State Senator Brian Kavanagh said, “in the decades since it was created, the area under the BPCA’s purview has been transformed from a construction project into a flourishing neighborhood — but the Authority’s governance structure hasn’t evolved at the same pace. Battery Park City residents deserve a real say in decisions that affect their community. I’m sure Ms. Gallo and Mr. Kendall will bring an important perspective to the Board’s discussions.”
State Assembly member Deborah Glick said, “for years, I have stood beside residents of Battery Park City to advocate for more community representation on the board of the Authority, in order to have a greater voice in their community.”
State Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou said, “Battery Park City residents have fought for years to secure community voices on the BPCA. The two recent appointments to the Authority are steps in the right direction, but we must continue to push for a board that is fully representative of the community it represents.”
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Margaret Chin
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City Council member Margaret Chinobserved, “as a result of the community’s longstanding fight for representation to secure a real voice in the future of their neighborhood, I am proud to welcome Martha Gallo and Anthony Kendall, two Battery Park City residents, to the BPCA Board. This victory marks a huge step in achieving true resident representation in our local democracy, and now more than ever, leaders in all levels of government must work together to push forward in our efforts to preserve affordability for families and seniors, ensure the safety of our children, and build a more resilient and welcoming neighborhood. I thank my colleagues in the State Legislature and all the advocates at the Democracy for BPC coalition for their extraordinary partnership on this issue.”
Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer noted that, “Battery Park City residents have long deserved voices speaking for them on the BPCA board,” adding the she hoped, “it will spur further transparency and community consultation when the Authority makes decisions that affect this huge but tight-knit neighborhood.”
U.S. Congressman Jerrold Nadler said, “Ms. Gallo and Mr. Kendall will provide a critical local perspective to the BPCA. It was imperative that Battery Park City residents would have a voice on the Board and in the decisions that directly impact them.”
Community Board 1 (CB1) chair Anthony Notaro reflected that, “residents of Battery Park City are excited about the appointment of two of our own, Martha and Anthony. They are accomplished professionals and their willingness to serve is gratifying. We look forward to working with [BPCA president] Benjamin Jones in his new role of chief executive officer. Battery Park City has been called ‘the Best Small Town in the Big Apple,’ and the BPCA board composition makes it even more so.”
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Tammy Meltzer
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Tammy Meltzer, the chair of CB1’s Battery Park City Committee, said, “this is a remarkable time for the community in Battery Park City, and I am delighted to finally see two members of the BPCA board be chosen from the local community. My greatest hope is that the Governor will work with the community and our local elected officials to develop a list of more residents who are willing to serve, similar to his partnership with the Roosevelt Island Community.”
This was a reference to a community very similar to Battery Park City: the planned community on an island in the middle of the East River is also governed by a State agency, the Roosevelt Island Operation Corporation (RIOC). Under State law, five of the seven members of the RIOC board must be residents of Roosevelt Island. In another crucial distinction, these five resident appointees are selected from a slate of residents who are elected by their neighbors, rather than chosen by the Governor.
After years of political struggle, the State legislature recently enacted a new law, which requires that two of the BPCA’s board members must be residents of this community. That law was then amended, at the insistence of Governor Cuomo, to mandate that Battery Park City residents appointed to the Authority’s board must have backgrounds in specific professional areas, such as engineering or finance. There is no legal requirement that RIOC board appointees fall within any of the professional categories outlined in the text of the law that now governs appointees to the BPCA board. And there in no provision for local elections. Why the Governor’s office wished to tighten the requirements for service on the BPCA board in a way that appears not to apply to any other State authority is unclear.
Justine Cuccia, a co-founder of Democracy for Battery Park City, the grassroots organization that collected more than 2,500 petition signatures and has lobbied since 2014 to have neighborhood residents appointed to the Authority’s board, said, “the people of Battery Park City have been struggling for years to gain a voice in decisions that affect all of our lives, and a meaningful role in how we are governed. As a result of the strong advocacy of our local elected officials, the Governor has appointed Battery Park City resident Anthony Kendall as well as former BPCA board member and Battery Park City resident Martha Gallo. With this community facing gravely serious challenges like resiliency, affordability, and the 2069 expiration of the ground lease, this is not the end of our struggle, but is a step forward.”
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Benjamin Jones
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BPCA president Benjamin Jones said, “the Authority is delighted to welcome Martha Gallo and Anthony Kendall to our Board. We look forward to their valuable insights as we further engage our community to make great things happen in Battery Park City.”
The push for greater resident representation appears poised to continue, on several fronts. The requirement that appointees come from specific professional backgrounds, for example, might seem innocuous. But it is a first for the BPCA (Governors never had to limit themselves to such qualifications when appointing people who did not live in the community), and appears to be unprecedented for any other State authority. The New York State Thruway Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for example, are not governed by any statutory provision that requires the Governor to appoint only board members with backgrounds in building roads or managing commuter rail lines, or other skills related to the missions of those agencies. As a matter of practice, many board appointees at these authorities do have exactly such experience. But State law does not require it. Instead, the Governor is free to name to those boards any candidate who is, in his judgment, qualified, provided that the State Senate is willing to confirm such an appointee.
And under this restriction, many categories of residents could either be excluded from the BPCA board, or else would fall into an ambiguous category that might (or might not) be eligible for appointment. For example, educators are not mentioned on the list of groupings that will be deemed qualified. But public school teachers and principals have played a central role in the success of the community, as have parent leaders at the local schools that have done much to burnish the reputation of Battery Park City as a desirable place to live. Similarly, creating new infrastructure that will safeguard the community against climate change and future extreme-weather events is a core competency that is likely to prove vital in the years ahead, but this is not listed as a form of expertise that would qualify a candidate for BPCA board membership. That noted, neither do the categorical qualifications listed in the amended bill specifically exclude other forms of background or expertise.
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This year, Battery Park City celebrated 50 years since its creation
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At the same time, the BPCA board will soon be called upon to consider sweeping measures that will impact the lives of residents. Among these are new resiliency plans, intended to storm-proof the community from future extreme weather events, that will transform Wagner Park, the Esplanade, and the ball fields. Also in development is a redesign of South End Avenue, which aims to enhance traffic safety.
Underlying all of these is an ongoing crisis of affordability, in which middle-class families and elderly residents are being forced out of their homes, in spite of the fact that they helped to create the community’s success. And the overall financial viability of a neighborhood in which everyone faces the prospect of being forced out in the year 2069, when the land lease that governs property ownership in the community expires, amounts to a slow-motion cataclysm that will (if not averted) cause renters to be evicted and the homes of condominium owners to be confiscated in 51 years.
In recent years, the Authority’s style of governance has evolved markedly, to the point where the BPCA now consults with residents and community leaders months (or sometimes years) in advance of implementing major decisions. But many community leaders see the actual participation of residents in decisions on such issues (rather than consultation) as an indispensable component in any positive resolution of questions that speak to the continued existence of Battery Park City. In this context, the push to set aside additional seats on the BPCA board for residents (along with fewer restrictions on their ability to make decisions) can be seen as likely.
(Editor’s Note: Ms. Cuccia is related to the reporter who wrote this story.)