Residents challenge Old Brooklyn
Community Development Corporation Board to respond to their concerns
by Chuck Hoven    

(Plain Press, March 2008) Residents of Ward 15 and Ward 16 packed into the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation (OBCDC) Board of Trustees meeting on February 19th to voice the concerns of a community upset with the development corporation and its lack of responsiveness to neighborhood concerns. The last straw for the many residents attending the board meeting was OBCDC’s firing of the organization’s code enforcement officer Debra Zeleney.

Residents calling the Plain Press about the firing of Zeleney said she was passionate about her work in enforcing code violations in the neighborhood. She had a history of 17 years working with various groups doing code enforcement. She had received recognition from City Hall as the best code enforcement officer in the city and for the last few years was working passionately in her home neighborhood of Old Brooklyn.

Residents both north and south of the Pearl Road Bridge took issue with the firing of Zelaney and the development corporation’s not being responsive to residents.

Members of the South Hills Neighborhood Association, located in the area south of the bridge, were appreciative of Zeleney’s assistance in organizing meetings so residents could voice their concerns about a neighborhood bar that wanted to reopen as a nightclub with live entertainment. Residents were concerned when Zeleney, who was helping with the issue, was fired prior to a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing concerning the variance request by the bar at Broadview and Tate in Ward 16

Residents north of the bridge also brought up the firing of Zeleney at the February Board Meeting. They praised Zeleney’s hard work in tackling housing code violations. They praised her for regular attendance at their meetings and said she was the person from OBCDC that people dealt with on a daily basis and she would be sorely missed.

Residents were highly critical of the executive director and the board for the firing of Zeleney saying their action did not take into account the best interests of the neighborhood. Among comments made by residents were a threat to unseat board members, “We can un-elect you and we will.”

Ward 16 Councilman Kevin Kelley defended the board and the executive director, and their decision to fire Zeleney. Kelley said he believed “in no uncertain terms, the board and the director acted absolutely professionally when firing the employee.”

While residents pressed to find out why Zeleney had been fired, the Board refused to reveal the reason citing it as a personnel matter. Kelley again defended the Board’s decision saying, “I happen to know how this board functioned in this particular situation. I know they took appropriate action. I am comfortable that they did.”

Ward 15 Councilman Brian Cummins, the other councilman in the area served by Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation, said his ward office received “approximately twenty-five calls and/or emails regarding OBCDC and the recent personnel action of the termination of Debra Zeleney as well as general questions regarding OBCDC policy, leadership, operations and community relations.” Cummins said he had referred all of the people who contacted his office back to the executive director and board of the organization to discuss the issues, but had promised to follow up on their concerns. He said he had asked for and was denied a special meeting with the Board of Trustees.

Cummins said he was at the Board Meeting that night (on February 19th) making his second request to hold a special meeting with the board to discuss neighborhood relations and the Ward 15 allocation to OBCDC. Cummins noted that he felt OBCDC was operationally strong and was meeting its contractual obligations to the city, but was falling short in neighborhood relations and community relations. He asked that the organization have a stronger presence in the community outside of its contractual obligations. He talked of a need to mend fences and perhaps for some kind of intervention. After Cummins speech, the board again did not commit to a meeting with Councilman Cummins. It referred the issue to its Executive Committee and said they would get back to the councilman.

Residents of Ward 15 in attendance at the meeting expressed their displeasure with their councilman having to make a second request for a meeting with the OBCDC and called for the board to work with him. One resident said OBCDC was doing nothing for the Ward 15 portion of their service area. The resident urged Councilman Cummins to pull the organization’s funding saying, “Let’s take our money and go.”

After the meeting Cummins said he finds himself in the unusual position of having “residents counting on me to cut funding” to the local development corporation. He felt part of the difficulty for OBCDC had in communication with the neighborhood was that the organization had three different directors and three different councilpersons over the last two years.

Despite the problems the organization is having, Cummins said he is a strong believer in the consolidation of the Ward 15 and Ward 16 community development corporations that led to the formation of the OBCDC. The new organization covers wards 15 and 16 and serves about 40,000 people and is touted by city officials as a model for consolidating other CDCs throughout the city. Cummins believes the answer for residents who want more responsive CDC is not to split up the current organization, but “to be involved and get the organization to run effectively.”

Cummins notes that the neighborhood served by OBCDC is unique in having strong civic organizations such as Southwest Citizens Area Council, the Brooklyn Centre Community Association and the South Hills Neighborhood Association that cover large geographic territories. He said he believes a lot can be accomplished if city council representatives, the OBCDC, the civic associations and the block clubs are all working effectively together.

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