 In 1983, Perry was appointed as a member of Brooklyn Community Board 17 - he would ultimately become chairman of that board-and the following year he ran as a candidate for District Leader in the 42nd Assembly District.He would later serve as a member of the Executive Board of the 67th Police Precinct and as a director of Flatbush East Community Development Corporation.In 1992, following the 1990 Census, a new assembly district was added in Brooklyn, located in East Flatbush.