Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

New York City is divided into 59 geographic Community Districts, each one having a respective Community Board. The Community Boards are municipal bodies of up to 50 representative Board Members. Board Members are appointed by their respective Borough President. Half of them are appointed at the recommendation of their local City Council Member. They serve in a voluntary capacity for two year staggered terms. Board Members are your neighbors – people who live, work, own a business, or have some other significant interest in the Community District. The Community Board hires a District Manager who is responsible for running the District Office.

The Community Board is the most local official municipal body. Our primary mission is to work toward the stability and improvement of the communities for which we are responsible.

Queens Community Board 5 By-Laws can be found here.

Community Board 5, Queens generally meets at Christ the King High School, 68-02 Metropolitan Avenue, Middle Village the second Wednesday of each month except August. See calendar for upcoming meeting dates and time.

If you are a resident of New York City and live, work, or have a significant interest within our boundaries, you can fill out an application and return it to the Borough President for approval. You can obtain an application on the Borough President's website when the application process is open (usually early January through February of each year).

Each CB is made up of nonsalaried members appointed by the Queens Borough President, 50% of which are made in consultation with the council members of the district. Board members must reside, work or possess a specific interest in the community they represent. Membership is limited to 50. Applications for membership, when the application period is open, are available on the Borough President's website.

1. Report a service complaint or request for service to the Board Office.
2. Attend a meeting of the Community Board. Call or e-mail the Board Office and ask to be placed on the mailing list.
3. Sponsor or attend a Civic or Merchant/Business Association Meeting.
4. Join a CB5 Committee. CB5 takes applications from non-Board Members who are interested in serving on standing committees. However, it is advisable that you attend a meeting prior to requesting membership in order to give you first hand exposure to how the committees function and the types of issues they routinely discuss.
5. Apply to be a Community Board Member. Many non-Board Members who join committees eventually are interested in applying for Board Membership. You may do so by contacting the Borough President or by contacting your local Council member.

The District Office is located at 61-23 Myrtle Avenue, in Glendale. It is one block east of Fresh Pond Road, and is serviced by the Q55 Bus. You can reach the District Office via telephone (718) 366-1834, Fax (718) 417-5799 or e-mail qnscb5@nyc.rr.com.

The Community Board office staff submit complaints to city agencies, follow up regarding complaints and service requests, submit capital and expense budget requests to the Mayor and the City Council, monitor capital projects in the area, and provide administrative support for the Board. The office maintains all public records of the activities of the Community Board, and is responsible for arranging all Board meetings and functions.

District Managers supervise Board staff in their responsibilities. They are often the public representative of the Board, the person who writes budget requests and communicates with city and state agency representatives related to the needs of the communities, and work with Board committees in formulating policy and recommendations. The District Manager is hired by the Board.

Community Boards usually have three primary areas of focus – land use, budget and service delivery.

Land Use - The Community Board reviews applications in which private property owners seek a zoning change (through the City Planning Commission) or a variance (through the Board of Standards and Appeals) to use, develop or modify a property in a way that would not automatically be permitted under the zoning designation for the property. Other land use reviews may involve properties in Landmarks Districts, or are related to the acquisition, disposition or significant change of use of City-owned properties. The Board sponsors public hearings in an effort to formulate recommendations regarding land use issues. The Community Board provides the first opportunity for formal public review of zoning and land use applications, in accordance with the City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

Budget of the City of New York - Community Boards are required to submit their annual capital and expense budget priorities to the Mayor, through the Office of Management and Budget. We also advocate with local City Council Members regarding many budget issues. The Board conducts a public hearing regarding capital and expense budget matters, prior to voting on budget priorities. Decisions related to what priorities will be funded are made by the Mayor and the City Council, with input from the Borough President.

Service Delivery - The daily processing of resident and business complaints, requests for government services, and follow-up regarding these matters are performed by Community Board staff, under the overall supervision of the District Manager.

Communications from residents and businesses provide the Community Board with important information regarding improvements needed in the Community District. If you have called 311 to report a complaint and have not seen results in a reasonable amount of time, please contact our Board to follow-up on the matter.

Community Board Meetings are open to the public, and we have a Public Forum in the earlier part of our monthly full Board Meeting, in which people can speak, usually up to 3 minutes, regarding one or more legitimate concerns. Only Board Members can vote on an issue at the meeting.