Community Board 11 has a new chairman who has enjoyed being in the ‘people-helping’ business for decades.
Al D’Angelo was unanimously elected to lead CB 11 during its monthly full board meeting on Thursday, June 28 at Einstein College of Medicine’s Lubin Hall.
D’Angelo succeeds term-limited chairman Anthony Vitaliano who had served the board for five and a half years.
Sunday, July 1 officially marked his first day in the new position.
D’Angelo will lead CB 11’s full board meeting on Thursday, September 27.
As chairman he plans to assist the board’s committees and address local public safety, quality of life and educational issues.
One issue D’Angelo plans to have the board address is traffic which is commonly brought up at monthly meetings by residents and board members alike.
Since his appointment by former borough president Adolfo Carrión in 2004, D’Angelo has served the community continuously as a board member. He was elected its first vice chairman in February 2013.
He currently serves as CB 11’s Leadership Committee chairman and as a member of the board’s Health and Social Services Committee.
The Morris Park resident became a member of the Morris Park Community Association in the 1980s and served as its president for 12 years.
D’Angelo confirmed that he will remain as the MPCA president after being elected to that position in June 2017.
Former MPCA president Tony Signorile turned over the reins to D’Angelo after serving two consecutive 2-year terms, the maximum permitted by the organization’s bylaws.
D’Angelo is a member of Jacobi Medical Center and the Einstein College of Medicine’s advisory boards and Cardinal Spellman High School’s board of directors.
Always willing to help, D’Angelo’s selflessness has earned him community service awards from the Forum of Italian American Educators, the Select Women’s Association Network and the 49th Precinct Community Council.
He has received citations from former borough presidents Fernando Ferrer and Carrión, senators Jeff Klein and former senator Guy Velella.
“I want to thank everyone for their vote of confidence and hopefully I’ll be able to do as good of a job as Tony has,” expressed D’Angelo.
Following the election, D’Angelo awarded his predecessor a personalized gavel in recognition of Vitaliano’s dedicated community service.
In his campaign speech before the full board in 2012, Vitaliano, a retired decorated NYPD lieutenant, pledged to re-enact term limits for board officers and emphasize public safety, quality of life and educational issues.
Keeping his promise, the Pelham Gardens resident was re-elected chairman in 2014 and 2016, requiring him to leave in 2018.
Vitaliano will remain on the board as first vice chairman.
City council members nominate board members for 2-year terms and the borough presidents choose to appoint or not to re-appoint them to the boards.
As an unpaid position, board chairpersons are the liaisons between board members and the district manager, who executes any motion the board passes.
In addition, board chairpersons serve as the neighborhood’s eyes and ears for quality of life issues.
