POLITICAL SCIENCE

Assignment

Assignment

Introduction

Community boards are local representation bodies of community. In the city, there are altogether fifty nine boards. The Community Board 14 is a representative body of Kensington, Midwood and Flatbush places of Brooklyn. Community District 14 is renowned for its cultural and economic diversity and educational facilities. The community board advocates for the district's special needs and works for fairness in resource distribution, service delivery, and land use in all of community neighborhoods. The paper further discusses the profile of Senator Kevin Packer, a renowned resident of Brooklyn area; and his efforts for supporting bill for Living Wage with Benefit for working family.

Brooklyn Community Board 14

Community boards continue to be an essential component of City government. In addition to their other Charter-mandated responsibilities, they provide crucial interagency linkages and possess unique local knowledge needed to avoid waste and optimize service delivery (Community Board 14, 2009). The boards continue to work hard with local agency officials to ensure that the limited municipal resources available are effectively used.

Brooklyn Community District 14 comprises the vibrant and dynamic communities of Flatbush, Midwood, and eastern Kensington, located in the heart of Brooklyn. Community District 14 is renowned for its cultural and economic diversity, evinced by an extraordinary mix of housing, including landmarked Victorian-era homes on tree-lined streets in the north, newer masonry homes in the south, and throughout the district, solid, well-maintained apartment buildings constructed near mass transit during an era when spacious and comfortable apartments were the norm. This diverse housing stock continues to be renewed through ongoing condominium and cooperative apartment construction and numerous private home renovations, verifying that Brooklyn Community District 14 continues to be a wonderful place to live and invest for the future.

Districts 14's educational facilities are renowned nationally and are considered among the best in the City, particularly Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, and flagship high schools such as Erasmus Hall High School, Midwood High School, and Edward R. Murrow High School. These are augmented by several excellent parochial high schools.

Community District 14 is a great place from which to commute to work. Three parallel subway lines provide residents with convenient access to Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. The “F” train on the Culver Line serves the western portion of the district, while the “2” and “5” trains, originating at the Junction, serve the eastern part (Community Board 14, 2009). The central corridor of the district is served by the “B” and “Q” trains of the Brighton Line. Numerous local and express bus lines augment the subways and provide convenient service along the district's principal commercial strips.

Community District 14 considers its residents one of its greatest resources. There are approximately 163,000 residents, many of whom have organized effective block, tenant and neighborhood associations, merchant associations, local development corporations, and other efforts to preserve and improve their communities. In some cases, such as the growing number of Business Improvement Districts and the community's long-standing neighborhood security patrols, neighborhoods are performing services that elsewhere City government ...