Abdul “Sleep” Johnson is a carrot and stick thinker. Teens love sports and video games, he contends. Why not use sports and video games to encourage civic participation? Why not establish a Community Board Athletic League?
When Johnson first encountered Community Board 3, he meant to snag a block party permit and jet. Johnson, 30, then a student at Lehman College, had launched an urban-minded magazine, Da Streetz; he planned to celebrate on Vyse Avenue.
But CB3 interested Johnson. Here were people who knew what businesses the neighborhood needed, what buildings had been planned.
“I guess I wanted to know more,” he said.
Johnson joined the CB3 youth committee. Soon Johnson was named a board member.
Community boards form the bedrock of Bronx government. Teens form the borough’s most troubled constituency. Although community boards expend untold energy on teen issues – education, health, jobs, gangs – teens rarely attend community board meetings.
Johnson thinks many more would if only they had an initial reason to attend, as he did years ago. Teens and neighborhood leaders would participate in useful dialogue. Enter the Community Board Athletic League aka CBALL.
“The second L is extra,” Johnson explained.
Johnson dreamed up the league three years ago. He and CB3 district manager John Dudley have worked to refine the concept since.
Here’s how CBALL would work. Teams of young people aged 14 to 16 from each Bronx community district would compete in sports, video games and more. CBALL would employ coaches and use volunteers. Johnson plans to start with basketball.
“When I was younger, I know what grabbed my attention,” he said. “Sports grabbed my attention.”
But the teens would be required to earn high grades at school. They’d be required to attend all community board parks and recreation committee meetings and some general meetings. The borough’s 12 community boards tend to 12 community districts.
“So many issues we discuss on the community board are geared to teens,” Johnson said. “Crime, guns, jobs. We need to engage them.”
Johnson thinks CBALL would unite the Bronx and its neighborhoods like no other league. Top basketball teams for teens, such as the Gauchos, pluck players from around the city. The Police Athletic League and New York Public Housing Authority Leagues target particular teen populations.
But CBALL would harness Bronx neighborhood pride from Riverdale to City Island, Longwood to Edenwald, Johnson said.
CB3 has endorsed CBALL. So has Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Johnson said. The city Department of Youth and Community Development has hinted at funds, while Nike has expressed interest as a sponsor. On Tuesday, January 19, Johnson visited Community Board 7. He wants each Bronx community board to sign off on the idea.
“I think CBALL would be great for young people in the Bronx,” CB7 youth committee chair Joseph Lee said. “I think it’s important that they know what’s going on in civic life.
CBALL would address the generation gap that separates some Bronx teens and neighborhood leaders, Johnson explained. At community board meetings, teens and adults are treated as equals.
“Where else do you have that?” he asked. “Not at school. The teachers and parents are in charge. Not at church. The pastor talks.”
Johnson, who also runs a teen periodical, Yo! Magazine, has friends in the music industry. He’d persuade hip-hop and R&B stars to perform at CBALL games and an annual teen consortium, Johnson said.
Reach reporter Daniel Beekman at 718 742-3383 or dbeekman@cnglocal.com
