Borough President Ousts Jewish Chairman of CB-9

Rabbi Col. Jacob Goldstein has served as Chairman of Brooklyn’s Community Board 9, which roughly correlates with the southern portion of Crown Heights and the neighborhood of Lefferts Gardens, for over three decades. His position there has long been seen as a way to placate the Crown Heights Jewish community, which has always been underrepresented on the board relative to their overall population in the district.

Despite all this, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams made it clear soon after his recent election that Rabbi Goldstein would have to give up his chairmanship, threatening to remove him from the board altogether if he didn’t resign his leadership position.

Furthermore, BP Adams is set to appoint 18 new members to the board, of which only one is Jewish (and who is replacing another Jewish member who is resigning). This means that despite Crown Heights’ steadily growing Jewish population, their representation on the board will not increase at all, in addition to the loss of the chairmanship position.

Adding further confusion to it all is the fact that BP Adams assured Crown Heights community leaders that he would appoint 3 to 4 new Jewish members to the board after his election. Numerous applications were then submitted by young Jewish members of the community, but now community activists are scratching their heads as to the Borough President’s sudden about-face.

“The Borough President circumvented the charter of the city of New York by appointing a board that does not reflect the demographics of Community Board 9,” Rabbi Col. Jacob Goldstein told CrownHeights.info when reached for comment.

The community board’s responsibilities include many consequential issues, such as recommendations for the alteration of local zoning and parking ordinances.

According to estimates derived from recent census data, the 100,000 residents of CB9’s district are roughly 65% African-American, 20% Jewish and 15% white (Hispanic and non-Hispanic).

Of the community board’s 50 members, 7 are Jewish, 3 white, and the remaining 40 African-American.

From DNA Info:

After more than three decades with the same leader, Community Board 9 is set to get a new chairman after board members and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams pushed for change on the local government body.

Rabbi Jacob Goldstein has served as the chairman of CB9, which covers south Crown Heights and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, for 34 years, holding the position every year except one since 1979. A longtime local and Army chaplain with a former career in city government, Goldstein has rarely been challenged for the board’s top spot, according to members.

But in a vote set for Tuesday evening, Goldstein will not be a candidate for the seat. Despite being nominated in May to run for the position — according to CB9’s district manager — the longtime chairman will not seek reelection, said Adams, whose office oversees community board appointments.

“Rabbi Goldstein has decided, after conversations with my office and others, to complete his service as chair of Community Board 9,” the borough president told DNAinfo New York in a statement issued Monday.

When reached by phone Monday, Goldstein declined to comment.

The reasons given for the change in leadership vary, as do opinions on how it will affect the board. To some members, especially those who joined CB9 recently, the shakeup is the result of a concerted effort to get “new blood,” as one member put it, into key positions on the board to more effectively deal with challenging issues in the area, like land use changes and the need for affordable housing.

CB9 member Laura Imperiale, who works in government relations for a construction company, said the board seemed disorganized when she joined last year. She said she supported the decision to open the chairman spot to someone new, and worked with Borough Hall to help make it happen.

“Many of us feel that it’s just time for change,” Imperiale said. “The issues coming before our board recently are way too important. We’ve got to get things right and challenge each other to be better.”

Warren Berke, a management consultant and another CB9 member who joined last year, agreed with Imperiale, saying he’s faced “nothing but obstacles” when trying to start a program or complete a project at CB9.

“We just have so much to do here,” he said, citing hospital closures in the area. “We’re trying to take action and it’s just stopped in its tracks.”

But supporters of Goldstein said they couldn’t imagine how CB9 could benefit from his removal. The borough president’s office made it known in recent months that Adams not only did not want Goldstein as chairman, he did not want to reappoint Goldstein to CB9 at all, sources said. Ultimately, Adams reappointed Goldstein, according to his statement.

Borough presidents appoint board members but have no say over who runs for which positions.

Some locals who have spent years working with Goldstein on behalf of the neighborhood said the shakeup does not bode well. Goldstein is a diplomatic leader with his “finger in everything,” said Pearl Miles, the board’s district manager of 29 years.

“He knows this city’s policies and players. He’s very good for our board,” she said. “He started his life in the public service back in the days of Mayor Lindsay.”

Adams also praised Goldstein, saying he has “a great wealth of institutional knowledge” the borough president hopes to call upon when he forms a Community Board Task Force this year to explore reforms to community boards across the borough.

In the meantime, CB9 members will choose between two candidates: Dwayne Nicholson and Sylveta Hamilton-Gonzalez, each of whom was nominated in May. Neither could be reached for comment on the vote, but Nicholson has support from the newer faction of board members, Imperiale and Berke said.

The vote for the new executive board of Community Board 9 will take place at the group’s monthly full board meeting, held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 24 at 400 Empire Blvd. in the auditorium of M.S. 61.