ABOUT DR. KEITH TAYLOR

ABOUT DR. KEITH TAYLOR

Dr. Keith Taylor

"I have three core tenets for any solutions to solve problems
within the Harlem community." - Dr. Keith Taylor

Innovation  ● Accountability  ● Cost-Effectiveness

ABOUT DR. KEITH TAYLOR

New York City Harlem resident and community activist Dr. Keith Taylor is a former New York City assistant commissioner, law enforcement professional, and emergency management professional.

Dr. Taylor has represented Central Harlem on local Community Board 10 since 2008, previously serving in leadership as its first vice chair and Chair of its Economic Development, Education, and Public Safety Committees. Currently as its Vice Chair of its Landmarks Committee, he worked on the board’s Harlem Preservation Plan and has fought to preserve Harlem’s cultural and architectural legacies through successful historic preservation landmarking efforts at the city, state and federal levels. As chair of its Education Committee, he fought to preserve Harlem public education institutions by authoring a resolution against co-location and has supported innovative public charter schools with proven results as a founding board member of a New York City STEM charter school. As Economic Development Committee Chair, he focused on supported small businesses by improving community board license application processes; hosted a Harlem Technology Forum; and served on the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Board of Directors, serving as Chair of its Nominating Committee. As Chair of the community board’s Public Safety Committee, his committee created a Re-Entry Guide to assist Harlem residents returning from incarceration with supportive local housing, employment, and medical/mental health resources; it also created a Youth Resource Guide to assist Central Harlem youth with re-entry, mentoring, employment, addiction services, and high school equivalency support.

Keith’s professional experience includes twenty-five years in public service, starting as a NYPD police officer and retiring as an assistant commissioner for the New York City Correction Department. He is an adjunct assistant professor at John Jay College whose focus is on police and correctional policy and administration. He has received certificates of recognition for his community improvement efforts from the New York State Assembly, Murid Islamic Community of America, and the New York Carib News, and currently serves as Board Chair of the Harlem Independent Living Center. Keith was previously a member of the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America and was a founding member and assistant scoutmaster for Troop 55 in Manhattan.

As president of the Private First Class Dorrance Brooks Property Owners and Residents Association for the past fifteen years, Keith has taken a leadership role for a number of efforts to improve his neighborhood and the larger Harlem community. As a result of numerous vehicle collisions, in 2014 he successfully fought for the NYC Department of Transportation to install a signal turn light at the intersection of West 136 Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, resulting in a much safer intersection for the Harlem Eagle Academy located there as well as the larger Harlem community.  In 2018, he honored the Harlem Hellfighters’ contributions to ending World War I by hosting a Harlem observance of the 100th Anniversary of the signing of the Armistice agreement ending the war, which was attended by the commanding officer of the 369th Sustainment Brigade as well as the French Consul, Harlem military veterans, local elected officials, and community members. The block association has received proclamations from the Governor, Mayor, and Manhattan Borough President for its community improvement and preservation efforts. 


Keith graduated from Howard University with a B.S. in Human Development. He received a Masters in Sociology from City College of New York; a Masters in National Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School; and a Doctorate in Education from Columbia University’s Teachers College. Keith resides with his wife and their two children in Central Harlem. Keith is especially proud of his Harlem familial lineage, as his great granduncle Herbert Bruce was elected in 1935 as the first black elected district leader in New York City, and whose family immigrated from Barbados to Central Harlem in 1905.



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