About QCB8

Community Board 8 is your Community Board if you live within the area bounded by the Long Island Expressway on the north, Hillside Avenue on the south, Van Wyck Expressway on the west, and the Clearview Expressway on the east.

What Are the Community Boards' Responsibilities?

Zoning Matters

Any change from the zoning resolution must come before the Board for its opinion through a public hearing process. These are mostly applications made to the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals.

Land Use

Community Boards must be consulted on placement of most municipal facilities in the community, City land disposition and acquisition, and other land use issues. These include applications made to the Department of City Planning for Uniform Land Use Review Procedures (ULURP), Zoning Map and Text amendment changes.

City Budget

Community Boards assess the needs of their own neighborhoods and make recommendations in the city's budget process to address them.

Delivery of City Services

Any problem which affects part or all of the community: traffic, transportation, parks, education, environment, housing and buildings concerns the Board. These include recommendations for State Liquor licensing and franchises.

What Else Should I Know About the Community Boards?

Community Board Districts are co-terminus-that is they share the same boundaries with local City services including the Police Precinct, the Sanitation District, the Parks Department District for maintenance, the Department of Environmental Protection's sewer maintenance division, the Department of Transportation's Highway Operations, and social service agencies, such as the Administration for Children's Services and Department of Youth & Community Development.

Who Serves On Community Boards?

A Board is a group of up to fifty (50) volunteers who live, work or have other interests in the area. Each member represents the interests and needs of his or her neighborhood.

Each member is appointed for two years by the Borough President; half on nomination by the City Council members who represent the area. Officers are elected annually from this group. Each board has by-laws by which it governs itself.

A District Manager (a professional City employee) is hired by the Board Members to oversee the delivery of City services and operate the daily business functions of the Board. The District Manager hires a small staff to take care of the daily operations and help members of the community with City service delivery.

The District Manager meets with the local area chief and other City agency representatives at the Community Board office monthly from September to June, to discuss and evaluate service delivery.

Once a month (except in August) the Borough President holds a Borough Service Cabinet with all 14 Queens District Managers and all City Agency representatives to deliberate on matters of mutual concern.

The Chair of the Community Board meets monthly with the Borough President at Borough Hall, with the other Board Chairs and the elected officials for a Borough Board Meeting to discuss borough-wide concerns.

The Community Board District staff is available to assist with processing complaints, requests, and inquiries made by residents. The office maintains lists of Civic Associations and other community agencies. We have forms, applications, and informational brochures published by various City agencies. We also process Street Activity Permits. CB 8 publishes a monthly newsletter from September to June (and a summer edition) with information about upcoming public hearings, State Liquor Authority applications, building demolitions, and as well as other news from the community. We also maintain a website where this information is available.