ASTORIA — A vote for what would have been Queens Community Board 1's first new chair in decades was left unresolved Monday night, after tallies for each of the two candidates ended in a tie.
Members cast 20 votes each for nominees George Stamatiades and Joseph Risi in the election for the post, vacant since longtime chairman Vinicio Donato retired in June after serving at the board's helm since 1976.
The tie prompted the board to ultimately delay the vote until it received instructions from the Queens Borough President's Office on how to resolve the tie.
"The bylaws are not very clear and definitive," Stamatiades told the crowd.
A representative for the borough president's office said Tuesday that in the event of a tie, the motion is lost and the vote must be redone. Another vote will take place either at a special meeting or the board's regular meeting next month, the spokeswoman said.
CB1 has undergone a lot of changes recently — in addition to electing a new chair, the board hired a new district manager this summer to replace Lucille Hartmann, who stepped down in June.
Both nominees for the chairperson, Stamatiades and Risi, are longtime CB1 members who hold leadership positions on the board.
Risi, an attorney by trade who heads the Consumer Affairs committee, told fellow members that if he's elected chair he would look to get more members who haven't had a chance previously to serve as committee chairs, and to be more involved with the board.
"I think we have a vibrant, diverse, beautiful community. I would love the opportunity to serve as the chair," he said.
"I would need your help, your input and I want you never to be afraid to get up and ask questions. You were picked to be a member of this board for the special talent you all have, so let's use those talents, let's make this a better community."
Stamatiades is currently the first vice chairperson for CB1, a post he's held for 20 years, he said. When asked what he would change about the board's procedures, he said he would strive to make things more inclusive and transparent.
He recalled his decades with the board and the different issues its members have dealt with over the years.
"Its been a constant battle that we have fought that's made this community the great place to be today, to raise our families, keep them here and welcome new people in to the neighborhood," he said.
CB1's next general meeting will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the Astoria World Manor at 25-22 Astoria Blvd.
