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Manhattan Community Board Five
CB5 Open Meeting Hybrid Meeting Guidelines
The following resolution passed with a vote of 32 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on our community in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and the State of New York, even as vaccination rates and improved care have lessened the death rates and the burden on our hospitals; and
WHEREAS, On April 8, 2022, the New York State Legislature passed A9006C/S8006C, and on April 9, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill, which included amendments to Section 103 of the New York Public Officers Law (also known as “the Open Meetings Law”) which allows videoconferencing by public bodies-- including Manhattan Community Board Five (“CB5”)-- “to conduct its meetings pursuant to the requirements of this article provided that a minimum number of members are present to fulfill the public body’s quorum requirement in the same physical location or locations where the public can attend…”; and
WHEREAS, Conducting such “hybrid” on-line (i.e. use of a videoconferencing platform such as Zoom) and in-person meetings requires the local body, in this case CB5, to have“ adopted a resolution…following a public hearing, authorizing the use of videoconferencing”; and
WHEREAS, A9006C/S8006C states “for sixty days after the effective date of this act any public body shall be authorized to meet and take such action authorized by law without permitting public-in-person access to meetings and authorize such meetings to be held remotely by conference call or similar service, provided that the public has the ability to view or listen to such proceeding and that such meetings are recorded and later transcribed,” allowing CB5 to meet virtually until June 9, 2022; and
WHEREAS, A9006C/S8006C states that “The in person participation requirements of paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section shall not apply during a state disaster emergency declared by the governor pursuant to section twenty-eight of the executive law, or a local state of emergency proclaimed by the chief executive of a county, city, village or town pursuant to section twenty-four of the executive law, if the public body determines that the circumstances necessitating the emergency declaration would affect or impair the ability of the public body to hold an in person meeting,” which allows CB5 to choose to continue to meet in an entirely virtual format in the event that a state or city disaster emergency impedes CB5’s ability to hold an in-person portion of a hybrid meeting; and
WHEREAS, Governor Hochul has extended the state disaster emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic through June 14, 2022 in Emergency Executive Order 11.6, issued on May 15, 2022, thereby allowing CB5 to meet virtually until June 14, 2022; and
WHEREAS, CB5 desires to encourage public participation in its proceedings by making its meetings as open to the public as possible, which includes in-person participation that enables those without access to videoconferencing or telephonic systems to participate as well as virtual participation for those who are unable or unwilling to attend meetings in-person; and
WHEREAS, CB5 recognizes that the requirement for in-person quorum may reduce the utility of the virtual component of meetings or threaten quorum for meetings that could otherwise achieve quorum if virtual attendance were included; and
WHEREAS, CB5 held a public hearing to discuss this resolution on June 9, 2022; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That CB5 authorizes itself and all of its committees, subcommittees, task forces and working groups to choose to conduct hybrid meetings in compliance with the New York State Open Meetings Law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That CB5 shall endeavor to comply with all relevant aspects of the Open Meetings Law in its conduct of hybrid meetings, including but not limited to:
1) by securing physical location(s) open to the public for attendance by CB5 Members and members of the public;
2) by requiring members of CB5 be physically present at any such meeting unless such member is unable to be physically present at any such meeting location due to extraordinary circumstances including disability, illness, caregiving responsibilities, or any other significant or unexpected factor or event which precludes the member’s physical attendance at such meeting;
3) by requiring members of CB5 attending virtually to be able to be heard, seen, and identified, while the meeting is being conducted, including, but not limited to any motions, proposals, resolutions, or any other matter formally discussed or voted upon; and
