Happy Birthday B!!!!!!

You Tube Video Of Jack Johnson's Better Together

Model Needed For Sunday Fashion Shoot On Roosevelt Island - It's Not Americas's Next Top Model Show, But It's A Start

Are there any aspiring fashion models on Roosevelt Island? If so, you may find this of interest. Actors Connect had the following listing for a model shoot on Roosevelt Island:

Model needed For Sunday Shoot (Roosevelt Island)

Model needed for fashion shoot on Sunday. The story for shoot is very high fashion and we will be submitting series to a magazine. However there is no budget so only credit and images from shoot. Please send two recent pictures with stats. Thank you.

Read more at: craigslist

Is Roosevelt Island becoming a popular spot for fashion shoots and models? Earlier this year, scenes from America's Next Top Model were shot on Roosevelt Island and on the tram with Nigel Barker.

You Tube Video of ANTM Roosevelt Island Tram Scene

UPDATE 3:10 PM - The NY Post has an article today about a Craigslist fashion model scam using Project Runway designer Christian Siriano's name. From the NY Post:

...Fake ads on the online classified ad service are using the "Project Runway" winner's name to recruit models -- and the designer is striking back.

Starting last February, Siriano's clothing company began receiving inquiries from modeling hopefuls that had come across the Craigslist ads, the Web site Fashionista reported...

... "There seem to be two [scams] going on. The first wanted models of a specific type and gave an address of where to go," Bianconi said. "We were concerned for safety, that's why Christian said in his Twitter 'be careful' . . . The second one seems to be money-based."...

I have no idea whether the Craigslist ad seeking a model for fashion work on Roosevelt Island is legitimate or a scam like the one described by the Post. So be advised and be careful!

UPDATE 8/9 - The photo shoot drew the attention of Public Safety Department. From 8/8/10- 8/9/10 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Report:

Photo Shoot-College students taking photos with models on west seawall near entrance of south point park for a class project. RIOC personnel notified. PSD filed a report.

Roosevelt Island Summer Outdoor Movie Presents Conspiracy Theory At Firefighters Field Saturday Night August 7

You Tube Video of Conspiracy Theory Introduction

The Roosevelt Island Outdoor Movie Series continues on Saturday, August 7, with the showing of Conspiracy Theory, an action, paranoid thriller starring Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts at Firefighters Field beginning at approximately 8:30 PM.

Roosevelt Island Summer Outdoor Movie At Firefighter's Field

The theme of this year's outdoor movie showings are films that were shot on Roosevelt Island.

Image From RIOC

Night Watch New York City Black & White Photo Exhibit By Roosevelt Island Resident Richard Bachman At Cornell Weill Art Gallery

Received this message from Roosevelt Island resident Richard Bachman:

I am pleased to announce:

The Gallery at Weill Cornell Medical Associates Present:

“Night Watch”
Photographs by Richard Bachmann

I am very excited to show this series of black and white photographs of New York City at night taken from unique vantage points throughout the city. The exhibit, consisting of several very large prints (40”x40”) of images that historically document the city while also capture its romance through the illumination and graphic patterns of its buildings and streets.

The exhibit, sponsored by WCMA, will be on display at The East Side Gallery Now through August 11, 2010.

Nightwatch Image From Bachman Studio

More Nightwatch Exhibit images at Bachman Studio. They're very good. Take a look and visit the Gallery at 211 East 80th Street.

UPDATE 8/22 - Received word that the show has been extended until at least August 30.

Health Care Jobs Available At Roosevelt Island's Coler Goldwater Hospital - Caregiver For 21 Year Old Patient & Associate Director Of Nursing

Are you interested in a job as a caregiver for a patient at Roosevelt Island's Coler Goldwater Hospital? If so, this listing from Craigslist may be of interest:

We are seeking a devoted caregiver for our twenty-one year old son who resides at Coler Nursing Facility on Roosevelt Island, NYC. If you would like to improve the quality of a young man's life while learning about traumatic brain injury, this job might very well be the right one for you. Our son was injured in a near fatal car accident in May of 2007. He could not speak for eight months. Today he can express his needs, and enjoys going outside in his wheelchair to sit by the East River. He also likes watching movies and listening to indy music.

