Fields chops head on Community Board 2
From the Villager:
"In more C.B. 2 news, Borough President Fields recently notified two well-known community activists that they were not being reappointed to the Greenwich Village board. Tobi Bergman, former president of Pier Park and Playground Association, or P3, who was a driving force in getting the FieldTurf sports fields on Pier 40, and who was vice chairperson of the board's Parks Committee, is not being reappointed. Also, Jo Hamilton, co-chairperson of Save Gansevoort Market, the group that spearheaded the successful effort to landmark the Meat Market, was not reappointed. "I'm disappointed," said Bergman. "The main reason I'm disappointed is because I've enjoyed myself on the board the last eight years." Hamilton said, "I am, of course disappointed. But I am not surprised. I tried to do a good job serving my community and I'm hopeful I'll have the opportunity to serve again." A Fields spokesperson did not provide an answer by press time as to why Bergman and Hamilton weren't reappointed. However, some think it was because Bergman was supporting MacPherson for chairperson, while Hamilton has been outspoken against granting new liquor licenses to clubs in the Meat Market's new nightlife scene."
Click below for the Villager's Editorial
Community Board 2 removals are troubling
The Villager
Editorial
Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields's failure to reappoint two hard-working, well-respected members of Community Board 2 is misguided, in our opinion, and seems to have been influenced by internal power politics on the Greenwich Village board. An election for a new chairperson is in the offing, and it seems certain board members and perhaps others associated with the board are using their clout with the borough president to remove others from the board who may be supporting a candidate on the other side or, perhaps, someone against whom they may have a personal grudge.
When one thinks of a Village sports, parks and youth advocate, Bergman's name leaps to mind. A former director of operations for Central Park, former president of the Greenwich Village Little League, former president of Pier Park and Playground Association and former vice chairperson of the C.B. 2 Parks Committee, Bergman is one of the people most responsible for the brand-new artificial-turf courtyard field and now-several-years-old rooftop turf field on Pier 40. He worked to insure that when a water shaft to the Third City Water Tunnel is completed in five to six years at Hudson and Clarkson Sts. that over it will be a park facility for local youth and others. He has been a steady voice of reason on the Parks Committee.
Similarly, Hamilton's name is synonymous with the triumphant community-led effort to preserve and landmark the Meat Market. At times, she's been an outspoken opponent of granting new liquor licenses for some nightclubs and bars when she felt they were inappropriate; we hope her candidness isn't what led to her not being reappointed.
These are two individuals who represent the best in the term "community activist." They were on the board because they wanted to help their community, and by all measures they have done so in exemplary fashion.
It seems the borough president may simply be listening to the wrong voices from Board 2. To lose such members for political reasons is simply a shame. Borough President Fields, please reconsider and reappoint these deserving members.
