Who this helps: Brooklyn renters, homeowners, parents, and small-business owners in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton, Ocean Hill, and Brownsville who want a real say in zoning, traffic, policing, and city services — and anyone who has ever wondered, “How do I actually get on the agenda at my community board?”

Community boards are the most local layer of New York City government, and they are also the most ignored. Most decisions that shape your block — a rezoning, a sidewalk shed, a liquor license, a bus-lane plan, a new shelter, a traffic-calming project — pass through a community board committee before the city acts. The boards are advisory, but agencies, the City Council, and the borough president pay close attention to what they say, and the public-comment period at these meetings is one of the few times a regular New Yorker gets to speak on the record. This week we’re watching two Brooklyn boards with concrete, verified June 2026 agendas: Brooklyn Community Board 10 (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Fort Hamilton) and Brooklyn Community Board 16 (Ocean Hill–Brownsville).

Brooklyn Community Board 10: a rezoning, animal services, and the full board on June 15

Brooklyn CB10 covers Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Fort Hamilton. According to the board’s official NYC.gov calendar, here is what’s on the table in June 2026, and all meetings are livestreamed to the board’s YouTube channel.

Zoning and Land Use Committee — Wednesday, June 3, 7:00 p.m. The headline item is a proposed zoning map amendment to R6A and a related text amendment to facilitate a new four-story, roughly 33,055-square-foot community-facility building at 9818 Fort Hamilton Parkway. The committee also planned to open discussion on creating a Neighborhood Plan. If you live near Fort Hamilton Parkway and have feelings about building height, density, or what the new facility should include, the zoning committee is where that conversation starts.

Environmental Committee — Wednesday, June 10, 7:00 p.m. The agenda includes a presentation from Animal Care Centers of NYC and continued discussion of a neighborhood Animal Resource Guide — useful if you’re a pet owner, foster, or rescue volunteer.

Police and Public Safety Committee — Thursday, June 11, 7:00 p.m. This is the venue to raise neighborhood safety concerns directly with the people who liaise with the local precinct.

Monthly Board Meeting — Monday, June 15, 7:00 p.m. This is the full board’s public meeting, where committee recommendations get voted on. The published agenda was listed as “TBA” as of early June, so check the board’s site for the final agenda before you go.

Brooklyn CB10’s office is at 8119 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209, and the phone number is 718-745-6827. Meeting details, livestream links, and any agenda updates are posted at the board’s official calendar on cbbrooklyn.cityofnewyork.us/cb10.

Brooklyn Community Board 16: the Ocean Hill–Brownsville public meeting is June 16

Brooklyn CB16 represents Ocean Hill and Brownsville. Its official NYC.gov calendar lists a busy June 2026 built around work groups and committees that feed into the main public meeting.

CB16 Public Meeting — Tuesday, June 16, 7:00 p.m. This is the board’s monthly hybrid public meeting, held in person at Mt. Ollie Baptist Church, 1698 Saint Marks Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11233, and also streamed via the board’s Webex platform. If you attend only one CB16 meeting this month, this is it — it’s where the public-comment period happens and where the board takes positions.

Leading up to it, CB16 scheduled a run of working sessions, most of them on Webex: a Fiscal and Policy Work Group on Monday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m.; an Equity Planning Work Group on Tuesday, June 9 at 6:30 p.m.; an in-person Senior Citizen Affairs Committee on Wednesday, June 10 at 1:00 p.m. at 1777 Pitkin Avenue; a Community Resident Planning Work Group that same evening at 6:30 p.m.; a City Services Planning Work Group on Thursday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m.; and a Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday, June 17 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Note that the CB16 office is closed Friday, June 19 for Juneteenth.

If you’re a senior, a caregiver, or a veteran in Ocean Hill–Brownsville, the committee meetings on June 10 and June 17 are aimed squarely at your concerns, and they’re a lower-key way to get involved than the full board meeting.

How to take action

Showing up at a community board is simpler than most people think. Here’s the playbook that works at virtually every board in the city:

1. Find your board and confirm the meeting. If you’re not sure which district you’re in, look it up through your borough president’s community-board page, or call 311 and ask for your community board. Always confirm the date, time, and location on the board’s official calendar the day before — meetings move, especially around holidays.

2. Decide which meeting fits your issue. Land use and construction questions belong at the Zoning/Land Use committee; safety issues at Police/Public Safety; quality-of-life and city-services issues at the relevant work group; and anything you want the whole board to hear belongs at the monthly full board meeting during public comment.

3. Sign up to speak. Most boards open with a public-comment or “public session” period. For in-person meetings you usually add your name to a speaker list when you arrive; for Webex or Zoom meetings, use the “raise hand” function or email the district office in advance to be added. Speaking time is typically two to three minutes, so write down your single most important point first.

4. Put it in writing too. Even if you can’t attend, you can email the district office with your comment and ask that it be entered into the record. For CB10, use the contact form at cbbrooklyn.cityofnewyork.us/cb10/contact or call 718-745-6827. For CB16, contact details are on its NYC.gov page at nyc.gov/site/brooklyncb16.

5. Apply to join the board. Community board members are appointed by the borough president, with City Council member nominations. Applications typically open in the winter and are available through your borough president’s office. If a fix to your neighborhood keeps not happening, becoming a member is the most durable way to push it forward.

Community boards only work when the people who live in the district actually show up. The agendas above are your invitation — pick the meeting that touches your block and put your two minutes on the record.

Meeting dates, times, and locations are subject to change. Always verify on your community board’s official NYC.gov calendar before attending.