This jobs includes: help with feeding, grooming and other ADLs as well as interpreting our son's needs to staff. Therapeutic interventions include: daily ROMs, eye therapy, proprioceptive therapy, and skin care. The relationship established between you and our son is of utmost importance. A calm, organized and flexible young person is preferred.

Hours are: 9:30 to 5:30. We will be hiring someone daily from August 28th through September 12th. We will hire someone permanently for weekends.
An interview and orientation will be conducted . Close contact with family is very important to us. Please email your resume and a short letter describing your interest and suitability to this job. Student nurses and recent graduates are most welcome to apply.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Contact information available at Craigslist.

More information on the care given to patients at Coler Goldwater Hospital is provided in this 2007 You Tube Video.



There is also a position available at Coler for an Associate Director of Nursing. Click here for more information and write Coler in the search box.

Leslie Torres Appointed As New RIOC President/CEO - Roosevelt Island Selection Process Flawed But Improving

Image of August 2010 RIOC Board Of Directors Meeting Held At Manhattan Park Community Center

As reported last night, Ms. Leslie Torres, currently DHCR Deputy Commissioner for Rent Administration, was appointed RIOC President/CEO

Image of New RIOC President Leslie Torres After Being Appointed By RIOC Board of Directors

at last evening's Special Roosevelt Island Board of Directors Meeting. ( A web cast of the meeting will soon be available here). Ms. Torres was the only candidate considered for the position at the Board meeting.

Before the meeting, questions had been asked

Image of those attending August 2010 RIOC Board Meeting

as to why other candidates were not being sought out for the position and interviewed by the RIOC Board as envisioned by legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Micah Kellner which may be signed by the Governor shortly. As stated by this reader's comment yesterday's post:

Never knew that the hiring of a RIOC president is a first-come, first-serve process. Hired on the spot w/o evaluating other potential candidates. Nice.

Former Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President and current Planning Committee Chairperson Mathew Katz spoke at the RIOC Board meeting to oppose Ms. Torres appointment as RIOC President/CEO. I asked him if he would share his reasons with those members of the community who were not able to attend the RIOC Board Meeting. Mr. Katz agreed and below are his personal comments:

This evening, the RIOC Board of Directors voted to appoint Leslie Torres as the next RIOC President and CEO. She is an excellent choice and I wish her much success in her new capacity. However, I spoke against her appointment, not because she is unqualified or because there was another candidate better suited for the job. There is legislation, passed by both houses of the State Legislature and awaiting the Governor’s signature to become law that would require this Board to interview for and to hire a new President, not just endorse the Governor’s choice. They would be obliged to interview at least three candidates and to present them to the community prior to offering employment. I urged the Board to postpone their vote until the Governor had acted on the bill, expected by the end of the month, possibly by invoking Roberts Rules of Order and tabling the motion.

I understand that the Board had a hard choice; take the path of least resistance and hire Ms. Torres, a qualified aspirant, or honor the spirit of a bill that may or may not be signed into law in the next few weeks. RIOC is likely to remain the administrator of this community for the next 58 years, until the Master Lease expires. While Ms. Torres may prove to be an excellent choice, there is no guarantee that future Governors will offer excellent future RIOC Presidents. In the 26 years RIOC has existed, the Board could have hired Presidents through their own efforts, but in fact, they never have. This legislation requires them to do so.

This summer, we learned that this Board, two-thirds of whom were chosen by election within this community, could fire a President. It is unclear whether they have the intestinal fortitude to hire one. With Ms. Torres’ appointment, we are unlikely to have another chance to empower the RIOC Board for years to come, regardless of whether Gov. Paterson signs the bill into law. As one of those who created the election process that created an elected Board, I have to wonder why we bothered.

These Board seats have finite terms and will come up for re-ratification at some point. Like any other elected official seeking reëlection, you must judge them based on their voting record. Here’s how this Board voted on this appointment: the ex officio members, Brian Lawlor, Chair and MaryBeth Labate, representing the Division of the Budget voted in favor, as did resident members Faye Christian, Kathie Grimm, Jon Kalkin, David Kraut, and Howard Polivy. Margie Smith, like me, an activist who has worked on writing the legislation and creating the RIOC Board elections, abstained, and Michael Shinozaki was not present.

