For the past year “CB9” has been engaging in Conflicts of Interest, as well as Violations of the Open Meeting Law, New York City Charter and its own Bylaws by engaging in secret meetings, refusing to address conflicts of interest of Board members and refusing to allow residents who reside within the Vital Brooklyn project area to be represented on CB9’s Land Use Committee.
Residents of CB9 are concerned that these issues have not been resolved and that only the Court’s intervention will ensure that CB9 conducts itself lawfully and not set precedent for unlawful conduct.
History
During CB9’s Election Process, the Chair of the Election Committee, Primo Lasana, was allowed to run for Vice-Chair of CB9, in violation of the Conflict of Interest laws, which state that a chair of a committee cannot chair if they will gain a benefit. In this case Primo was seeking the position of Vice-Chair of CB9, which would bestow a personal and political benefit to him. Instead of Primo, being removed as the Chair of the Election Committee, he was allowed to conduct a “secret meeting”, in violation of the “OML”, where his conflict of interest was discussed and “resolved”. Part of Primo’s duties was to reach out to all board members to get them to run for the same office he was running for and he was allowed to receive and review all resumes of all the candidates running against him before he submitted his own.
Another Conflict of Interest that has been ignored by CB9, is John Woelfling, a new member of CB9, who has been placed on CB9’s Land Use Committee, despite his known vested interest in the very controversial Vital Brooklyn Project. Despite the public stating his conflict and he himself admitting to it, he failed to recuse himself on votes addressing the Vital Brooklyn Project.
At the same time Chairman Fred Baptiste has refused to place anyone on CB9’s Land Use Committee who represents the area in which the Vital Brooklyn Project exists, leaving this portion of the community unrepresented. As a result, for two years this project has not been addressed at the CB9’s Land Use Committee, or CB9 general board, denying the public the right to weigh in on these projects.
Petitioners are demanding that the election of Mr. Lasana be null and voided, that the members of the public or CB9 board members that reside within the five-block radius of the 11 proposed buildings of the Vital Brooklyn Project be placed on CB9’s Land Use Committee and that a Permanent Injunction be instituted against CB9 to abide by all applicable laws governing NYC Community Boards, including the Open meetings Laws and the Conflict of Interest Laws.
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