RIRA President Reports On Southpoint Park, Octagon Mortgage, Public Safety, Main Street Retail and Other Roosevelt Island Community Issues

Image of RIOC Director Kalkin and RIRA President Farance at RIRA Town Hall Meeting

RIRA President Frank Farance sends the following report to the Roosevelt Island community.

1. RIRA Town Meeting on Tuesday, December 2. Yet another very productive meeting! RIOC Board members Jonathan Kalkin and Fay Christian attended. (Other RIOC Board members had prior commitments.) Assemblymember Kellner's office was in attendance in the person of his Chief of Staff. Senator Serrano's office will attend future meetings. Approximately 30 were present. The meeting was structured around RIOC Board Agenda items, with RIOC Board members introducing each topic:

2. RIOC agenda item -- Southpoint Park: Authorization to issue a Negative Declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act; approval of the plan and project; authorization to expend funds and to enter into contracts for construction. In short, RIOC has determined that the Trust for Public Land (TPL) portion of Southpoint Park has no environmental impact. Residents asked questions about the FDR memorial project, which is unrelated to the RIOC Board agenda item. Earlier, I had asked RIOC President Steve Shane about the community's preference, as registered in the recent referendum question, for completion of the memorial park before the memorial monument. Steve said that it was impractical to complete the park first and he believed that the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (FERI) would get its necessary funding. I told Steve that, if RIOC is choosing not to do as residents wish, RIOC needs to provide a formal response about RIOC's actions, which are counter to the results of the referendum question.

3. RIOC agenda item – The Octagon: Authorization to waive the notice period and to consent to Multi- Employer Pension Trust (MEPT) Octagon LLC's financing its leasehold interest in the Octagon lease. In short, the owners of The Octagon want to take out $110 million from the development and mortgage it -- what you and I would call a home equity loan. RIOC's interest in this is that they might be able to get a recording fee of several million dollars, i.e., a piece of the action. Several residents raised concerns about whether or not this would be considered a predatory lending scenario. RIOC Board members said that the owner is contractually permitted to do this, and RIOC was merely helping to speed things up. This did not satisfy residents because the operating costs of The Octagon could exceed its operating income. Residents asked RIOC Board members, prior to agreement with owner, to confirm that this was not predatory lending.

4. RIOC agenda item -- Public Safety Contract: Authorization to enter into a contract with the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Officers Benevolent Association. Essentially, this concerns authorization to negotiate contract terms with Public Safety’s union. This led into a broad discussion of the Public Safety Department (PSD), and of the 94% vote on the RIRA referendum for a citizens review board. Residents expressed:

- PSD's budget is growing, with a large fleet of vehicles (4 patrol cars, 2 Segways, 9 bikes, a motorcycle, etc.) and a large staff -- yet we are told by PSD that we are safe and have no crime. This seems contradictory: no crime, yet more staff and more equipment. A resident from Eastwood (now Roosevelt Landings) said that one of the original reasons for PSD's creation was the lack of doorkeepers in Eastwood, and that if Eastwood were to get doormen, this might greatly reduce the need for PSD.

- PSD wants money for their own gym for their off-duty officers. Residents were upset that money was being spent and existing space taken away (e.g., portions of the Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance and the former bakery), while RIOC could better spend the money by adding equipment or hours to existing facilities, such as the Westview Pool or Sportspark.

- PSD wants more space, including space for a "holding cell". This was an emotional topic, and residents want more involvement in this discussion. Many felt that the matter escalates friction with PSD. (There were several reports of problematic encounters with PSD.) One resident whose son has allegedly suffered abuse said that PSD Director Guerra endorsed the use of extreme force with teenagers because they don't respect PSD. We'll need to hear PSD's side of the story to get the full picture.

In reaction to the 94% referendum vote favoring a citizens' review board for PSD, I reported Steve Shane's comments: RIOC will never provide a citizens' review board for PSD. This was certainly not well received by the residents. We'll need future town meetings devoted to PSD and its role on Roosevelt Island.

5. RIOC Real Estate Development Advisory Committee report: RIOC's Real Estate Committee has agreed to hire a consultant to investigate the empty store fronts. As pointed out by several residents, nothing has been done in the past 20 months of the current RIOC administration, and nothing has been done in the past five years. Residents demanded that RIOC agree to take action, not just hire another consultant. RIOC Board members said they would take these comments back to the Real Estate Committee (chaired by Charlee Miller, with members Dr. Kathie Grimm and Fay Christian). In response to the RIRA referendum question indicating a strong preference for a private developer to take over the commercial space, residents asked what RIOC was doing. My short summary of the discussion is: the Real Estate committee has not yet addressed the referendum results, but is likely to do so soon.

6. RIRA Common Council: The Council elected the following officers and committee chairs at its Wednesday night meeting: Charlie Berg, Secretary; Elizabeth Erickson, Communications chair; Margie Smith, Government Relations chair; Joyce Mincheff and Lynn Strong-Shinozaki, Housing co-chairs; Aaron Hamburger, Island Services chair; Matthew Katz, Planning chair; Ron Schuppert, Public Safety chair; Nikki Leopold, Social, Cultural, and Educational Services chair.

7. RIRA's 2009 Common Council meeting schedule: January 7, February 4, March 4, April 1, May 6, June 3, September 9, October 7, November 4, December 2 (all Wednesdays, 8:00 p.m., Good Shepherd Community Center).

8. Upcoming RIRA Town Meetings: Wednesday, January 14, and Wednesday, February 18. They will be held in advance of RIOC Board meetings. Steve Shane and I briefly discussed some areas of collaboration and cooperation, such as joint RIRARIOC sponsorship of the town meeting. I'm all for collaboration with RIOC.

You can also read the RIRA President's Report in the Main Street WIRE.

The RIRA Town Hall Meeting prior to RIOC Board of Directors meeting is an excellent idea since it allows residents to be informed of important Roosevelt Island issues before they are voted upon. (Whether or not a decision has been made on any particular issue before the vote is another question - don't know the answer to that, particularly with new Board). It may also be a great benefit to the RIOC resident Directors because it allows them to hear the community viewpoint on current Agenda items and may provide valuable information from residents with particular knowledge or expertise in the subject.

RIRA President Farance should be congratulated for initiating this idea and RIOC Board Members Kalkin, Shinozaki and Christian thanked for participating as well. I hope that the other RIOC Board members will join their fellow Roosevelt Islanders and attend future RIRA Town Hall Meetings.