Much effort has gone into the slow, incremental improvements in the long slog toward a democratic administration of Roosevelt Island. We have taken advantage of every opportunity that has come our way, even when the outcome was in question. A case in point: we were given no guarantees that the Governor would appoint a single winner in our Island-wide RIOC Board plebiscites, but we created and mounted the elections nonetheless. Currently, six of the nine members were chosen by you, the residents, through two referendums. The Board must take on the tasks, accept the additional power, make the tough decisions. This is what we expect of them. I am disappointed that they didn’t see the long-term ramifications of their hasty appointment. It would have meant so much more had they waited to act within a law that will empower them and enfranchise us.

I also spoke with RIOC resident Board Director David Kraut who voted in favor of Ms. Torres appointment and asked him for his thoughts on the process. Mr. Kraut agreed to do so as well and commented to this post:

Please, let no one doubt for a minute what huge progress was made tonight. It was gratifying beyond my ability to say, that we were in a position of entirely rejecting Ms. Torres' candidacy if she had proved or shown incompetent. Of course we did not reject her: her experience and her resumé made clear that we would be hard-pressed to find a better candidate. But if there had been the slightest indication that Ms. Torres was being "foisted" on us in any way shape or form, I hope it is clear that this RIOC Board would have vetoed her in a New York minute. And that is a huge step forward.

I spoke with Ms. Torres after the Board Meeting. She is certainly an intelligent and thoughtful person, with experience in affordable housing issues, who may very well turn out to be an excellent RIOC President/CEO but Mr. Katz is correct - the selection process the Board chose to follow was flawed. Mr. Kraut is also correct that despite the flaws in the process huge progress was made if, as he says, the Board was empowered to reject the candidacy of Ms. Torres had it chose to do so.

Image Of Ms. Torres Mingling With Residents and RIOC VP Martinez After Meeting

Ms. Torres will start her new Roosevelt Island career this Monday.

Good Luck!!!

UPDATE 3:50 PM - RIOC Director Margie Smith adds:

A couple of people have asked me to give a little more detail about why I abstained from the vote for RIOC President last night. I’m happy to do that, but I want to preface it by saying that I think Leslie Torres will make a terrific President. That’s what made abstaining more difficult than I had expected.

There are a couple of things that come into play in this. I don’t want to speak for the other board members, but I believe they all sincerely felt that we had found the right person and continuing the search would have been more for form than substance. Recognizing the important issues currently on the table at RIOC, the desire to get operations back to normal as quickly as possible, and believing they had found the right person for the position, the board members approved her appointment last night. I completely understand that decision and applaud them for doing what they believe was the right thing.

I’m coming from a different perspective and felt that I had to follow my conscience on the vote. I’ve been a member of the group that’s been fighting for 12+ years to get elected representation on the Board. The logical extension of that is for an elected board to hire a President for RIOC whom they believe is the best qualified candidate, rather than just rubber stamping a bureaucrat who is forced on them by the Governor. We accomplished that last night, but I felt we didn’t go far enough. Our new president was a recommendation from DHCR, but there was absolutely no pressure, spoken or implied, to approve that recommendation. We had complete freedom to support her nomination or turn it down. That’s a huge difference, and a giant step forward in our process. My only concern is that we didn’t go far enough with the selection process. I felt we should have opened it up to a larger population before we made a final decision.

Bottom line, enormous progress has been made in the last few years. We have elected representation on the RIOC Board, a board that’s involved and willing to take stands on issues, and a process for selecting a RIOC President in which the Board played an integral part, and which in the end, made them the final decision-makers. Is it perfect? In my opinion, not yet, but close.

I’m looking forward to working with Ms. Torres, and having lived on RI for more than 30 years, I know this community will step up as it always does and welcome her to our Island.

Welcome Leslie Torres, The New Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President/CEO

Image of New RIOC President Leslie Torres After Being Appointed By RIOC Board of Directors

Leslie Torres was appointed the new RIOC President during the August 4 2010 Special Meeting of RIOC's Board of Directors.

Image Of August RIOC Board of Directors Meeting

Congratulations to Ms. Torres on her new position.

Will have more on this in the coming days.

