Report From RIOC President Leslie Torres - Recaps Recent Roosevelt Island Events and Project Updates But No Mention of General Counsel's Departure -Is Political Patronage From New York Governor's Office the Cause?

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Lesie Torres sends the following report to Roosevelt Island residents. Ms. Torres recaps Roosevelt Island Health & Fitness Day and the Public Safety Department Commendation/Promotion Ceremony as well as updates us on several ongoing projects.

However, Ms Torres does not mention the recent departure of RIOC's long time General Counsel, Kenneth Leitner, who was hired over 11 years ago during the Administration of Governor George Pataki and served under the last two Democratic Party Governors, Elliot Spitzer and David Paterson.

What happened?

I noticed last Wednesday, during the May RIOC Board Meeting that Mr. Leitner was not in attendance

Image of May RIOC Board Meeting without RIOC General Counsel

sitting in his usual seat next to the RIOC President. Hudson/Related Developer David Kramer, who was present at the meeting for the Main Street Master Leaseholder Agenda Item, even asked me "Where's Ken" referring to Mr. Leitner.

Last Friday morning, I looked at RIOC's employee directory web page and saw that Mr. Leitner was no longer listed as a RIOC employee. As I was about to send an inquiry to Ms. Torres regarding Mr. Leitner's status, I read in Roosevelt Island's local newspaper, the Main Street WIRE (Page 1 PDF File):

RIOC Counsel Ken Leitner has left that post after over a decade in the job, a possible victim of the patronage system in New York State politics and government.

In an accompanying editorial the Main Street WIRE editor speculated (Page 2 PDF File):

... An alternative theory about the firing (let’s call it by its right name) of Leitner without cause is a memo he wrote, for Shane, about 30 months ago, summarizing all the interlocking issues involved in privatization of the Island’s remaining Mitchell-Lama buildings. Multiple agencies are involved, with diverse interests, and the memo was produced to make sure everybody understood fully all the places where privatization deals could go sour.

But there are interests – probably Lawlor, for one, and a significant number of Islanders – who want privatization done and done now, even if not all loose ends are tied up. Leitner’s comprehensive knowledge of those issues, and his legal-eagle concern that they be fully satisfied, could be another reason why his presence is no longer to be tolerated. (That was an important component in Shane’s firing, too.)

Again, these theories are all speculation of the Main Street WIRE editor - no facts are presented.

On Friday afternoon, I sent email inquiries to RIOC President Leslie Torres, all of the RIOC Directors, as well as the offices of Assembly Member Micah Kellner and State Senator Jose Serrano. Here's the email to Ms. Torres.

I understand that RIOC General Counsel Kenneth Leitner has been fired. Speculation is that the reason for this is that the Democratic Governor's office wanted their own person in that position.

Do you think it is proper to fire an experienced and well respected attorney for RIOC with great institutional knowledge merely because he was appointed by a Republican Governor many years ago? Any comment from RIOC?

Also, can you help me get a comment from the Governor's office on this matter.

To date, I have not received any response to my inquires except this from RIOC's Director of Human Resources:

The status of Mr. Leitner's employment with RIOC is a personnel matter, and is being handled as such.

There may be a perfectly reasonable and appropriate explanation for the departure of RIOC's well regarded and experienced General Counsel but if his leaving is a result of the new Democratic Governor, Andrew Cuomo, viewing Roosevelt Island as a dumping ground for political patronage jobs, then that raises serious governance issues that the RIOC Board has a responsibility to address.

Here's Ms Torres report to the Roosevelt Island Community received on May 20.

We had a couple of great events in the past week, and I wanted to thank the RIOC staff for all their hard work providing Island residents with the opportunity to get together and enjoy some fun activities. I also wanted to take this opportunity to update you on a few of these events and several ongoing projects.

Health and Fitness Day

On Saturday, May 14, we hosted the Island’s 5th annual Health and Fitness Day. The event was very well attended, no doubt due to the great activities available for the entire family, including pets. The basketball tournament proved to be extremely successful, as did the ping pong tournament and kite flying design and demonstration.

I want to congratulate all the winners of the ping-pong and basketball tournaments.

The ping pong tournament would not be possible without George Braithwaite, our very own Island celebrity. George is a remarkable man with a great history. Today he runs the Island’s ping pong club, but he is also known for being one of the players in the 1971 China ping pong diplomacy games. George is also a national ping pong champion. In recognition of his accomplishments and role in US history, we dedicated a new outdoor ping pong court in his honor. The court, which will soon feature 3 tables that will be available for your use year-round, is located in Capobianco Field, next to the playground.

I congratulate Mike Smith, Manager of Parks & Recreation, and his excellent staff on a job well done. I also want to thank RIRA and all of the volunteers who came out to ensure we have a great event, and our partners and sponsors including Zog Sports, Health First, Amalgamated Bank, Hudson Related, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Child & Parent Services at Bilingual Inc, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Coler Goldwater Hospital, William Randolph Hearst Burn Center, the Mayors Alliance, ASPCA, Department of the Aging, Manhattan Regional Representative for the New York State Comptroller, Weill Cornell Medical Center's Epilepsy Center, Pop-Chips, and the Roosevelt Island Marlins.

Public Safety Commendation Ceremony

On Friday, May 13th the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department hosted its 4th Annual Commendation/Promotion ceremony.

One of our very talented Island resident's, Lauren Abdul, kicked off the program by singing the Star Spangled Banner.

Officers Ingrid Veras, William Dentone and Rodell Lindsey were promoted to the Rank of Sergeant. Officer David Vernet was promoted to Detective.

Officers Steven Cohen and Michelle Williams were presented awards with 20 years of Service to the Roosevelt Island Community.

Other PSD Officers were recognized for their work, receiving an Excellent Service Award, Meritorious Service Award and Medal of Exceptional Merit. These commendations were given for a variety of services, ranging from an arrest involving a firearm to assisting a young girl who broke a femur bone during one of the snow storms.

A special Award of Appreciation was given to Charles Abdul for assisting the Public Safety Department in foiling a vandalism caper on the island.

Fernando Martinez, Vice President of Operations for the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, commended the Officers for the wonderful job they do. Officer Edwin Negron of the 114 Precinct Community Affairs Unit praised the department and spoke of the great relationship between the NYPD and PSD.

All in all, it was a wonderful ceremony and I thank the entire force for keeping Roosevelt Island one of the safest neighborhoods in the city.

Get Your Car Seats Checked

While they are always busy keeping our Island safe, the Public Safety Department (PSD) now also has six officers trained and certified in proper car seat installation. The officers completed the Car Safety Seat Technician course sponsored by Safe Kids and the Department of Transportation. Installations and checks will be available at the PSD Office to any resident or worker on the island from 7:00am to 11:00pm, free of charge.

Project Updates

Due to delays in the contracting process, construction on the Good Shepherd Community Center has not yet begun. The RIOC Board is voting on the contract this week. If it is approved, we anticipate the work to begin in the next few weeks and be complete in September.

The new parking meters along west drive have been installed. We are now awaiting installation of the application that will allow the meters to “communicate” with the parking spot sensors and enable motorists to identify open spots using a smart phone application.

I recently visited Southpoint Park. Construction is coming along nicely. The landscaping is starting to take shape and I can see how beautiful it will look when it’s done. We currently anticipate the park to be open at the end of July.

A version of the RIOC President's column also appears on RIOC's web site and the May 21, 2011 Main Street WIRE.