CBH Talk | Democracy on Your Block: Inside Brooklyn’s Community Boards

Community boards are one of New York City’s most vital engines of grassroots democracy. From shaping land use and transportation decisions to advocating for city services, resources, and quality-of-life improvements, community boards offer a direct way for residents to influence the future of their neighborhoods and ensure that local voices are heard.

This panel brings together four leaders who know these institutions from the inside. They explore how democracy is practiced—not in theory, but in meetings, negotiations, and persistence – and reflect on the realities of serving on and managing community boards, navigating bureaucracy, balancing competing neighborhood interests, working with city agencies, and sustaining public engagement, alongside the deep rewards of helping communities be heard and effect change.

Moderated by Jeffery C. Mays, award-winning politics and investigative reporter for The New York Times, panelists include Josephine Beckmann (District Manager, Brooklyn Community Board 10), Naomi N. Hopkins (Chair, Brooklyn Community Board 18), Ethan Norville (1st Vice Chair, Brooklyn Community Board 9), and Brad Lander, who has just concluded his term as New York City Comptroller and served on a community board himself towards the beginning of his career.

At a moment when civic trust and engagement are under strain, join us as we unpack why these hyperlocal institutions matter for those who care about democracy.

Presented in partnership with the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President.

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Participants

Josephine Beckmann is District Manager of Community Board 10, a position she has held since November 2003. She is a lifelong resident of Brooklyn born and raised in Carroll Gardens and a proud first-generation college graduate from Saint Francis College.

She began her public service career as a community liaison for New York City Council Member Stephen DiBrienza, where she worked with local government agencies to resolve community-based issues, organizing neighborhood cleanups, and collaborating closely with block associations and civic groups on matters of concern. She gained extensive knowledge of planning while serving as his staff assistant on the City Council's Legislative Panel on Waterfront Development and the Sub-Committee on Landmarks, Public Siting, and Maritime Uses.

Later, in Dyker Heights, she formed the 800 Block Association of 70th Street, then started the United Neighbors Association of Fort Hamilton Parkway. As District Manager, she has been a staunch advocate for the residents of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton working diligently for the Board Members of Community Board 10 to respond to all city service delivery concerns brought to the District Office by residents and coordinates these efforts with city government agencies, local community/ merchant organizations including the Bay Ridge Community Council, 86th Street BID, 5th Avenue BID, Third Avenue Merchants Association, and the Dyker Heights Civic Association.

Josephine also sits on the Bay Ridge Age Friendly Committee formed in 2014 to identify initiatives that impact older adults in significant ways and consider how best to serve Bay Ridge’s growing older adult population.

 

Naomi N. Hopkins is the youngest and first Black woman to serve as Chairperson of Brooklyn’s Community Board 18. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she is a seasoned public servant, community advocate, and civic leader whose career is rooted in equity, access, and community-centered policy. She has served as Chief of Staff in both the New York City Council and the New York State Assembly, where she played a direct role in advancing and implementing landmark legislation, including New York City’s gas ban, the Fairness in Apartment Rental (FARE) Act, and notice-to-adjoining-homeowners requirements—strengthening tenant protections, environmental health, and community transparency.

Naomi was the youngest and first person of color to serve on the Executive Team of Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey, followed by becoming the youngest executive leader at The Campaign Against Hunger, the nation’s largest direct anti-hunger and anti-poverty organization. As Development Director, Naomi helped infuse Central Brooklyn with more than $10 million in public and private investments, directly empowering low-income families and addressing generational, diet-related illness.

Naomi currently serves as Worthy Matron of Armentres Chapter No. 29, Order of the Eastern Star, and as Co-Chair of Social Action for the Brooklyn Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She is also an active member of New York City’s Community Education Council District 22, Brooklyn Community Board 18, and the Brooklyn chapters of Jack and Jill of America, the NAACP, and the National Council of Negro Women, and is a member of The Cathedral of Greater Free Gift Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Naomi’s local priorities include increasing voter registration and civic participation, reducing community gun violence, improving street and traffic safety, and supporting aging adults in remaining healthy and housed while aging in place.  A proud alumna of Temple University, she is committed to lifelong learning and regularly facilitates capacity-building and fundraising workshops for nonprofit organizations.

 

Brad Lander has been organizing his neighbors to win big fights for three decades. As New York City Comptroller he stewarded the retirement security of over 750,000 current and retired public sector workers, with a prudent, diversified, long-term approach to the City’s investments and obligations. Under his leadership, three of the City’s funds adopted a detailed plan to reach net zero emissions by 2040, among the most aggressive in the nation. His audits revealed nearly a quarter of a billion dollars underreported in NYC Ferry expenditures, inadequate cost controls in Covid-19 emergency procurement, and the ineffectiveness of the City’s homeless sweeps. His team published the first detailed report on emergency shelter costs for asylum seekers and identified more effective strategies for addressing the humanitarian crisis.

Prior to being elected Comptroller in 2021, Lander spent 12 years in the City Council, where he co-founded the Council’s Progressive Caucus and won transformative changes to expand workers’ rights, secure tenant protections, create affordable housing, integrate and strengthen the district’s public schools, and make streets safer. He served previously as the director of the Fifth Avenue Committee and the Pratt Center for Community Development.

 

Jeffery C. Mays is an award-winning politics and investigative reporter for the Metro desk of The New York Times. Previously, he covered Newark City Hall and Mayor Cory Booker as a reporter for The Star-Ledger and was the chief politics reporter for the digital news site DNAInfo. Mays was named as a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist as part of a New York Times team covering the breaking news of New York City’s deadliest fire in decades. He has also won the Mychal Judge Heart of New York Award from the New York Press Club for his coverage of Hurricane Sandy and awards from the Silurians Press Club for investigative reporting on New York City government and sweeping and authoritative coverage of the resignation of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. He is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and also graduated from Columbia University with a degree in English. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and son.
 

Ethan Norville is the 1st Vice Chair of Brooklyn Community Board 9 and Chair of its Transportation Committee, where he leads initiatives to strengthen community participation in district planning and policy development. He has led efforts to modernize board communications, make meetings more efficient, expand resident engagement, and improve the quality and detail of plans the board creates. 

A Crown Heights native, Ethan brings a grounded understanding of the district’s needs and a commitment to expert-level, community-driven governance. In addition to his civic work, Ethan is a marketing strategist who helps businesses and local organizations grow through data-driven digital communication and better audience engagement.