Meet The Roosevelt Island Residents Association Candidates For Common Council Tonight and Learn About Ballot Referendum

Image from You Are the City

In addition to the Presidential election to be held next Tuesday November 4, there will also be a very local election of great concern to Roosevelt Island residents - that of members of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council who represent a particular building or group of buildings on Roosevelt Island. The importance of voting in the RIRA election is explained in this excerpt from the 10/25 Main Street WIRE (PDF File):

... That’s because the politicians take notice. Every tallied vote in the RIRA election represents a potential vote in a general election – either now or in the future. When the total votes cast in a RIRA election approach or exceed the number cast in the general election, politicians know that Roosevelt Islanders go to the polls and vote, and that is worth a lot in political clout to resident leaders who champion residents’ interests in the Island’s most important issues...

The Main Street WIRE email bulletin reports that:

Candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association will appear Wednesday night (October 29) to appeal for residents' votes, along with candidates for Common Council seats from each of the Island's buildings or groups of buildings.

The session is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. sharp in the Good Shepherd Community Center.

[Results of the election will be reported Tuesday night, Nov. 4, on Website NYC10044 http://nyc10044.com and via this e-mail bulletin service, along with whatever Island voting results are available in the general election.]

The list of candidates are below:

RIRA COMMON COUNCIL CANDIDATES – November 4, 2008

President
William Buckley
Frank Farance

Vice President
Charlie Berg
Ellen Polivy

Octagon
Aaron Barth
Jennifer Barth
Charlie Berg
Francisco Bozzano-Barnes
William Buckley
Joanna Cuevas
Elizabeth E. Erickson
Elizabeth Kroll

Manhattan Park
Barbara Allen
Roman Baranov
Ava Dawson
Jonathan Kalkin
Peter Katopes
Erin Kenny
Prashant Palsokar
Isabel Perez-Cruz
Lynn Strong-Shinozaki
Joseph Terranella

2 River Road
Steven Heller
James Whalen

4 River Road
Jim Bates

Westview
Erin R. Feely-Nahem
Sherie Helstien
Matthew Katz
Rebecca Sucgang Ocampo

Island House
Frank Farance
Phoebe E. Flynn
Nikki Leopold

Rivercross
Ashton Barfield
Steve Marcus
Ellen Polivy
Howard Polivy
Sharon (Nneka) Pope
Ethel Romm
Ron Schuppert
Margie Smith

Southtown
Rachel Reid Chung
Peter Digilio
Aaron Hamburger
Gad Levanon
Alfred Plastino
Janet Zarish

Eastwood
Cynthia Ahn
Helen M. Chirivas
Claudiu Cornetti
Russell Fields
Sophia Marshall
Linda Maynard-Hall
Joyce Mincheff
Neal J. Stueber
Lorraine Williams

546 Main Street
Dolores Green
Anthony V. Moran

There will also be referendum questions on the RIRA ballot. They are:

RIRA ELECTIONS REFERENDUM QUESTIONS – November 4, 2008

On Tuesday, November 4, Roosevelt Island residents will be asked four referendum questions when they vote in the RIRA election. While the outcome of the vote is not binding, these referendum questions provide serious guidance to policy-makers and elected officials. Note: The voting booth will only have the *question* listed, not the background information.

Question #1: Building the FDR memorial park before the monument
FOR THE FDR MEMORIAL AT SOUTHPOINT PARK, SHOULD FERI COMPLETE THEIR PORTION OF THE LANDSCAPING PRIOR TO COMPLETING THE FDR MONUMENT?
Background: There are two components in developing the southernmost 3 acres of the Island -- general landscaping and construction of an FDR memorial. Given that, particularly in these economic conditions, funding may be too limited for a full implementation at this time, do you favor developing the general landscaping before the monument is built?

Question #2: Citizens review board for Public Safety Department
WHILE CITIZENS OF NEW YORK CITY HAVE ACCESS TO A CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD FOR THE NYPD, ROOSEVELT ISLAND RESIDENTS HAVE NO SUCH EQUIVALENT FOR THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT. SHOULD ROOSEVELT ISLAND RESIDENTS HAVE A CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD TO HEAR COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT AND THEIR OFFICERS?
Background: RIOC provides State peace offices in their Public Safety Department. Residents have expressed a desire for a formal process that can hear and act on their concerns.

Question #3: Access to the Queensboro Bridge
SHOULD ELEVATOR ACCESS BE PROVIDED TO THE QUEENSBORO BRIDGE WALKWAY FROM ROOSEVELT ISLAND?
Background: A passenger and freight elevator in the support structure of the Queensboro Bridge was formerly the primary access to the Island, and its continued use was anticipated in the General Development Plan. If the elevator were rebuilt, would you use it to walk or bike to Manhattan and Long Island City?

Question #4: Leasing Stores on Main Street
SHOULD A PRIVATE COMPANY LEASE OUT MAIN STREET STORES?
Background: RIOC currently leases out Northtown’s Main Street storefronts. RIOC has argued that, because of restrictions in the Public Authorities Accountability Act, it is difficult if not impossible to rent out Main Street stores. As a result, Roosevelt Island has many empty storefronts. In comparison, Southtown storefronts are leased out by a private company and have filled up rapidly.

I plan on voting yes on all 4 questions. I do think that the referendum question on the FDR Memorial should be do the residents support it or not instead of in what order it be built but the RIRA Council decided that the survey in the Main Street WIRE had answered that question as inconclusive and did not want to take the matter up again.

The polling location will be at PS/IS 217 for all Roosevelt Island residents except for those who live at the Octagon where there will be a separate polling place in the building.