In July, Community Board 7 organized a forum for residents and community activists to brainstorm the future of the Kingsbridge Armory.

A couple hundred people showed up and shared their ideas — a great success.

But Fernando Tirado, the Board’s district manager since last January, saw another opportunity he couldn’t let pass. As the crowd headed for the exits, he pressed upon them these dollar-shaped leaflets called Health Bucks — each good for a discount on Farmers Market items.  Now that there are three farmers markets in the area — including the latest on Jerome Avenue and Mosholu Parkway — the discounts are particularly useful to neighborhood residents. But Tirado is more than just a big fan of the program. During his 13-year tenure at the Department of Health, including a stint at the Bronx district public health office, he helped revive the program — which once was only geared toward seniors — for a general audience.

Tirado, who lives on Mosholu Parkway in Bedford Park with his wife and three children, also directed the DOH’s Window Fall prevention program.

Born and raised in Washington Heights, Tirado, 38, has deep Bronx roots. He attended Mount St. Michael Academy and visited friends and family often in the borough. In 2006, he moved here from Queens to be closer to those friends and family.

After serving as a Board member on Community Board 7 for only six months, Tirado applied for the paid position of district manager after Rita Kessler retired.  He was chosen for the job by Board Chairman Greg Faulkner and the rest of the Board’s  officers and members.

Tirado has ushered in technological change at the Board office — introducing wireless Internet access and up-to-date computers. He’s eager to have a new Web site up-and-running soon — he pointed to existing Board sites Manhattan and Queens he thinks are a model — though that project has moved forward slower than he had hoped.

He’s passionate about quality-of-life issues, and while he believes that the city’s 3-1-1 system is good for registering complaints and forwarding them to the appropriate agency, the Board staff take things to the next level by following up and dealing directly with agency officials.

“You’re not going to get the same quality of service,” he said, offering the example of how the Board can advocate on behalf of a parent who runs into bureaucratic hurdles when trying to transfer their child to a different school.

He says he wants to make the Board office a “welcoming environment for folks.”  The office now opens at 8 a.m. so residents can stop by before work and the gates on the Board office are open all the way unveiling flyers for various community programs and events posted by Board staff in the window.  Previously, only the front door would be visible from the street.

In the same vein of making the Board and its activities more accessible to the public, Tirado has hired a consultant to do media outreach.

Board members, who are community residents appointed by the borough president in consultation with local Council members, are increasingly feeling like they can make a difference, Tirado said.

 “People like to be on the Board now that their issues are being pushed to the forefront …,” he said. “I think that the Board is currently very involved with things that are happening in the community and we have a lot of issues on our plate that have drawn a lot of community interest.”

The Board has also shown an interest in directly helping community institutions where it can.

At the end of their fiscal year, the Board had a little bit of money left over in its budget. Rather than carry it over, it decided to donate the money to PS 56 in Norwood, which used it to buy 100 recorders, musical instruments played by young children.

You could say that Community Board 7 is singing a new tune.

Ed. note: Community Board 7 is located at 229A E. 204th St., between the Grand Concourse and Valentine Avenue in Bedford Park. The phone number is (718) 933-5650.