FriendsOfMacombs' Podcast FriendsOfMacombs

* Audio edited to increase volume.
SANITIZATION OF THE MINUTES AND INFRACTIONS AGAINST THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW
Manhattan Community Board 10 has been "sanitizing" the Minutes of the General Board Meetings along with some of the Monthly Committee Minutes for quite a while now.  The "sanitizing" has consisted primarily of the following:

Speakers not listed in the Minutes
Speaker's statements missing from the Minutes
Speaker's statements at meetings deliberately mis-characterized
Speaker's statements recorded incompletely

The April 2011 General Board Minutes demonstrated a continuation of this behavior. You can listen to the issues that were raised about this at the May 2011 Manhattan Community Board 10 Monthly meeting along with listening to the entire meeting on this podcast.  You can also just listen to the specific comments regarding not only the sanitization of minutes but also the infractions against the Open Meetings Law at these time points 40:24 & 55:50.
If you would want to view a video of a Village of Harlem (Central) Resident who you hear addressing these issues at the May 2011 meeting you can view it at the following link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXIMu5MV8b0&feature=channel_video_title
BTW, the Minutes are supposed to be available 10 days before the Monthly General Board Meeting.  However, despite the fact that Manhattan Community Board 10 is paying a District Manager @ $77,000, the Minutes are not made available to the public until the meeting.  Manhattan Community Board 10 Board Members vote to accept the Minutes by acclamation without the Public being able to question the accuracy of the minutes.  This makes it difficult to assign blame to the individual Board Members who are voting to accept "sanitized" minutes.
COMMUNITY FIRST IS JUST A SHAM
This is a concoction of the present Board President Franc Perry III Esq to allow Board Members to take their time getting to the General Board Meeting so that there will eventually be a Quorum.  Board Members are supposed to be present at the beginning of the meeting.  Obviously they do not care to hear what the public has to say. You can see how many Board Members are present at 6PM at the April 2011 (here) and May 2011 (here) meetings.
BOARD MEMBER'S REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO INTIMIDATE PUBLIC SPEECH
There is one Board Member named Many Rivera who appears to be strategically placed to speak last during the Community First "sham" section and/or at the end of the meeting when the public is not able to speak.  His statements are essentially negative about the public and supportive of the Board Chairperson.  His statements also appear to be inaccurate.  Now he has ventured into attempting to intimidate the public into not speaking its mind by trying to get the Board to Vote to not allow the Public  to not question the motives of Board Members, audibly make note of a Board Member's visible reaction to what someone is saying or provide information about certain people's salary.  His comments are located at 2:23:06.  The best transcription that can be made:"I'd like to add something to the minutes we have adopted a Code of Conduct for all people.... the comments that were made earlier tonight appear to violate that resolution as far as the Chairman’s reaction to a resolution ....that Board Members get a fiscal financially benefiting from something ... and the reaction of the and the constant mentioning of what people they think the District Manager's salary is. Those are violations of those rules and I would just like the minutes of the next meeting and I would just ask that at the next meeting that comments of that nature be ..."
BackgroundThe Board Chairperson Franc Perry III Esq and the $70,000 plus District Manager (who cannot seem to put posters up to notify the Community of Public Meetings) pushed to have the Board Members vote on a "Resolution on Community Board 10's (continued)

You can listen to the original draft document as it was read at the meeting. The reading of the draft begins at 25:50 minutesThis took place at the MCB10 Office.  The Public Hearing continued at this location because the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building was closing before the Public Hearing was over.

[1] Chairperson Jennifer Prince indicated that she would contact Harriet Tubman School and let them know that they can have a voice in the matter of the Harlem Children's Charter School being built in the middle of the St. Nicholas Public Housing Development.
[2] Board Member Daniel Nathan Clark indicated that Community Education Council 3 had some all White Schools in the District.
[3] Discussion about developing a Forum/Town Hall on Charter Schools & Public Schools in Community Education Council District 5
[4] List of potential school closings and hearing dates announced.
[5] Discussion about the lack of space and resorces for Public Schools (specifically fixed Science Classrooms) vs. Charter Schools.
[6] Discussion about the possibility of the Manhattan Community Board 10 Education, Libraries and Youth Committee with Community Residents doing a Room Count at each CEC District 5 School.
Community Board Members PresentJennifer PrinceDaniel Nathan ClarkCrystal McKay

[1]  On arrival a Harlem Resident was noted to be standing in the hallway of the 4th floor where the Manhattan Community Board 10 Office is located. The Resident indicated that he was told the Executive Meeting that was being held that evening was a private meeting.  This was puzzling since Community Board Excutive Meetings are a public meeting.  When both of us (Harlem Residents) walked into the Manhattan Community Board 10 Office the Conference Room Door was closed.  We opened the door and walked in. I asked why a Harlem Resident was told this was a private meeting.  Board Member Barbara Nelson indicated that she had made a mistake telling him that.  Questions are:

[A] Why was the door closed to the Conference Room that the meeting was being held in? 
[B] There were two lawyers present in the room at the time the Harlem Resident was given the incorrect information (William Franc Perry, III Esq and Joshua Bauchner) .  Why did they not immediatelyy correct Board Member Barbara Nelson?
[C] Why did no one go out in the hall and call the Harlem Resident back?   
[2]  Mr. Lohdi was on the phone and was "warned" by Chairman William Franc Perry III, Esq the Chairman of Manhattan Community Board 10 that community people were in the room.[3]  Plans appear to be in the mist to limit the Community's Speech at the January 2011 General Board Meeting on January 5, 2011.[4]  Appears to be a plan to change the tone of the Resolution and the Vote from a "No Vote" to a "Protest Vote". 

[5]  Mr. Perry would not answer a question why there was no notification to the public that the Executive Committee meeting was cancelled the previous Wednesday and why there was no notification to the public that the meeting had been rescheduled for December 29, 2010.  He also offered no apology for the non-notifications.  He was told repeatedly by Board Member Keith Taylor that he did not have to respond to the questions.
[6]  Mr. Perry appeared to not want to answer a question about the Manhattan Community Board 10 Bylaws and announced abruptly that the meeting was going into Executive Session.  The way he did this caused concern from the Community present.

Community Board Members Present
Joshua Bauchner
Deneane Brown-Blackmon
Daniel Nathan Clark
Michael Downie
Candi Halbert
Earl Keller
Crystal McKay
Barbara Jean Nelson
W. Franc Perry III
Beatrice Sibblies - Possibly came when meeting was over.
Keith L. Taylor