Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Gary Giordano, District Manager of Queens Community Board 5
5:15:47
ยท
176 sec
Gary Giordano, District Manager of Queens Community Board 5, testifies about the financial constraints and increasing responsibilities of community boards, emphasizing the need for budget increases. He highlights the challenges faced by community boards, including new technology requirements and an influx of various applications to process.
- Community boards have not had a budget increase since 2020, aside from staff salary increases
- Boards face new expenses such as broadcasting meetings (costing around $4,000 annually) and updating technology
- Community boards are dealing with an increased workload, including liquor license, cannabis, and outdoor dining applications
- Giordano praises the dedication of district managers and staff, often working unpaid overtime
Gary Giordano
5:15:47
All right.
5:15:47
Thank you.
5:15:48
I'm Gary Giordano.
5:15:50
That's the Italian way to say it Giordano.
5:15:53
I've been the District Manager of Community Board five in Queens.
5:15:57
It'll be thirty six years in June or July, I'm not sure.
5:16:01
Before that I was a Board member for more than eight years.
5:16:06
I chaired the Youth Committee and the Health Committee.
5:16:08
I thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak to you today.
5:16:13
And if I could start by being a little bit, having a little bit of levity or being a bit corny, I think it would be wonderful if a competent wrestler was a Chairperson or Chairperson in charge of a federal agency like the Department of Education.
5:16:33
I hope they don't dismantle it.
5:16:35
Or how about Health and Human Services?
5:16:38
So thank you for those of you who support the Community Boards.
5:16:44
And I know Councilwoman Brewer for a long time has been a supporter of the Community Boards.
5:16:51
And thank you for those of you who have been community board members before you got into your current position.
5:16:57
So yes, we have been constrained for many years, maybe it is 2020 where we haven't had a budget increase other than the managerial and union increases for staff.
5:17:13
And we're expected to broadcast our meetings.
5:17:17
It is costing us about $4,000 a year to do that or maybe a little bit less than that.
5:17:25
We consistently need better technology as far as computers and printers go.
5:17:31
A lot of the community boards as they've told you are inundated with liquor license applications and now cannabis applications and outdoor dining applications.
5:17:42
So in many ways it's getting tougher and tougher and tougher.
5:17:46
And don't forget how many different city agencies that we have to advocate with, to work with, to lobby with everywhere from police, fire, sanitation to parks and almost any agency that you can think of.
5:18:02
I know that our computers need to be replaced because they're going to be outdated and they're not going to meet the requirements that to hook up with Microsoft for instance.
5:18:15
And I thank all the district managers.
5:18:18
A lot of them work a lot of overtime just like a lot of council members do a lot of unpaid overtime.
5:18:24
And they're very, very dedicated individuals.
5:18:27
And we even have staff members who put in extra time that they're not getting paid for.
5:18:32
So if you could be supportive of community boards for budget increases on an ongoing basis that would be greatly appreciated.