Anne Compoccia, Former Community Board 1 Chair, Dies at 62

The Tribeca Trib reports that Anne Compoccia, the former long-reigning chair of Community Board 1, died February 24th following a long bout with cancer. She was 62-years-old and was fondly regarded for her street-smart, tough-talking “New Yawker” style.

Compoccia helmed the Community Board 1 for 12 years and helped steer the downtown revitalization agenda, overseeing the transformation of Lower Manhattan from a 9-to-5 business district that was deserted when the sun went down to a residential community and viable neighborhood. Compoccia’s resume is decorated with achievements like helping to bring ball fields to Battery Park City, the public library on Murray Street and the Tribeca street improvement initiative that was dubbed “The Greening of Greenwich Street.”

The feisty, no-nonsense Compoccia, who went toe-to-toe with suits and politicians, is also credited with helping to bring about the Manhattan Youth’s Downtown Com­­munity Center and fostered the community’s use of Tribeca’s Pier 25 — thanks to her support of these projects. Compoccia also founded the Little Italy Chamber of Commerce.

Compoccia, who lived alone for much of her life, was not perfect, however. She was arrested in 2000 for embezzling $85,000 in city funds relating to the Mulberry Street Mall. She resigned from her post as the chair of the CB1 when investigations into her dealings began. She served a 10-month sentence relating to these activities in a Brooklyn halfway house and took a community service job in a Manhattan hotel for homeless people afflicted with AIDS. Once she completed her sentence, she remained with the hotel in the role of paid supervisor.

Were you familiar with Compoccia’s colorful life story before she passed?