12 new members join Community Board 1
By Elizabeth O’Brien
For the second year in a row, an unusually high number of new members will join Community Board 1. Retroactive as of April 1, 12 appointees began their two-year terms.
“This year it was a bumper crop,” said Judy Duffy, assistant district manager of C.B. 1.
Each year, half of the 50-member community board comes up for review. All members who sought reappointment this year were granted it, Duffy said.
This year’s vacancies arose in part because the board began last year two members short, Duffy said. Then, a few members left midway through the year, mostly for work reasons, while others decided not to renew their terms, she added.
Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields has the final say on all community board appointments, but half are made after local city councilmembers make their recommendations. In this year’s group, eight members were appointed by Fields and four got the nod from Alan Gerson, the only councilmember who represents Community Board 1.
Below, the appointees share their thoughts on their new positions and challenges that lie ahead.
Michael Connolly (recommended by Gerson) has been a public member of the board for most of the past year, sitting on the Tribeca and the World Trade Center Redevelopment Committees. A Downtown resident since 1983, Connolly serves as the president of his condo building at 27 North Moore St.
His main focus is ensuring that the trade center side is developed as quickly as possible, with Daniel Liebskind’s designs preserved but modified for greater accessibility and development of the street life.
“I think the community board just needs to try to expand the views and interests of the people who live and work Downtown,” Connolly said.
Connolly lives with his wife and two sons, 17 and 14.
Tom Goodkind (appointed by Fields) was so excited about his appointment to the community board that he and his 13-year-old daughter jumped around their Battery Park City apartment to celebrate, he said. He has also begun re-reading the Jane Jacobs classic “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” in preparation for his new duties. Goodkind, previously a public member of C.B. 1, said that he especially looks forward to bringing his professional auditing experience to the board.
Goodkind said that he can’t wait to be part of an organization that has played a pivotal role in shaping his community:
“It’ll be a lot of fun,” Goodkind said. “This is one of the greatest things.”
Goodkind and his wife, Jill, have lived in Battery Park City for 14 years. They have two girls, 6 and 13.
Arthur Gregory (Fields) has a lot going on right now. On top of his community board appointment, he and his wife, Ellie, are expecting their first child in two weeks. And if that weren’t enough, he just opened a fancy foods kiosk at Pier 17 in the South St. Seaport and his restaurant, A&M Roadhouse at 57 Murray St., has added seafood specials to its barbeque fare and plans to start a blues jam on Sunday nights.
But Gregory, who lives at Fulton and Gold Sts., has plenty of energy for his new responsibilities. While he is interested in the Seaport and Quality of Life committees, he’s keeping an open mind:“As a community board member, I will be a voice for the entire community, not just where I live and work,” Gregory said.
Joel Kopel (Fields) used to think of Downtown as the pearl in the city’s oyster. That was before Sept. 11, 2001, and Kopel said he wanted to join the community board to help restore the area’s vibrancy. Kopel, a resident of 3 Hanover Square, is the general manager at William Barthman Jewelers where he has worked since 1983.
“My main focus is trying to get the World Trade Center rebuilt as quickly as possible,” Kopel said. “As a retailer in front of the trade center, I really feel the effects.”
Kopel lives with his wife, Renee, and their 15-year-old daughter.
Pat Moore (Fields), a resident of 125 Cedar St., got her first taste of civic activism after Sept. 11, 2001. A jewelry and sweater designer, Moore lost her home studio in the terror attack, so she channeled her energy into battling various levels of government bureaucracy for the right of her and her fellow tenants to reenter their apartments. She said she is eager to represent the entire community, but especially the often forgotten residents living south of Liberty St. Moore plans to address noise and other concerns during her tenure on the board, but she’s not limiting herself:
“Whatever I see that needs to be taken care of, I’ll go after it,” Moore said.
Moore has lived at 125 Cedar St. for 25 years with her husband, Andy Jurinko, a painter.
George Olsen (Gerson) would love to see Chambers St. cleaned up. But he said he plans focus his energies on more likely scenarios, such as the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site.
Olsen serves as the president of the P.T.A. at P.S. 234, where he has a son in the fourth grade. In addition to youth and education issues, Olsen is particularly interested in protecting the former Urban Renewal Site 5B, located between Greenwich and West Sts. and Warren and Murray Sts. from excessive development, particuarly the proposed “Minskoff Tower.”
“I’m not averse to Tribeca changing,” Olsen said. “But it has to be sensible.”
An attorney who specializes in real estate law, Olsen also has a master’s degree in urban studies. A Downtown resident since 1982, Olsen lives on Chambers St. with his wife, Karen Barth, a painter, and their son.
Angela Sales (Fields) serves as the director of community and government relations for Borough of Manhattan Community College, where she has worked for seven years. “After 9/11, I thought it was more than necessary for our college to be more intertwined with the Tribeca community,” Sales said. Her primary committee interests lie in youth, education and health issues. In addition, Sales said she hopes to oversee the rebuilding of Fiterman Hall, the B.M.C.C. building that was severely damaged by the collapse of the neighboring 7 World Trade Center, in an architectural style consistent with the plans for the trade center site.
Attempts to reach the following new C.B.1 members were unsuccessful: John Fratta, a Seaport resident who ran for City Council in 2001, Mark Hsiao, Ingrid Maurer, Sheila Rossi, and Edward “Ro” Scheff.