4) by including in public notices of CB5 meetings a statement that videoconferencing will be used and where and how the public can view and/or participate in such a meeting, where required documents and records will be posted or available, and identify physical location(s) where the public can attend; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That virtual attendance for board members shall be limited to a total of not more than FIVE meetings per Board year (April 1 to March 31), with no more than TWO meetings per body (Full Board, individual committee). As an illustration, Member A sits on the Landmarks and Transportation & Environment Committees. Should the “extraordinary circumstances” requirements be met, Member A may attend two meetings each of the Full Board and Transportation & Environment virtually during a Board year. Alternatively, Member A may attend one meeting of the Full Board, one meeting of Transportation & Environment and two meetings of Landmarks virtually during a Board year. This is to account for some committees meeting less than others. Should Member A exceed the maximum of virtual attendance allowed, Member A is expected to attend meetings in person, but if unable, is encouraged to attend meetings virtually and will be permitted to deliberate but NOT be permitted to vote and will be considered “absent” from the meeting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That members who do not receive approval for virtual accommodation may still attend meetings virtually and will be permitted to deliberate, but will NOT be permitted to vote and will be considered “absent” from the meeting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That in accordance with A9006C/S8006C, a general reason describing the grounds for CB5 permitting member’s virtual attendance shall be recorded in the minutes of a meeting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That in accordance with A9006C/S8006C, a general reason describing the extraordinary circumstances of a member’s virtual attendance or any other significant or unexpected factor or event which precludes the member’s physical attendance shall be recorded in the minutes of a meeting; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That until the current pandemic is generally considered by the public to be subsided, applicants should be encouraged to attend virtually, but whether virtual or in-person, should be required to have presentations in electronic (including, but not limited to PowerPoint or PDF) form so that they can be uploaded onto the screen. Once the current pandemic is generally considered by the public to be subsided, applicants should be encouraged to attend meetings in person unless circumstances do not allow (for example, a marketing agency based in Chicago presenting an event to the Parks and Public Spaces committee for an event to take place three months later). If there are additional pandemics in the future, applicants may be encouraged to attend virtually again; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That members of the public should be encouraged to attend committee meetings virtually. Should committee meetings eventually be moved to larger venues that can allow for greater number of physical attendees, encouraging the public to attend meetings virtually may be reconsidered; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That meetings should be chaired by a person in physical attendance. For Full Board meetings, if the Chair is not physically present, the First Vice Chair should preside at the meeting, with an order of succession to follow CB5’s bylaws. For Committee meetings, if the Committee Chair is not physically present, the Committee Vice Chair should preside. If both the Committee Chair and Committee Vice Chair are not physically present, then the Committee Chair shall designate a member of the committee to preside. For the avoidance of doubt, the Committee Chair may fully participate virtually as a member, providing the “extraordinary circumstances” requirements are met and they have not exceeded the maximum number of virtual meetings allowed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That CB5 authorizes its Chair, or in the event of documented incapacitation of its Chair, its First Vice Chair, to make a determination that in the event of a declared state or city disaster emergency, said disaster emergency impedes CB5’s ability to meet in-person and thus permits and requires CB5 and all its committees, and task forces to conduct entirely virtual meetings in compliance with the relevant portions of the New York State Open Meetings Law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That CB5 will continue to adopt rules and regulations around the format of hybrid and virtual meetings, including any necessary amendments to the bylaws of CB5, but at this time, in the interest of establishing in-person quorum for hybrid meetings required by A9006C/S8006C, CB5 will require members seeking to attend a hybrid meeting virtually to submit a request for virtual accommodation with the reason for the virtual accommodation:
1) for Full Board Meetings to the Chair and the Secretary; and
2) for committee meetings to the Committee Chair, Committee Vice Chair, and Board Secretary; and
3) that such requests for virtual accommodations be submitted at least 72 hours prior to the relevant meeting when the exceptional circumstances requiring such accommodations permit, and otherwise as soon as feasibly possible; and Committee Chairs should consult with the Board Chair prior to making a determination of the request whenever feasible; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That CB5 urges the Governor, its State Senators, and Assembly Members to continue to improve the Open Meetings Law’s provisions for videoconferencing by reconsidering the requirement of a full in-person quorum; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That CB5 urges the Mayor of the City of New York, its City Councilmembers, and the Manhattan Borough President to allocate additional funding and resources to better support virtual and hybrid meetings and the resources and technical support required to sustain such practices.