36.3% were 66 years old or older. Of those who provided information regarding gender, only 43.4% of appointees were women, while 56.6% were men. And although each board catchment area has a different underlying demographic profile with respect to race and ethnicity, members who identified as white were generally overrepresented on boards, and most boards were underrepresented by members identifying as Latinx/Hispanic, Asian, and/or African-American/Black. Donovan Richards Jr., Borough President | Queens Community Board Demographic Report 2 Developing a Response: The New Community A Template for Progress: New Community Board Application Process in 2021 Board Appointments in 2021 For this year’s appointments, Queens Borough President Richards had three goals: first, to make the All Community Board members in good standing who reapplied for membership in 2021 were Community Board application process easier; second, to reach a larger and more diverse group of reappointed. After those reappointments, 110 vacancies remained. Borough President Richards applicants; and third, to appoint a new membership class that would begin to address the identified sought to appoint a member for every vacancy to ensure that each board maintained full capacity demographic discrepancies on each Community Board. of 50 members. Vacancies broken down by board are detailed in the following chart. First, QBPO revamped the Community Board application process and removed barriers for potential applicants, specifically by moving the application entirely online and, for the first time, 2021 Queens Community Board Vacancies allowing applicants to submit their applications using a simple web form. QBPO enlisted BetaNYC, an organization focused on promoting civic engagement through technology and open data, to CB1: 9 vacancies CB5: 10 vacancies CB9: 9 vacancies CB13: 3 vacancies help develop this system. QBPO also scrapped the requirement for applicants to notarize their applications, as many applicants reported that seeking out a notary was an unnecessary burden, CB2: 10 vacancies CB6: 11 vacancies CB10: 9 vacancies CB14: 15 vacancies particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the revised application also included questions CB3: 5 vacancies CB7: 2 vacancies CB11: 4 vacancies on a number of new demographic categories, including (1) whether the applicant owns a home, CB4: 13 vacancies CB8: 3 vacancies CB12: 7 vacancies rents, lives in public housing, or has another housing status, (2) whether the applicant primarily drives, bikes, takes public transportation, or uses other transportation options, and (3) the member’s educational attainment. Having received approximately seven applications for each vacancy, QBPO carefully evaluated each candidate. The first consideration for appointment to a Community Board was the candidate’s Second, QBPO bolstered its outreach efforts with a particular focus on reaching a younger and eligibility for appointment under the provisions of New York City Charter §2800(a). This year’s more diverse applicant pool. Beginning in January 2021, QBPO undertook substantial efforts to application asked members to affirm their residence, business, professional, or other significant publicize the opening of the Community Board application period. Specific efforts included issuing interest in the district and required them to provide documentation confirming that interest. a press release, posting on various social media platforms and the QBPO website, and sending out announcements and reminders in electronic newsletters. Furthermore, QBPO staff issued If the applicant was eligible, then the QBPO conducted a holistic evaluation based on information announcements at all Community Board meetings held during the application period, as well as at provided in their application and interview. This year, Borough President Richards ensured each Borough Board and Borough Cabinet meetings, and other public meetings and events. QBPO also new applicant was offered a one-on-one interview with a QBPO staff member, who assessed factors worked closely with the Queens City Council delegation during the application period and requested including the length of the applicant’s residence or interest in the community, whether the applicant that they actively solicit applications from their networks. New steps taken in 2021 to reach a more has previously attended Community Board meetings, the applicant’s stated reason(s) for seeking diverse applicant pool included offering the Community Board application in multiple languages and appointment to a Community Board, the applicant’s commitment to consistent attendance at bolstering outreach to local colleges and ethnic media. meetings, the applicant’s organizational and community affiliations (as an indication of civic engagement), and the skills and experience possessed by the applicant that could best serve The revamped application and outreach efforts resulted in a significant increase in the number of the Community District. applications. In 2021, QBPO received 941 Community Board applications, a 58.2% increase from the previous year and a Queens record. This robust pool allowed Borough President Richards to select All Community Board districts in Queens are made up of more than one City Council district, and new members that would help move Community Boards toward being more demographically QBPO ensured that each City Council district included within a Community Board district was reflective of the communities they serve. proportionately represented on that Community Board.