Boll-ing them over: Firebrand Annie Boller joins CB10

Boll-ing them over: Firebrand Annie Boller joins CB10
Photo by Jaime Williams

The ultimate community activist finally has a seat on her community board.

Annie Boller, who has been strongly advocating for Waterbury-Lasalle neighborhood for several years, was recently appointed to Community Board 10.

Boller said she initially started attending meetings for the community board and the 45th Precinct Council meetings back in 2011 in order to “raise a ruckus” about the nightclub called Pompeii that she claimed was a nuisance in her neighborhood. Since then, she has been passionate about addressing quality-of-life issues in the East Bronx.

In 2011 she cofounded the Mayflower Block Association, which was later brought into the larger Waterbury-Lasalle Community and Homeowners Association, where she sits on the board. Now she attends meetings for every local community group that she can, including almost all of Community Board 10’s committee meetings, in addition to meeting outside her immediate area, such as the Throggs Neck Homeowners Association.

She said she feels its important to know what the issues are in surrounding neighborhoods because the problems aren’t isolated.

“What happens there will happen to us,” said Boller.

In 2012 Boller graduated from the NYPD’s Citizens’ Police Academy, which she participated in to learn more about laws and legal processes.

“I wanted to get more of an idea of how things work, so we know how to fight things,” she said.

Boller says she passionate about advocating for her community because she wants to protect the quality of life she feels is declining.

“It’s the little things that matter,” she said. “They will get bigger if you don’t plug the hole.”

Things she’s advocated for in the past include more police for the 45th precinct, traffic solutions, and a reduction of liquor licenses in the community. She said she savors the small victories, like the installation of a traffic light at Middletown Road and Mayflower Avenue in 2012.

Boller, like many community activists, said she operates on the philosophy that the “squeaky wheel gets the grease.” After attending so many meetings for so long, Boller said she’s looking forward to having more of a voice with the community board, and she feels she’s a good fit for the position.

“I’m not young, but I’m out there and I know what’s happening,” she said.

As for why she donates so much time and energy to meetings, Boller said she’s just trying to better her community.

“I just like helping people,” she said. “If I could clone myself and do more, I would.”

Reach Reporter Jaime Williams at (718) 742–3383. E-mail her at jwilliams@cnglocal.com.