On December 16, 2025, Community Board 12-Manhattan (CB12M) elected its new officers for 2026 and voted to hire its new District Manager.
CB12M elected Anthony Viola to serve as its Chairperson. Viola served as First Vice Chairperson in 2025, after serving as Secretary in 2024. He joined CB12M in January 2023 and has since been a member of its Licensing Committee, Land Use Committee, and By-laws Task Force. Viola succeeds Katherine Diaz, who served as CB12M’s Chairperson since 2023.
Additionally, CB12M named Leo Jimenez as First Vice Chairperson, Tanesha Grant as Second Vice Chairperson, Alexis Marnel as Secretary, Elizabeth Lorris Ritter as Assistant Secretary, and Heidi Guzman as Treasurer. The term for all elected officers began on January 1, 2026.
CB12M also voted to approve the hiring of Kiana Diaz as its next District Manager. Diaz comes from the office of Council Member Carmen De La Rosa, where she served as Deputy Chief of Staff since January 2022, and has experience working for elected officials at the city and state levels. Diaz is anticipated to start sometime in February 2026, succeeding Ebenezer Smith, who served as District Manager for 18 years.
CB12M’s new leadership comes as other changes occur throughout New York City government, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal also taking office on January 1, 2026.