Meet The New Teen Members Of Community Board 6

New members of the Brooklyn Community Boards were inducted by Borough President Eric Adams at the end of May and among the new recruits for Community Board 6 were three neighborhood teenagers. The new members got their first taste of membership Wednesday night at the CB6 General Meeting.

The teenage appointees, the first ever, are part of the beep’s efforts to advance youth involvement in the borough’s civic matters.

Max Neuman, 16, lives in Carroll Gardens and attends Bard High School-Early College on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He’s an active member of his school’s debate team and Model UN, and hopes to study politics.

“I’ve never worked in community organizing, but I know how important it is to get involved,” says Max.

Kara Gurl, 17, a junior at The Beacon School near Lincoln Center, lives in Park Slope. She is a member of her school’s student organizing club and wants to major in politics and sociology in college. She worked on Mayor de Blasio’s campaign in 2013.

“I’m very excited to get involved,” says Kara. “They always say that youth is our future, but youth can also be our right now.”

A third teen, Akash Mehta, did not attend the meeting.

CB6 Chairperson Gary G. Reilly says he’s happy about the program and was surprised by the number of interested students. “There weren’t a lot of ways to get involved when I was young, so I’m glad we’ve set up a program like this to seek students out,” says Gary. “I’m glad we are getting them involved in the beginning.”

Borough President Eric Adams spoke at last month’s induction about the importance of civic participation.

“Community boards are important institutions that promote healthy civic engagement,” said Adams. “This year’s class of new appointees reflects the diverse set of backgrounds from across our borough, and for the first time includes the critical presence of our young people, something I have been dedicated to advancing in our public sphere. I thank all those who applied for community board membership this year, and I look forward to partnering with members old and new alike in the upcoming term.”

New York City’s 18 community boards, which have existed for 40 years, are the most local representative bodies of government in the city. They deal with land use issues, assessing neighborhood needs, and addressing community concerns.

Additional reporting by Rachel Silberstein.