Bronx Community Board 11 voted to boot Chair Bernadette Ferrara and Vice Chair Al D’Angelo from their leadership positions Thursday night — in a meeting that involved arguments between board members, disruptions from the gallery, and a resignation on the spot.
A motion to let Ferrara and D’Angelo carry out their terms as chair and vice chair failed by a vote of 15-22, with three abstentions, during CB11’s full board meeting on April 25, even after the body’s investigative committee recommended the full board let them remain in their leadership positions. They also took a second vote to certify the move.
Ferrara’s removal initiative came primarily from critics who claim she neglected her board duties while campaigning for the CD-13 council seat against Marjorie Velázquez in the June 2023 local primary — which she went on to lose.
D’Angelo faced intense scrutiny for separate reasons. An article published by The City last fall highlighted the column D’Angelo penned in the Bronx Times in April 2023, where he questioned why “Black Americans are the least educated, least healthy and among the most incarcerated ethnic group in the country” and stated that it was time to start addressing the “elephant in the room.” His critics have called his character into question, accusing him of spreading racist stereotypes they don’t want to be affiliated with.
According to CB11 records obtained by the Bronx Times, D’Angelo was also facing leadership removal for reasons other than his column — including “offending the laws” of the body and absenteeism.
The vote on April 25 began calmly, with members of the investigative committee explaining their recommendation to let the pair finish their terms as chair and vice chair. Eliezer Rodriguez, CB11 board member and chair of the investigative committee, said before the vote that the group met at length three separate times for a total of around nine hours to discuss both Ferrara’s and…
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