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 WITH THIS AD EXPIRES 7/31/19 
  
  
  
  
 SPECIALS WITH THIS AD EXPIRES 7/31/19 
  
  
  
  
 SPECIALS WITH THIS AD EXPIRES 7/31/19 
  
  
  
  
 SPECIALS WITH THIS AD EXPIRES 7/31/19 
  
  
  
 BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 14     ULY 12-18, 2019 BTR 
 Joseph Russo, longtime  
 member, selected  
 as CB 10 chairperson  
 BY PATRICK ROCCHIO 
 Community Board 10 selected a  
 seasoned  veteran  board  member  to  
 serve as its new chairperson.  
 Joseph Russo of Spencer Estate and  
 a member of the board for over two decades, 
  was elected the new chairman  
 of CB 10 by a wide margin in a threeperson  
 race  at  the  general  monthly  
 board meeting on Thursday, June 20.  
 Russo, who in 20 plus years on the  
 board  headed  up  CB  10’s  Youth  Services  
 Municipal Services committees,  
 said he is focused on continuity rather  
 than large changes. He plans to follow  
 in the footsteps of previous effective  
 chairpeople that have categorized the  
 board, he said.  
 “You look at things, try to make  
 improvements and leave it in good  
 hands by being a good steward,” said  
 Russo when asked about his own leadership  
 philosophy.  He  compared  the  
 task ahead to that of being a committee  
 chairman, but on a larger scale.  
 “It is always a fl uid situation,” said  
 Russo of the issues the board faces, adding  
 that there is never a point where  
 you have a total victory in terms of the  
 community board’s priorities. 
 Each  success  is  followed  by  another  
 challenge or hurdle to overcome, 
  he said.  
 Russo said that CB 10’s board members  
 know  a  great  deal  about  their  
 communities and are very passionate  
 in seeing them improve.  
 He said that he joined the community  
 board because he saw the volunteer  
 opportunity as a vital part of the  
 process that ensured that the community  
 remained strong, he said.  
 “I  have  always  been  involved  in  
 what  is  going  on  in  the  community,”  
 said Russo. Early on in his tenure on  
 the community board he chaired the  
 youth committee in part because he  
 and his wife of 27 years, Lucia, were  
 raising three daughters.  
 He  said  that  when  he  was  chairman  
 of CB 10’s Youth Services committee, 
   he  rotated  the monthly meetings  
 to different locations throughout  
 the board.  
 Russo’s been active with the Spencer  
 Estate Civic Association and the  
 Our Lady of Assumption School Parent  
 Guild over the years  
 Joseph Russo, a Community Board 10 member  
 for over two decades, was elected by its  
 members at the chairman at a board meeting  
 on Thursday, June 20.  
   Photo courtesy of Joseph Russo 
 Russo originally lived on Edison  
 Avenue  but  spent  a  great  deal  of  his  
 formative years living in Country  
 Club/Spencer Estate.  
 His parents still reside in the community  
 and one of the challenges,  
 which he believes CB 10 can address,  
 is its aging population.  
 Other challenges upcoming in the  
 board’s service area – which includes  
 Co-op  City,  City  Island,  Pelham  Bay,  
 Country Club, Spencer Estate, Waterbury 
 LaSalle, Throggs Neck,  
 Westchester  Square  and Zerega  –  include  
 road  projects  slated  for    Shore  
 Road, Interstate 95, Westchester Avenue   
 and the Unionport Bridge.  
 The chairman acknowledged that  
 there  will  be  pain  during  the  construction  
 phase, and the board should  
 be there to alleviate that pain or serve  
 as a resource. He believes that when  
 the construction projects are done,  
 the fi nished products will be an asset  
 to the community.  
 A primary concern of the board is  
 the onslaught of substance abuse rehabilitation  
 facilities attempting to locate  
 in the community board, said Russo.  
 Russo,  an  insurance  broker  for  
 very large construction projects, said  
 he will use some of his business negotiating  
 skills  –  in  terms  of  handling  
 competing interests, making compromises  
 and fi nding solutions – at the  
 community board.  
 Russo  will  serve  an  18-month  
 term.  
 I have always been  
 involved in what is going  
 on in the community. 
 Joseph Russo