Who’s in? Who’s out? Borough President Scott Stringer once again came in early — before the April deadline — with his appointments of Manhattan community board members. Local councilmembers recommend half the 52 members of each board, with Stringer making the rest of the appointments and having the final say over all 52 spots. On Board 2, covering Greenwich Village, Soho, Noho, Hudson Square, Little Italy and part of Chinatown, there are six new appointments: Annie Washburn, Renee Kaufman, Jin Ren Zhang, Evan Lederman, Markand Bhoot and Dalton Conley. We know Washburn, who is executive director of the Meatpacking District Initiative, a group organizing and promoting new businesses in the Meat Market. On Board 3, covering the East Village, Lower East Side and part of Chinatown, new appointments include Muzzy Rosenblatt, Meghan Joye, Michael Byrne, Valyteera Jones, Ilene Morales, Douglas Witter, John Fout and Edward Garcia. Of the new Board 3 appointees, we know Rosenblatt, who, as executive director of the Bowery Residents’ Committee, played a leading role in B.R.C.’s battle to get CBGB to vacate its legendary Bowery space; and Fout is a former aide to Councilmember Rosie Mendez. In terms of who’s not back on the boards, on Board 2, Larry Goldberg — still grieving over his wife’s recent death — did not apply for reappointment. On the other hand, Phil Mouquinho did reapply to C.B. 2 but Stringer snubbed him. Mouquinho has some ideas why. A leading opponent of the Department of Sanitation’s plan for a three-district megagarage in Hudson Square, Mouquinho chaired the board’s Sanitation Subcommittee, as well as its Street Activities & Film Permits Committee. “It was because I took on the Sanitation issue and they didn’t want opposition on that,” said Mouquinho. “I was the squeaky wheel. I don’t think there’s one elected official that wants to fight the mayor on this. It’s a comedy of errors. … That’s O.K. Four years on the community board and I’m really looking forward to the rest. I love the work — I had a real passion for it.” Mouquinho, who grew up in the neighborhood — he was an altar boy at St. Anthony’s Church — and owns P.J. Charlton restaurant at Greenwich and Charlton Sts., said he won’t be fading away. “I’ll be around here a lot longer than Scott Stringer,” he said. “Particularly on my block here, I’m going to have a lot of say — especially about the two hotels they want to put up on either side of my restaurant.” Mouquinho — who had hoped to run for C.B. 2 chairperson after Brad Hoylman steps down — still hopes to be reappointed to the board down the road. “A very interesting race is coming up,” he noted of the contest to succeed Chris Quinn in the Council. Hoylman, Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, and Maria Derr, a former C.B. 2 chairperson, are among a handful of expected candidates. Mouquinho and Derr are close and Mouquinho let Berman use his restaurant for a presentation on G.V.S.H.P.’s campaign for a South Village historic district. But Mouquinho said he doubted Hoylman would recommend him for reappointment. Said Hoylman: “Phil Mouquinho has been a hard-working, diligent member of the board and we’re all indebted for his years of service to Community Board 2.” Hoylman added he’s reached out to Mouquinho about continuing his work at C.B. 2 as a public member of the board. Asked why Mouquinho wasn’t reappointed, Dick Reilly, Stringer’s director of communications, said: “We do not comment on individual appointments.”
Corrections: Due to an editing error, a letter to the editor by Bill Hine and Robert Smith of Save the Piers in last week’s Villager stated that the Hudson River Park Trust state-city authority should be held financially liable by Governor David Paterson for Pier 40’s current state of decay. In fact, Hine and Smith meant to say the Port Authority should be held responsible. … In last week’s article on a new ad hoc group formed to address overdevelopment of the Bowery, the group was misidentified as Bowery Association Network. The correct name is Bowery Alliance of Neighbors.
