Reader Comments on Roosevelt Island Racquet Club Proposed Expansion and Extension of License Agreement - Sounds Fishy Says One Reader
The second item on the Agenda for RIOC board of Directors meeting scheduled for Thursday October 18 at 4;30 PM is:
Authorization to Enter into the Third Modification Agreement with the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club Associates (Board Action Required)Below are excerpts of some comments received in response to this post questioning the need and the advisability of RIOC entering into any further licensing obligations with the current occupants of the Roosevelt Island Raquet Club at this time.
Almost three years ago, we-parents, started a swimming club on the island. With a help of the Westview management, we were able to organizeAnother reader:
Learn To Swim Program for children...
In the last Wire issue we read Mr. Shane's comment about possibility of giving Sportspark to the Racquet Club to expand their program for Manhattan residents (who are in a need for more tennis courts)... The news was so upsetting , because we saw the Sportspark facility as a RI. Marlins home. Even we used it only 4 times a week, we revived that pool with our presence, and now we feel endangered. As a parent , who went to the Racquet Club to ask about prices for the Junior Program, and was first shocked learning how much it would cost,and then informed that there are NO ANY DISCOUNTS for the RI children, I'm fearing that if they
take over Sportspark, swimming will be out of the reach for many RI kids and all the other programs will be purely designed for people with very deep pockets.
We just feel so powerless......we even don't know which door to knock on.
There is nothing free except early morning classes for the RI kids (past year was Sat/ Sun 6:00AM ??!!!). I wanted to sign up my child for the Junior program (afternoons-more appropriate hours). The price is outragiuos and THERE IS NO ANY DISCOUNT for the RI children. Simple as it is.A third reader sends in this 1991 article from the NY Times:
Also, if I remember correctly , the classes are offered only to IS/217 - Middle School students through the school list. About (5) offered courts .... I don't believe that this info is correct.
Hoping to capitalize on a growing interest in tennis and improved transportation to Roosevelt Island, developers have broken ground for the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club, with 11 dome-covered courts and a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse. The club is scheduled to open in October on a two-acre site on the New York State-owned island directly under the Queensboro Bridge.As this reader points out:
...Mr. Hartman said lease payments to the state will be set at a minimum of $100,000 a year and should increase after five years to over $400,000; the club will then pay a percentage of its revenues to the state. Membership fees have been set at $600 a year for individuals, plus a $500 initiation fee, and members will pay $40 an hour during prime time, or $30 for off peak hours, for use of the courts.
In '91 rent should be $100.000, five years later over $400.000, and 16 years later it should be more, much more, than over $250.000I don't know if anything is "fishy" but I do think further investigation and inquiry is the least that the RIOC Board could do prior to voting on the license modification agreement for the Tennis club. As members of the RIOC Board they do have certain fiduciary obligations and responsibilities as well as adhering to the Public Authorities Act. Based upon the webcast of the RIOC Board's Real Estate committee meeting on this topic, the Board members present did not appear to ask any relevant questions regarding the advisability of expanding the Tennis Center, whether it is a good deal for Roosevelt Island and if there was potential for alternative recreational, cultural or other public uses. It certainly is a good deal for the Tennis Club. Watch the webcast or listen to it and decide for yourself.
Something is fishy...
Image is from supersubsonic.com
11 comments :
How we (RI residents) could contact RIOC Board of Directors - no emails, no phones, just names at RIOC site.
Click on the RIOC employee directory on the right side of the page under Roosevelt Island links for email and phone #'s.
You didn't understand question!
Still my question is how to contact our "representatives" at RIOC - Board of Directors?
Sorry that i misunderstood question. I don't know the answer. RIOC Board member contact information is not public information as far as I know.
Perhaps it should be since they are supposed to be the "representatives" of residents of Roosevelt Island.
Do we need
1. "Chelsea Piers" (profit organization) or
2.Asphalt Green (non-profit)?
How will kids, youths and why not all RI residents benefit from such License Modification?
1. We will have restaurant (they will have profit)
2. We will have coctail lounge (they will have profit),
3. they will have more space for tennis courts & more profit (we will have maybe 4 times/week free classes for PS 217, but not all kids from Island; at 6 am - for those who will wake up kids at that time
4. they will have more Manhattanians coming here - to their profitable restaurant, tenis court... we will drive our kids & ourselves somewhere were we could pay
I would say Asphalt Green, but who ask us?
Roosevelt Island has got to be the only neighborhood in the city where residents expect discounts from businesses because they live nearby. Sheesh!
Look at this two public benefit corporations:
1. The Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority is a New York State public benefit corporation whose mission is to plan, create, co-ordinate and maintain a balanced community of commercial, residential, retail, and park space within its designated 92-acre site on the lower west side of Manhattan.
http://www.batteryparkcity.org/pdf_n/Public_Authorities_Law.pdf
2. RIOC is a public benefit corporation responsible for the development, operation, security and maintenance of Roosevelt Island (the 147 acre)
RIOC, was created by the New York State Legislature in 1984. Its mandate is to manage, develop, and operate the 147 acre Roosevelt Island.
Look at their (Battery Park) web site and look at RIOC web site!
What a difference: there is a lot information about everything including biography of Board of directors....
The Battery Park City Authority conducts periodic surveys among Battery Park City residents and other constituent users to obtain feedback about facilities, amenities and quality of life issues on people’s minds. The last such survey was conducted in 2004 (before that 2001, before Sept 11)
http://www.batteryparkcity.org/pdf_n/Demographic_Study.pdf
It is not about discounts, but about quality of life.
If my understanding is correct, Sport Park was build and should be used primarily for community and by community. For all these years RIOC was managing it by keeping it closed and unused most of the time. Even swim team was organized and run by volunteers if I have my facts straight. And now SP would be given to "tennis" people to add tennis courts? Is that what RI needs or this is what makes their pockets deeper? Are there any conditions being discussed by Board of Directors to protect existing programs and help them to grow and advance?
The reasons provided initially in the blog on why extension of Tennis club is proposed/required are just laughable. New buildings require more courts. Who are you kidding, really?
Anonymous 12:01PM- To be fair, the discounts discussed in regard to the Tennis courts were first raised by supporters of the tennis court expansion, as well as RIOC, in their attempt to justify what may be a tremendously below market license deal with the current tennis club operators.The complaints by Roosevelt Island residents regarding discounts were done in response to these apparently inflated claims.
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