Beverley Square West Association

BSW Constitution

Adopted December 7, 2004

BEVERLEY SQUARE WEST ASSOCIATION CONSTITUTION

The Constitution of the Beverley Square West Association, as amended on the 7th day of December, 2004, amends and replaces any and all prior constitutions or amendments. The membership of the Beverley Square West Association, having met and considered the Constitution, and having voted by a majority vote to approve same, agree and acknowledge that what follows is the Constitution of the Association.

I. Name: The name of the Association is the Beverley Square West Association.

II. Purposes: The purposes for which the Association is formed are as follows:
A. To promote the interests of the members as owners and tenants of property in Beverley Square West.

B. To assist and advise with the New York City and Brooklyn Borough officers in all proper efforts to advance the public welfare.

C. To add to the attraction and advantages of Beverley Square West as a place of residence.

D. To observe and support such needful regulations and restrictions as will foster public spirit in the members.


III. Territory: The said territory known as Beverley Square West is bounded and described as follows: Beginning at the intersection of Beverley Road and Marlborough Road, running southerly along Marlborough Road, including both the easterly and westerly sides of Marlborough Road; running thence westerly along Cortelyou Road, including only the northerly side of Cortelyou Road, to Stratford Road; running northerly along Stratford Road, including both the easterly and the westerly sides of Stratford Road, to Beverley Road; running thence easterly along Beverley Road, including only the southerly side of Beverley Road, to the point of beginning. The territory shall also include the northerly and southerly sides of Slocum Place, Matthews Court and Lewis Place.

IV. Office of Association: The principal office of said Association is to be located in the residence of an incumbent, duly elected President of the said Association.
to Stratford Road; running northerly along Stratford Road, including both the easterly and the westerly sides of Stratford Road, to Beverley Road; running thence easterly along Beverley Road, including only the southerly side of Beverley Road, to the point of beginning. The territory shall also include the northerly and southerly sides of Slocum Place, Matthews Court and Lewis Place.

IV. Office of Association: The principal office of said Association is to be located in the residence of an incumbent, duly elected President of the said Association.
to Stratford Road; running northerly along Stratford Road, including both the easterly and the westerly sides of Stratford Road, to Beverley Road; running thence easterly along Beverley Road, including only the southerly side of Beverley Road, to the point of beginning. The territory shall also include the northerly and southerly sides of Slocum Place, Matthews Court and Lewis Place.

IV. Office of Association: The principal office of said Association is to be located in the residence of an incumbent, duly elected President of the said Association.

V. Executive Committee: The Executive Committee shall be comprised of a President, Vice President (or Co-President), Secretary, Treasurer, and an At-Large Member, who shall function as Officers of the Association. A Member of the Executive Committee must be an owner or renter of property which is the person’s primary residence and the property must be within the confines of Beverley Square West. The election of Executive Committee members shall take place bi-annually at the Association’s May meeting. Such electees shall take office the following September .

VI. Membership: Only dues paying members shall be members of Beverley Square West Association. There shall be a maximum of two (2) votes of adults per household, which is defined as units that are physically separated, i.e., legitimate one family homes, legal two family homes, or multiple family homes. Any person having attained his or her 18th birthday, and a member of a dues paying household, may vote or be elected to the Executive Board.

VII. General Meeting: There shall be no fewer than eight general meetings which shall take place between the months of September and June each year. Robert’s Modified Rules of Order shall generally guide the conduct of the meetings.

VIII. Annual Membership Dues: Annual membership dues shall cover a fiscal year of October 1 through the following September 30. Dues shall be set in an amount that the Association membership deems appropriate. Bills for dues shall be issued to all households of Beverley Square West on or before September 1st of each year. Bills shall be issued in any manner that the Executive Committee deems appropriate. Households shall become eligible to vote once the Treasurer has received the dues, and has noted the eligible adult voters of the household. Each voter may designate another eligible voter as his or her proxy.

IX. Voting: For all issues to be voted, there shall be a quorum of at least 14 eligible voters at each meeting where votes are to be cast. The Executive Committee shall prepare agenda items for all the meetings. Any item appearing on the agenda, whether it be a usual monthly agenda item, or a special item of business which has been placed on the agenda, may be voted on at the meeting. If the item is voted on, a majority of eligible voters present at the meeting, or by giving their proxy through a member eligible to vote and present at the meeting, shall pass the issue. Alternatively, if a majority votes to table the issue, it will be automatically added to the agenda for the next community meeting. Any special meetings called by the Executive Committee shall similarly require a quorum of 14 eligible voters, and issues will pass or fail by simple majority. Moderator shall not count towards a quorum.
All agenda items other than usual business, unless specifically noticed for vote, shall be for discussion purposes only, unless two-thirds of the eligible voters, upon motion duly made and seconded, authorize the vote to go forward, whereupon a vote will follow such authorization.
If an issue specifically noted for voting was published for seven (7) or more days, then a vote shall be taken unless a majority votes to table the issue, whereupon it will be automatically added to the following meeting agenda. If there is less than seven (7) days notice of a vote, then one-third of the eligible voters can vote to table the issue to the following meeting.
Notices to the Community of issues requiring a vote shall be made in any form that the Executive Committee deems appropriate, and which gives adequate notice to the membership.
The chair of a meeting may vote on any item, but his or her ballot shall be the last taken so as not influence the outcome.
With the exception of Officer elections, voting shall be by a show of hands unless one-third of eligible voters attending the meeting request a vote by paper ballot.