UPDATE 5:50 PM - Coming days have arrived. Here's more on the RIOC Board Meeting which approved Ms. Torres despite no other candidate being considered by the RIOC Directors.

RIOC Board Still Has Nothing To Say About Reasons For Former President Steve Shane's Departure - But Roosevelt Island Residents Comment On Situation

Image Of June 2010 RIOC Board Meeting

Explaining why he he was the only resident Director of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) to not sign last week's statement by the six other resident RIOC Directors to the Roosevelt Island community, RIOC Director Director David Kraut wrote:

... I just couldn't see the sense of it. We're not allowed to talk about the subject that is most on peoples' minds, so why fill up space with a laundry list of stuff the corporation was already doing anyway?

The subject that Mr. Kraut points out the RIOC Directors are not supposed to talk about is the reason for the departure/resignation/firing of former RIOC President/CEO Steve Shane. Perhaps at tonight's Special RIOC Board of Directors meeting a full and complete statement will be forthcoming, but I doubt it:

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that special meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the Manhattan Park Community Center, 8 River Road, Roosevelt Island, New York, for the purpose of transacting such business as shall come before the Board

I have been trying to obtain some meaningful comment from RIOC Board members on this subject for over a month and have received the same response - it's a personnel matter and the RIOC Board members are not permitted by law to speak about it. Here's one of several messages I have sent to RIOC Board members on the subject including this one directed at DHCR Commissioner/RIOC Chairperson Brian Lawlor

... Following the June 28 RIOC Board of Directors Meeting in which former President Steve Shane departed as President of RIOC, I asked you to comment on the situation. You replied only that Mr. Shane went on "leave, pending retirement" and had no further comment.

As of 5:00 PM today (July 1), no official explanation has been given by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. for Mr. Shane's departure as RIOC President. If the reason for Mr. Shane's departure has anything to do with the conduct of official RIOC business or RIOC governance policy, a full and complete explanation should be provided to the Roosevelt Island community by the RIOC Board. Failure to do so by this new, elected Board of Roosevelt Island residents to provide a complete rendition of the reason for Mr. Shane's departure will only engender mistrust and disappointment in the Board Directors by members of the community.

Of course if the reason for Mr. Shane's departure had nothing to do with official business or governance policy, just report that and end a controversy which will surely arise if you continue to remain quiet on this issue. Otherwise, just reveal the facts to the Roosevelt Island public.

I would like to offer you the opportunity to comment again so that members of the Roosevelt Island community can understand the reason for Mr. Shane's departure - was it a matter of official business and governance policy or was it purely a personal matter. You should be aware that I have received expressions of great shock, surprise and concern as to the reason why this occurred.

If you have already decided to make some sort of statement but plan on releasing it only to the print newspaper Main Street WIRE, I ask you to extend the same courtesy of providing an explanation to Roosevelt Island residents who receive their news online as you do to those who receive it via newspapers.

Thank you.

Never received a response from Mr. Lawlor.

I asked several Roosevelt Island residents for their thoughts and comments on the Steve Shane/RIOC Board situation. Here they are.

From Ashton Barfield:

I am neither a fan nor a foe of Steve Shane. I saw enough of him over the past three-plus years to appreciate his intelligence, knowledge, expertise, and accomplishments on our behalf. I also saw enough to be aware of some of the warts on his performance and his personality. But there are lots of things that I don’t know about his performance. Most of us don’t know them. And we would all like to know them, in view of the RIOC Board’s dissatisfaction with him.

But the Board can’t talk about Shane’s deficiencies in public – not before firing him, not after firing him. That’s standard privacy practice in personnel matters. Violating that privacy is not only morally objectionable, but can also be legally actionable. The privacy expectation doesn’t change when terminated staff talks/complains publicly about being fired -- even if it’s with exaggeration and misrepresentation (at a time when it would seem advisable to be scrupulous about one’s credibility...). The Board still can’t violate Shane’s privacy by airing their views. And he knows it, and he’s exploiting the situation.

Wait, that’s negative supposition about Shane’s motives -- and I don’t want to engage in that. One of the things that’s bugged me over the past month is all the negative supposition, and how lopsided it’s been. There hasn’t been much supposition about the possibility of genuine transgressions on Shane’s part. But there’s been plenty of negative supposition about the Board’s motives for the firing and for the silence.

