Community Board 1 is popular.
The number of new applicants for the Lower Manhattan board jumped from 25 in 2014 to 49 in 2015, according to Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s office.
Nine out of Manhattan’s 12 community boards saw a spike in applications with C.B. 11 — East Harlem — and C.B. 12 — Washington Heights and Inwood — leading the pack with more than double the number of applicants, according to Brewer.
Overall, there was a 21 percent increase in applications from last year with 722 and out of those, 470 were new hopefuls, a 43 percent boost from 2014.
For the first time, 16- and 17-year-olds were able to legally vie for a community board spot after state legislation pushed by Brewer passed last summer. She has since made a concerted effort to encourage teenagers to apply.
Three teens tossed their hat into the ring for C.B. 1, which has 50 slots. Twenty-five 16- and 17-year-olds applied in Manhattan, with an additional 10 adult teens applying as well.
Also a first was that the application was available online with 87 percent of applicants using that medium instead of paper.
Citywide there are 59 community boards. Brewer appoints all 300 unpaid members in Manhattan, but local councilmembers recommend half. Each member’s term is two years.
