CB6 Gets a new Parks Head, Scott Middleton

At Community Board 6, issues related to transportation, parks, and public infrastructure fall under the same organizational structure, aptly named the TPPI Committee. The first “P” in it, belonging to parks, is under new leadership: Parks Chair Scott Middleton.

Although Middleton was appointed chair in March, he’s no novice to park issues. He is the Executive Director of the Marine Park Alliance and formerly worked as a partnership planner for the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy.

“I’d like to serve as a forum for people who are lone voices, so to speak, who have great ideas about improving open spaces in the district,” said Middleton, who has been a board member since 2023.

Closing the gap in a long-distance relationship with his girlfriend and now wife, Middleton moved to Brooklyn from Boston in 2019. His civic journey in New York began humbly, volunteering with the Park Slope Civic Council, picking up trash and painting over graffiti.

“I do like actions like that that are very small, but have an obvious, tangible impact on quality of life in neighborhoods in the city,” said Middleton, who then served as a representative for the group during Council Member Shahana Hanif’s 2023 participatory budgeting process.

Knowing that council members have a hand in community board appointments, Middleton thought he’d have a good chance of getting on the board given his relationship with Hanif’s office.

“I decided I might have a shot and thought it would be a great way to get even more involved in the community,” said Middleton, as this month marks his three-year anniversary with the Board.

Middleton said he was approached by District Manager Mike Racioppo for the chair position after his predecessor, Marc Torrence, stepped down.

“Mike just asked me if I wanted to do it because he knows that I work in parks, so that sort of made sense,” said Middleton.

In addition to his full-time job and volunteer position at CB6, Middleton is also a father to a five-month-old.

“In terms of the responsibility and time commitment of being a community board member and a committee chair, it’s two evening meetings a month—it’s workable,” said Middleton.

Though chairing a committee may seem like big shoes to fill, Middleton said not much happens on the parks side of the TPPI Committee. He said the combination of entities made sense in this case, as it allows members to manage time effectively.

“Committee meetings are a great time to get stuff done,” said Middleton, who added that there’s non-board members can participate in committee meetings. “It’s possible because the committee agenda is so much more focused; we don’t have to do all the official updates, we don’t have to cover votes from all the different committees.”

During his time as Parks Chair, Middleton hopes that his sector of the TPPI committee will be seen as an “equal partner” to its counterparts, especially on the more attention-grabbing issue of transportation.

“I hope that parks is not seen as an afterthought, but a topic that’s really worth the community board weighing in on,” said Middleton.