Open Government and Transparency Emerging on Roosevelt Island

One of the first posts on this blog (during the ALL CAP DAYS) stated a goal to:

...provide concerned citizens easy access to the historical background of how Roosevelt Island has been governed in the past and to promote openness and transparency by our current governmental representatives

and noted:

... it would be of great use to the community if other important Roosevelt Island governing documents such as the General Development Plan and all Amendments thereto be made available to the public.

Thanks to RIOC President Steve Shane, the Roosevelt Island General Development Plan and the 1969 Roosevelt Island Master Lease between the City of New York (Lessor) and the NY State Urban Development Corporation (Lessee) and Welfare Island Development Corporation (Subsidiary) are now available online for review by all who may be interested. A permanent link will be on the right side column under the title Roosevelt Island Governing Documents.

The 12/11/07 Washington Post had an article describing problems accessing government information by citizens as well as by other federal, state and city agencies. According to the article:

The biggest hurdle agencies face in sharing information with one another and with citizens is not the technology but rather how the agencies organize information, said Karen Evans, who oversees the e-government program for the Office of Management and Budget.

The article also reports that Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia and officials from Google will testify before:

the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs today, urging Congress to require federal agencies to make their Web sites, records and databases more searchable

and according to Wales:

"It's really important for the notion of public participation for [agencies] to be striving to be as open as possible,"...

Who could have imagined at this time last year that RIOC would be ahead of the curve in making government documents and information available to the public. Certainly not me nor the NY State Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions that concluded in 2005 of prior RIOC administrations:

The operation and management of RIOC has exhibited, in the past, a pattern of secrecy and unaccountability consistent with what the Committee has found at other authorities. With respect to relations with the Island's community and institutions, including matters such as open meetings, FOIL requests, public participation and RIOC activities and full public disclosure of important public issues, RIOC must show significant improvement.

Certainly RIOC operations have begun to change for the better here on Roosevelt Island. If anyone has any suggestions for additional information or documents concerning Roosevelt Island to be made publicly available please let me know and I will try and get it. Good job by RIOC in providing citizen access to these essential Roosevelt Island governing documents.

Image is from Inman News.