Manhattan’s fractious Community Board 5 voted Thursday evening to oust the chairman who had been handed the gavel only three months ago, in a move that came minutes after members discovered that a convicted sex offender serves on the board.
CB5’s fourth chairman in four months is Brad Sherburne, a 33-year-old architect. He replaced Samir Lavingia, who rose to the helm after a boardroom brawl in March. Lavingia, 30, is the campaign coordinator at Open New York, a Silicon Valley-backed advocacy group that supports looser housing regulations and recently launched a political action arm. Called Abundant New York, the independent expenditure committee plans to aid candidates for office throughout the state.
Several longtime CB5 leaders resigned earlier this year, complaining that Lavingia and three other Open New York members on CB5 weren’t transparent about their affiliation or motivations for joining. CB5 is among the most important of the city’s community boards, with a district covering much of Midtown. The community board’s recommendations about real estate development and policy matters are closely watched by public officials. Earlier this month, The City reported that some of the recently departed CB5 leaders accepted $80,000 from an anonymous donor last year to hire an outside consultant for a zoning task force that met privately.
“I think we can all agree this has been a challenging year,” Sherburne said shortly before last night’s election.
Moments before the vote, some board members started quietly sharing a New York Post article reporting that CB5 member Charles Ny was convicted of molesting a 15-year-old boy in Great Britain 19 years ago and is listed on the New York Sex Offender Registry under his birth name, Charles Ghose. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who appoints community board members, referred the matter to the city Department of Investigation, the Post said. Ny told Crain’s his conviction was expunged in the U.K. and shared a British document that said he has “no convictions for disclosure.” He is classified as a mid-level sex offender in New York, according to state court records.
Ny voted Thursday against Lavingia, who was gracious in defeat.
“I’m confident that the choppy seas are behind us and there’s open blue water ahead,” Lavingia said immediately after the vote. “It’s been an honor to be the chair of Community Board 5 over the last three months and I’ll work with Brad to serve out the rest of my term and ensure a peaceful transition.”
But divisions among CB5 members were plainly evident at last night’s board elections. The vote for treasurer was 23-22, with Lavingia casting the final ballot. The votes for board secretary and first vice chair position were both 24-21. Sherburne defeated Lavingia 24-20 with one abstention.
Sherburne has served on CB5 for two years and is an architect at CetraRuddy, the firm that designed 1 Madison, the slender 50-story glass residential tower at East 23rd Street. He said he looks forward to building consensus on the many matters before the board, such as Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes housing plan.
“I think I can help end the division that has distracted our board and quell the controversy of the recent months so we can get back to work for our community,” he told CB5 members minutes before the voice vote.
As weary voters filed out after the four-hour meeting, CB5 member Zool Zulkowitz said he doesn’t see the rancor lifting anytime soon. Republican and Democratic party operatives have discovered the power of community boards to influence elected officials, he said, and are investing to remake them.
“American politics as we’ve come to know and hate it has come to this level of city government,” Zulkowitz said.
Aaron Elstein , 2024-06-14 17:01:20
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