Community Board 9 Increases Jewish Representation to 9

By COLlive reporter

Brooklyn Community Board 9, which represents the Crown Heights neighborhood, has announced the newly updated list of members on its website on Tuesday.

The list of 50 members includes 9 Chassidic Lubavitch residents of the neighborhood, an increase from the 3 who have been on the board as of last year.

The Community Boards afford local citizens the opportunity to have their voices heard. This input helps make decisions about how best to use city resources, including land and tax dollars.

They address Community District 9 issues pertaining to Parks, Public Safety, Transportation, Economic Development, the Environment, and others.

Over the years, modifications to the City Charter have given Community Boards a formal role in decisions on land use, preparation of capital and expense budgets, and monitoring service delivery.

In addition to Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, who has been on the board for the past 10 years, and Yankee Pearson, who has been on the board for the past 3 years, the 7 new Chasidic Jewish members are Max Coen, Chavi Cohen, Zlata Mochkin, Shmuel Tzfasman, Yosef Hershkop, Binyomin Rosenberger, and Yisroel Lehrer.

The local Jewish community brought this to the attention of Borough Hall at a recent meeting with Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and his senior liaison Jacob Eisdorfer, requesting that the board leadership be more aligned with the actual demographics of residents in Crown Heights.

Three Chasidic Lubavitch residents of the East Flatbush area which neighbors Crown Heights were appointed to that area’s Community Board 17, reflecting the growth of the Chasidic population there as well. They include Aron Roth, Menachem Shanowitz and David Halon.

Chasidic Jewish residents of Crown Heights make up approximately 18 percent of the area’s residents, activist Behrman says. The current 9 Chasidic Jewish members on the board are in line with the demographics of the neighborhood.

“We are grateful to Borough President Reynoso for the new appointments to the community board, and we look forward to working together for the betterment of the neighborhood,” Behrman said.