Post By Contributor Jenna Bagcal
Annie Boller is a self-proclaimed “wallflower”; but you would never know that from hearing her hefty list of community activities. Some might call her a “community activist,” something that she would never label herself as. “When I first heard that, I thought, ‘no, that’s not me’… activist is kinda ‘hipstery’ and I don’t feel like I’m that. I’m just trying to wake people up.”
A native New Yorker and longtime resident of the Bronx, Boller moved to the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx in 2002 after living in Pelham Parkway for 22 years. Although Pelham Parkway is one of the safer neighborhoods in the Bronx, with crime reportedly decreasing over 81 percent from 1990 to 2013 according to nyc.gov statistics, Boller said her reasons for moving had to do with increasing crime in her building. So in February of 2002, Boller moved from Pelham Parkway to Pelham Bay. But after living in the neighborhood for 12 years, she has seen some negative changes affecting her current neighborhood as well.
“It has gone down, it’s not like it was 12 years ago. You speak to neighbors and they say it’s not like it was 30 years ago. That’s just the natural progression of things, but we’re trying anything to bring it back.”
Annie Boller. Resident of Pelham Bay and board member of Community Board 10.
Improving her neighborhood for herself and others in her community is exactly what Boller does on an almost daily basis. When she is not working her regular job as a receptionist for a structural engineering firm or selling real estate in the Pelham Bay area, Boller dedicates her time to the betterment of her community, a journey that began with the former Pompeii Nightclub/Lounge that shut down in 2013. She recounts the great number of violent crimes that were happening around her neighborhood following the opening of Pompeii.
“To be woken up in the middle of the night hearing gunshots… that was basically the catalyst, and that’s when we were finally able to round up all the neighbors and put our claws into him [Jose Torres, owner of Pompeii].”
After three years of fighting to shut down the infamous locale, it finally closed its doors May of 2013 after the owner agreed to sell his business, which was a personal victory for Boller and other community members. “We actually had a little party [on] his last day,” Boller recalls fondly with a laugh.
Working toward a common goal with her fellow community members quickly lead Boller to become involved in the world of community activism. She had seen a sign in her neighborhood about having community meeting ‘on a corner’ to talk about the issues going on in their neighborhood.
“After the first meeting, I was able to get [Councilman James] Vacca and [Senator Jeff] Klein to go to the meetings. We had like, 50 people on a corner. Basically it was to discuss car break ins, home invasions, and the request for more police presence.”
These “meetings on the corner” is what she cites as the predecessor to her other involvements in community meetings. After these meetings, she and a neighbor began the Mayflower Block Association, an informal community board that deals with issues on Mayflower Avenue where she lives, while also attending “[almost] every meeting for Community Board 10” which includes Pelham Bay Park. It was not until June of this year that she finally got appointed to be an official member of the board.
“I was a pain in their ass,” she says, “I kept applying, and the first two years I got turned down. The second year I got turned down, I’m not gonna lie, I threw a fit. ” She promised herself that she would not apply for a third time, until she was approached by Thomas Lucania, the Director of Community Boards for Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz.
“He [Lucania] came up to me and knew who I was. He said “Annie, I just want to let you know that you don’t have to fill out another application, we have yours on file”. And then come June, I get a letter that says that I’m on [the board.]”
Yet, despite her active presence in the community, Boller still labels herself as “shy” and a “wallflower.” But she has advice for those who, like her, are not as outspoken but want to see change enacted. “Sometimes just being a presence is effective. At some point, there will be a chance to grab hold and do something.”
Originally posted on Baruch College Dept. Of Journalism Blog , Used with permission
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