Statement From Frank Farance In Support Of His Candidacy For Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President - Honest Ethical Intelligent, He Says

Current Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Frank Farance sends in the following statement in support of his candidacy for re-election as RIRA President.

Candidate Statement for Frank Farance

To the Residents:

The 2008-2010 term could be considered one of the most successful in the history of RIRA. Accomplishments include:

— Achieving Best Working Relationship with RIOC in History of RIRA. Includes all departments: Martinez works with RIRA's Chair of Island Services (Hamburger), Guerra works with RIRA's Chair of Public Safety (Feely-Nahem), Abramson works with RIRA's Chair of Planning (Katz), etc.. I personally have a good working relationship with all RIOC staff and our elected officials.

— Convincing RIOC: Increase Budget Horizon from 5 to 15 Years. This is important: we now have better information about the Island's finances, including how our finances are heavily dependent upon the completion of Southtown buildings 7-9. I strongly advocated for this long- term financial projection and RIOC has responded.

— Achieving the best relationship with the Public Safety Department. Although not perfect, the RIRA Town Meeting I called last summer on PSD helped voice the community's concerns, and PSD collaborated on a better working relationship -- the best in Island history. PSD complaints have gone from 10 in 2008 (Guerra's first year), to 7 last year, to 3 this year. Through Guerra and RIRA's Feely-Nahem, residents' concerns are heard promptly and addressed quickly.

— Establishing Regular RIRA Town Meetings. A success experiment I started. Over two years we've had a dozen Town Meetings (a RIRA record!) for the community to interact/Q&A with RIOC. In fact, the DHCR Commissioner has stated the these RIRA Town Meetings are THE place for RIOC Board directors to interact, discuss, and engage with the community.

— Establishing Regular Public Purpose Grant Review Process. Our first attempt in 2009 suffered from concerns about apparent conflicts of interest. We could have swept this under the rug (as Mr. Katz had suggested), but instead I insisted that RIRA hold ourselves to the same standards we expect from others: we investigated, honestly reported our mistakes, and changed our process. That summer, 1000 children benefitted from the timely approval of Public Purpose Grants (whose summer programs would have been lost otherwise). This year, our new process went smoothly. We expect to continue with the improved process.

— Creating Template forCommunity Review Process--Used for Blackwell Park Master Plan. Initially there were glitches, but with my persistent public advocacy and resident committee, co-chaired by Mr. Katz and Ms. Berdy, we arrived at a community-endorsed master plan and set the process for ongoing review in Blackwell Park design and construction. Our process will now be used for community review of other RIOC projects. Because of RIRA's successful collaboration with RIOC, Urban America held a symposium on design ideas and elements for the future playground.

My Ideas For The 2010-2012 Term

— Rethink Self-Governance. Stagnant for 13 years, the same positions, and only self- selected 9 people claiming to represent the Island. As confirmed at the September 2010 meeting, Maple Tree Group (a RIRA subcommittee) has violated the RIRA Constitution and By-Laws. We need to reformulate this effort. Yes, I am for self-governance and democracy. These principles are not practiced within the present MTG and Ms. Barfield now promises an open committee. I propose a series of RIRA Town Meetings in 2011 so to better inform the community of the issues and past successes/failures, followed by common direction that represents the whole community consensus. Ditto for any proposed legislation. Our legislators (who do good work for us) cannot be misled by proposing legislation that has not been vetted by the community.

— Formal, Regular RIOC Director Nominee Election Process. This year, the process was a closed-discussion by a self-selected few in MTG and members were excluded from voting. It is likely the Governor will fill positions without resident input. The recently vetoed legislation was misguided: it took all the directors away from the Governor, and did not respect the State's important financial stake in this community — the legislation was naive. As any negotiator will tell you, we need something that is good for the Island and attractive for the Governor to sign. I propose RIRA Town Meetings to involve the community and build Island- wide consensus.

— Rethink Island Budget. Southtown 7-9 construction (or not) will greatly affect the Island's finances. The privatization of remaining WIRE buildings (exiting Mitchell-Lama program just as other M-L buildings in the state/city) can affect the Island's finances and its resident mix. We should consider requesting revenue flow back from Albany. Did you know: virtually all your City and State taxes go off the Island and don't return? The RIOC budget line was zeroed during the Pataki Administration -- something we need to start thinking about now, especially with serious financial concerns in the 2021 time frame.

— Revise General Development Plan. The privatization of several buildings and new Island mix, we require revising the GDP (an agreement between the State and the City about Roosevelt Island). This involves long-term planning and much discussion. RIRA Town Meetings and the now-established RIOC-RIRA community meetings should do the trick.

— Inclusion/Outreach on All Fronts. Example: Octagon needs to be integrated better. I've provided additional rationale for RIOC to schedule the buses consistently: if the red bus arrived on a regular schedule, then residents could easily go back and forth among the building complexes with little time lost: facilitates more on-Island shopping, socializing, youth/ senior/disabled services, etc.. If Octagon and the middle of the Island were only a reliable 5 minutes and 25 cents away, there would be more interaction. Right now, there are potentially 30 minute bus waits, which discourage this kind of cohesiveness.

Why Farance over Katz?

First, I'm an executive with significant experience (Katz is not). A main reason RIOC's relationship with RIRA has worked well: I treat RIOC staff as executives, I put myself in their shoes, and thus my suggestions carry more weight because I've thought about them deeper.

Second, I firmly support the principles of Openness, Fairness, and Transparency -- even when RIRA has made mistakes. Openness: anyone can participate. Fairness: we are all treated as equals. Transparency: you can examine RIRA decision-making/discussions, which should be following our rules.

Katz, although well-meaning, is expedient and is unwilling to follow the procedures that assure these prime principles -- following the rules is especially important when people disagree. Katz oversaw the 2004 reformulation of the RIRA Constitution and By-Laws, so he should know them best, but Katz still continues to violate those rules and doesn't understand them. Katz advocates exclusivity for the self- selected few rather championing these prime principles (you'd expect differently from a former RIRA President).

Third, Talking the Talk, Walking the Walk. Katz cannot do the latter. If Katz does not like my public browbeating, why didn't he get the job done himself to get RIOC cooperating better on the Blackwell Park committee? Katz is unwilling to champion these issues and speak truth to power. Example: I reported numerous parking problems in 2007. Katz was unable to stand up to RIOC/PSD and, thus, I took my concerns to the WIRE (publicity got PSD to change).

I have the honesty, ethics, intelligence, and conviction to champion the residents' needs. My 14-year track record in RIRA demonstrates that. Residents should ask themselves: when us RIRA officials do our work, sometimes out of immediate public view, who do you trust to represent ALL the residents fairly? There is a clear bright line in openness, fairness, and transparency, and a clear choice among the candidates.

Mr. Farance is being challenged by former RIRA President and current RIRA Planning Committee Chair Mathew Katz. If others are interested in running for RIRA President, nominations for the position are open until October 24.

The Roosevelt Islander Blog is open to any RIRA candidate who wishes to submit a statement.

UPDATE 10/24 - Mathew Katz statement in support of his RIRA President candidacy is here.