Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Ex-Giuliani Aide, Union Rep and Little League Head Among New CB1 Members

 Frances Curtis, a longtime resident of Southbridge Towers who works in the Financial District, has joined CB1.
Frances Curtis, a longtime resident of Southbridge Towers who works in the Financial District, has joined CB1.
View Full Caption
Francis Curtis

LOWER MANHATTAN —  A former deputy mayor, the president of the Downtown Little League and an architect are among the newest members of Manhattan’s Community Board 1.

Chairwoman Catherine McVay Hughes said she was “delighted” to welcome the four new members — Ninfa Segarra, Frances Curtis, Andrew Zelter and Alice Blank — who she said all come to the board with a strong commitment to Lower Manhattan.

Segarra, a lawyer who lives in Battery Park City, is no stranger to civic involvement. She served as deputy mayor under Rudolph Giuliani and was also the last president of the city's Board of Education, from 2000 to 2002, before the agency was disbanded.

Also joining the board are Zelter, president of the Downtown Little League; Blank, a longtime TriBeCa resident and an architect with an office in SoHo; and Curtis, who has lived in Southbridge Towers for more than 40 years.

Curtis said concerns about green space and amenities for Downtown residents amid the tremendous amount of new construction in the neighborhood pushed her to join the board this year.

“Everywhere you look there’s a new hotel or luxury building popping up,” Curtis said. “But we need to make sure, especially with all these new people coming in, that there’s still green space, that we have the quality-of-life amenities that we need.”

Curtis, 65, a program director for the DC 37 union, which represents non-uniformed municipal employees, also works in the Financial District.

“My life is Downtown,” Curtis said. “I want to help make sure it’s a community that accommodates its residents.”

The new members replace Paul Viggiano, Ruth Ohman, Mark Costello and Oliver Grey, who decided to step down from their positions this year, the board said.