EXCLUSIVE: Community Board 7 District Manager Resigns

Weeks after surviving a dismissal vote, an embattled district manager has decided to call it quits.

Effective Friday, October 19, Fernando Tirado, district manager for Community Board 7, will no longer work as district manager at the board serving part of the northwest Bronx.

“I accepted another job outside the city,” Tirado told The Bronx Times.

Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. received Tirado’s resignation letter last week. Tirado has been district manager since 2008.

The district manager plans to work for Sustainable Long Island, an economic development nonprofit out of Farmingdale, N.Y.

His departure comes amid a tumultuous year loaded with accusations of dereliction of duty fired off by several members of the board.

Among the complaints was talking out of turn to news publications over the Kingsbridge Armory.

Paul Foster, chairman of CB7, wrote a letter to Tirado explaining he should have consulted the board before granting an interview over the armory. Foster and Tirado have been at odds for sometime.

“It has always been a strained relationship with several members of the board and the chair,” said Tirado. “There were things that were done that I disagreed with and found very difficult to work under.”

An effort to boot him last month failed in an open community board meeting, as Tirado loyalists outnumbered the opposition.

Tirado’s exit also comes as momentum for the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory revs up as two proposals–one a major ice rink, the other an entertainment complex–are now under review by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. A decision is expected sometime in December, according to a NYCEDC spokesman.

A community input meeting on the vacant armory is set for Thursday, October 11. Tirado plans to skip it, he said.

CB7 support for the proposals is split right now, according to Tirado. Though he did say it’s a “moot point” to talk of support for either of the proposals since the NYCEDC has not made a decision on which one to support.

Tirado also had what he called “differences of opinion” with Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., though Tirado insists they’ve maintained a friendly relationship.

“We had different views on certain topics,” said Tirado. “That doesn’t mean I don’t have respect for the man.”

But the current district manager may not completely be out of the picture yet. He’s offered to work 1 to 2 works a day to take care of administrative tasks until a new district manager is picked.

A vote on his offer will occur at the next Community Board 7 general board meeting on Tuesday, October 16.

Reach reporter David Cruz at 718-742-3383 or dcruz@cnglocal.com.

David Cruz can be reach via e-mail at DCruz@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3383