By Howard Koplowitz
Community Board 8 voted last week to retain all of its officers, but not without controversy.
Those re-elected were Chairman Alan Warshaviak, First Vice Chairman Stanley Weinblatt, Second Vice Chairwoman Martha Taylor, Third Vice Chairman Seymour Schwartz, Executive Secretary Maurice Braithwaite and Treasurer Alan Van Pelt.
CB 8 member Marc Haken said he was casting a “no” vote for all the members because he disagreed with the voting process, which had Braithwaite casting a single vote for each of the officers on behalf of the entire board.
Warshaviak then said he would cast a “yes” vote along with Braithwaite to cancel out Haken’s vote.
“Why are you wasting all of our time?” the chairman asked Haken, who responded that the vote was not “democratic.”
In other business, an FBI agent spoke to the board to encourage members and community residents to participate in a bureau program where the public shares information with the federal agency.
James G. Capozzi, a 25-year FBI veteran, said the Infragard program is designed “to keep our nation’s critical national infrastructure safe from attack.”
Under the program, the public helps the FBI identify infrastructure that may be targeted, including water and food supplies, banking and financial institutions, manufacturing and chemical facilities and health-care and transportation systems.
“It’s the No. 1 way the FBI shares its intelligence with public sector folks,” Capozzi said of the Infragard program. “We can’t investigate matters that we don’t know what’s going on.”
Capozzi noted that there are 34,000 NYPD personnel while the FBI only has 16,000 agents who operate in 66 other countries besides the United States.
The FBI’s New York office, its largest, has 1,200 agents that enforce 350 to 400 federal violations, Capozzi said.
“By aligning with us … we’re better able to keep our city safe from attack,” he said.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