The firing? Oh, that’s because they’re drunk with power, and/or pettily vindictive, and/or venal (privatization), and/or stupid/incompetent.

The silence? Oh, that’s because they’re indifferent to the electorate’s reasonable expectation of an explanation, or ashamed of what they did and/or ashamed of how they did it.

A lot of heat, not much light.

Let’s engage in a little alternative supposition. Maybe they would really like to talk about it. Maybe they’d like to have you know why they felt that Shane shouldn’t continue in his job. Maybe they’d like to be able to explain the awkwardness of the June 28 Board meeting. Maybe they feel anguished that they can’t be answerable to the community. Maybe they’re not thrilled at being caught between two competing obligations. It certainly can’t be fun having a bunch of puzzled, discouraged, frustrated, distrustful, offended, and/or angry constituents (and neighbors and friends) – not to mention being unable to plain old defend themselves. Maybe their silence is courage rather than disdain or cowardice.

I don’t know. Neither do you. And we’re not going to, about this particular situation.

But that doesn’t mean that they’re not still accountable to us. We expect a well-run, comfortable, affordable community, with transparent, responsive, effective governance by an elected board of our fellow residents and an able professional staff.

Let’s see if this Board delivers that in the future. Let’s see what they accomplish during the remaining years of their respective tenures. And let’s see whether they meet our high standards for communication, and consultation, with their constituents.

If not, we can vigorously vote for other representatives when the time comes.

For identification purposes only, Ms Barfield is the chairperson of the Roosevelt Island Resident's Association (RIRA) Government Relations Committee. The views expressed here are Ms. Barfield's and not in any official RIRA capacity. A version of this statement also appeared in the 7/31/10 Main Street WIRE.

From Steve Marcus:

There is an long list of gripes I have with Mr. Shane. I am thankful that it is water over the dam and that we have a chance to get some competent and responsive leadership that can accept the direction provided by our board - who, with the exception of David Kraut and two state appointees, is democratically elected.

Except for some of the big ticket items - 25 Miilion for a new tram, 2 million plus for astroturf, 2 million plus for a new digs for our Public Safety department that most residents find particularly unwarranted, Mr Shane has dragged his feet and was publicly at odds with the the two initiatives of most importance to both the the Board and the residents - privatization of Mitchell Lama buildings and rental of storefronts (most of Main Street's businesses have closed, their premises now shuttered, despite interest by a large number of serious potential businesses)

We are indebted to Mr. Shane for his facilitation of elections which permitted residents to elect a majority of representatives on the Board that was formerly comprised of toadies and rubber-stamps. I share Mr. Shane's sense of irony, but not his disapproval, that this board was the one to unseat him.

I am alarmed to hear that that yet another hand-picked Albany appointee is rumored to take his place. What this community needs is a competent administrator with significant experience in serving our infrastructure and real-estate needs. Government connections are also valuable and important, but should not be the primary qualification that is sought.

However, this board speaks for us, every bit as much as Micah Kellner speaks for his district or Barack Obama speaks for our nation. We may not agree with everything our elected representatives say, but this is the best system yet devised, and we have the collective opportunity to change our leaders on a regular basis

For identification purposes, Mr. Marcus is a RIRA Common Council Member. The views expressed are his and not in any official RIRA capacity.

From David Bauer:

The Board should have the responsibility to hire and fire. The Board must accept the need for their citizen-bosses to understand the reasons for the Board actions.

In a representative democracy:

the ability of the elected policy makers to have their policies carried out by the ministerial staff is important;

the need for the electorate to understand the actions of the elected policy makers is equally important — the electorate must be able to judge whether the elected policy makers properly reflect wishes of the electorate.

If administrative staff resign from a position, the reasons for such resignation may well be kept as confidential by the resigner.

BUT, if administrative staff is discharged for cause, both the staff and the electorate are entitled to a public statement identifying the cause.

If the cause given is illegal activity, the policy makers should file appropriate charges.

If the cause is discontent with the way the staff carries out the established policy, that cause needs to be clearly set forth. The policy makers, for their own protection in maintaining the confidence of the residents, or even in seeking reelection, need to be clear as to the basis for their action.