X. Committees: The Executive Committee shall determine the size of the committees and define the duties of each committee, the chair of committees, and shall make best efforts to secure a balanced, representational group of members to participate on such committees. Committees can be regular standing committees, or can be special committees serving a limited purpose as directed by the Executive Committee, or otherwise established by the membership. A member shall be limited to chairing no more than one committee, and are discouraged from serving on more than two committees.

XI. Moderators to Chair Meetings: Moderators shall chair no fewer than three (3) meetings per year. The President or Co-President or Vice President shall chair all other meetings unless an agenda item is deemed too subjective, in which case an objective moderator shall chair such meeting. Each moderator shall be neutral, and he/she shall not preside over any meeting where he/she cannot be impartial. Moderators shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and are subject to removal by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is responsible for having a neutral moderator available for each meeting.
Each regularly scheduled item on an agenda shall have a time limit to which the moderator shall strive to meet. Any items added to the agenda by the Executive Committee shall have a recommended time for discussion purposes. If the majority of the eligibility voters agree to extend discussion, a period of no more than one half hour shall be added for such discussion.
A Moderator shall attempt to limit repetitious discussion, and shall seek equal time for opposing views to issues raised. A moderator shall be eligible to vote only if there is a tie after all other votes have been counted.

XII. The Association’s Officers: Officers of the Association shall include a President, Vice-President (or Co-President), Secretary, Treasurer, and At-Large Member of the Executive Committee.
Election of Officers: Officers shall be elected to a term of two years by paper ballot vote of the Association’s membership at a meeting in which a quorum is present. The first election under this Constitution shall occur at the first May meeting after ratification of this Constitution, and the current officers shall remain in their positions until the election. Candidates for all positions shall be nominated by any single member of the Association at a duly constituted meeting. There are no term limits.

Duties of the Officers:
President: Shall serve as the chief executive officer of the Association and its Executive Committee, with responsibilities for drafting, signing, and distributing correspondence sent on behalf of the Association or duly designating a drafter, distributor, or signatory of Association correspondence. The President may convene special meetings of the Executive Committee, as he or she deems necessary. The President shall receive copies of all minutes of meetings and shall maintain a copy the Constitution and a database of the Association’s membership, including those who are current with dues. The President shall represent the Association at events, functions, other community meetings, or ceremonies to which the Association has been invited or desires to attend, or shall designate an Officer or member to appear in his or her stead. The President shall supervise the publishing of the Association’s newsletter or designate a member to perform such function. The President shall maintain and periodically review at least once a year information pertaining to the financial accounts of the Association.Vice-President: Shall serve on the Executive Committee and shall fulfill the role of President, in the event the chief executive officer is unable to perform such duties. The Vice-President may also be designated a co-President, who shares the role of President with co-equal authority.

Treasurer: Shall serve on the Executive Committee and shall maintain the financial records of the Association. Duties shall include maintaining an updated list of members who are current with dues and making available such updated list at every Association meeting. The Treasurer shall report the state of the Association’s finances at every meeting and make the financial accounts of the Association available for review by the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall be authorized to sign checks and make payments on behalf of the Association, only as approved by the Executive Committee or the Membership. The Treasurer is authorized to make payments for expenditures deemed necessary by the Executive Committee for sums that do not exceed $100, and for sums deemed necessary by the President that do not exceed $50. Payments on expenditures that exceed $100 must be approved by the Association’s membership. With the exception of special circumstances, as voted upon by the Association’s membership, charitable donations shall not exceed $250. The Executive Committee, with the consent of the membership, may adjust the above amounts from time to time as they deem necessary and appropriate.
Secretary: Shall serve on the Executive Committee and record minutes at meetings and provide these minutes to the President. The Secretary shall also arrange for the collection of paper ballots and the counting of such ballots with the assistance of the At-Large Member of the Executive Committee. The Secretary shall read the minutes of the previous meeting at Association meetings and call for their ratification. If unable to attend a meeting, the Secretary must designate the At-Large Member of the Executive Committee, or in the event of that officer’s unavailability, another dues-paying member of the Association to take minutes.
At-Large Member of the Executive Committee: Shall serve on the Executive Committee and shall substitute or share the duties of recording meeting minutes with the Secretary and shall assist the Secretary in the counting of paper ballots.
Removal of an Officer before his or her term expires: An officer may be removed for cause upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee and after a duly noticed vote by a majority of the membership.
Amendment of this Constitution: Shall be permitted after proposed amendments have been approved by the Executive Committee and, after due notice, submitted to the membership for approval by a two-thirds majority.

Ratification of this Constitution: Shall be effective upon a duly noticed two-third majority vote of the membership.

Upon motion duly made, and seconded, this Constitution was adopted the seventh day of December, 2004.
_____________________________________ Robert Pandolfo, Co-President

______________________ _______________
Jack Rubman, Co-President