The July 3 issue of The WIRE carried the platforms of the six resident members of the RIOC Board. In essence they were— for the Island to be middle class with affordable housing, for there to be housing to care for the poor and income restricted, for tenants to be able to become owners, for stores to be rented out, for adequate green space, for affordable facilities, for a tracking system for citizen issues, for a RIOC staff that will accept direction from the Board, for restoring Tram service, for being on the forefront of new ideas for a residential community.

On which items on this list did Steve Shane, and the RIOC staff for which he was responsible, fail?

The RIOC Board members needs to clarify the reason for this surprise firing, both to maintain the confidence of the residents, and to establish some guidelines in finding a replacement.

Coming out if this stress test on Island self governance will need to be a clarification of the roles of the Governor, the DHCR Commissioner, the Board and the RIOC President as well as our representatives in the General Assembly.

For identification purposes, Mr. Bauer was a founding member of the Maple Tree Group, an organization that promoted Roosevelt Island self governance through an elected RIOC Board of Directors. As with the others, the views expressed are Mr. Bauer's and not in any official capacity. A version of Mr. Bauer's statement appeared in the 7/31/10 Main Street WIRE.

Meet RIOC President/CEO Candidate Leslie Torres At Tonight's Roosevelt Island Residents Association Town Hall Meeting - But Why Only One Candidate?

Image Of RIOC President/CEO Candidate Leslie Torres From Main Street WIRE

Here's a reminder from Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Frank Farance that a RIRA Town Hall Meeting in which Leslie Torres (DHCR Deputy Commissioner for Office of Rent Administration), a candidate for new Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President/CEO will be available to meet and answer questions from the community. From Mr. Farance:

Meet Ms. Leslie Torres, the candidate for RIOC CEO/President. RIRA will host a town meeting Tuesday, August 3, 8 PM at the Good Shepherd. We hope the community comes out to meet the candidate and ask questions. Those residents who sent me questions at rira president@rira council.org no later than NOON Monday, August 2 will have their questions forwarded to Ms. Torres and will get first priority on answers at Tuesday night's meeting.

As reported in earlier post, former DHCR Commissioner Deborah Van Amerongen described Ms. Torres as follows:

... I would like to introduce you to our newly-appointed Deputy Commissioner for Rent Administration, Leslie Torres, who is here with me today. Prior to joining DHCR, Ms. Torres was the Assistant Commissioner for Enforcement at the New York City Department of Buildings. There she managed enforcement units responsible for bringing NYC properties into compliance with the Building Code. Prior to that Leslie was the head of the NYC Loft Board, so she is very familiar with having to balance the interests of landlords and tenants...

On Wednesday, August 4 there will be a special meeting of the Roosevelt Island Board Of Directors:

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that special meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, August 4, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. at the Manhattan Park Community Center, 8 River Road, Roosevelt Island, New York, for the purpose of transacting such business as shall come before the Board.

Among the items on the Agenda under New Business is:

1. Appointment of Leslie Torres to the Position of President/Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation (Board Action Required);

Upon seeing this item Agenda, I inquired of the RIOC Board:

Do you have any comment to share with the Roosevelt Island community regarding the August 4 Special RIOC Board Meeting Agenda Item to appoint Leslie Torres as the new RIOC President/CEO, particularly why is there only one candidate being considered?

RIOC Board Director Faye Christian replied:

the agenda was worded incorrectly. We will consider or discuss Leslie Torres as a candidate.

As stated in earlier post on subject:

What happened to the idea of considering multiple candidates for the position of RIOC President/CEO? Is Assembly Member Micah Kellner's legislation, though not yet signed by the Governor, regarding RIOC governance that:

gives the public a role in the process of hiring the RIOC President—requiring the Board of Directors to consider at least three candidates for the job and to hold hearings allowing members of the public as well as Board members to interview the candidates.

to be ignored in the selection of the new RIOC President/CEO.

To my knowledge, no advertising or search committee has been formed to select a new RIOC President/CEO and as of now Ms.Torres, who may be an excellent candidate and RIOC President, is the only person being considered for the position.

I do know of at least one other person who is interested in the position of RIOC President/CEO - former RIOC Director Mark Ponton. Mr. Ponton sent the following message to DHCR Commissioner/RIOC Chairperson Brian Lawlor:

Brian:

We haven't met but I'm hoping this application changes that.

I want to apply for the position of the President of RIOC.

I'm not quite sure how the system works now or will work in the future but the recent action by the Board brought it much closer to normal corporate behavior than any time in the past so I'm assuming that the board will now form a three-person executive search committee made up solely of current members of the board. That subcommittee will then review candidates based on resumes, and from those interviews propose one or two candidates to the full board for subsequent submission to Albany, where a confirmation will take place. This will be. admittedly, a monumentally important procedural routine because it will empower the board to act like a real board does in real corporate life.

There are a couple of things which in addition to my resume and background may matter. Those are:

25+ year resident of Roosevelt Island.

Six year member of the RIOC board.

one year chair of Real Estate committee

five year chair of Operations Committee

I'm ready to talk to anyone, anytime. If you feel that's necessary.

Thanks

The June 2002 Main Street WIRE profiled Mr. Ponton upon his appointment to the RIOC Board of Directors:

... “I think my experience in business, across many lines – banking, computers, wireless and telephone communications, real estate, and office equipment – gives me insight into the soundness of any business. I know what constitutes a good and a bad deal. I am used to dealing with people at high levels and I won’t be intimidated by anyone I meet [on the Board]. This is not arrogance. That’s just the way I am. I am not awed by title, I am awed by intelligence and discipline and quality.”...

and the most recent WIRE has an article about Ms. Torres.

I have no issue with Ms. Torres proposed appointment as President/CEO of RIOC other than the selection process should include more than one qualified candidate in order to get the best possible person to fill the position.

UPDATE 5:30 PM - RIOC Director Jonathan Kalkin responds:

Ms. Torres is being considered for the position of the Presidency and I am interested to see her meet the community and answer questions tonight. Ms. Torres and other candidates have been interviewed/considered by board members.

Upcoming Events At The Roosevelt Island Public Library - Sci Fi Discussion, White Tiger Book Club, Poetry Hour, Health Care Info & Things For Kids

Image of Roosevelt Island Library From Travis

Despite it's cramped quarters, occasional water leaking from the ceiling and air conditioning problems, the Roosevelt Island Public Library is a great resource for all residents. The Librarian sends the following listing of upcoming events and activities for Adults and Children:

Adult events:

• Science Fiction Discussion- Tuesday August 3rd at 6:30 PM. Come discuss your favourite Science Fiction novels and short stories.

• Book Discussion- Thursday August 19th at 6:30 PM. The group will discuss The White Tiger by Adiga Aravind.

• Poetry Hour- Tuesday August 31st at 6:30 PM. The last Tuesday of every month we discuss another poem, free copies of the current poem are available at the library information counter.

• Knitting Circle- Tuesday at 10:00 AM. Every Tuesday the group meets to knit and talk. New comers welcome.

• Consumer choices in health care- Wednesday August 25th at 1:00 PM. Health care advice for consumers, including info on Epic Medicare prescriptions.

Children's Events:

• Reading Aloud - daily at the library from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. The activity only takes place when we have kids on hand who would like to be read to - please ask at the Circulation Desk if you would like to do Reading Aloud on any given day. Kids of all ages.

• Book Bingo - Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. (So a combination Reading Aloud-Book Bingo trip on Thursdays might be something you'd like to consider.) Kids 5 to 12 years old.

• Picture Book Bingo/Story Time - Wednesdays at 10:30/11:00 at the old Island Kids location. Toddlers to Pre-K.

Special Event

• Mad Science “Big Top Show” - Wednesday, September 1 at 4:00 p.m. Step into our three rings of fun as we present a series of chemistry and physics demos that explain how a bed of nails can provide a great night’s sleep or how important balance can be to a tight rope walker. You’ll be amazed as we hatch our super secret “Snooberfish” eggs and take an amazing high dive that won’t make a splash! When it comes to fun science we provide the greatest show on earth! For ages 5 and older.

More information about these and other Roosevelt Island Public Library events is available here.

There is a possibility that the library may one day take over the much larger space at 504 Main Street. Wouldn't that be great!