Image of December 2010 RIRA Common Council Meeting
The monthly Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council meeting held on December 1 began with Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) CFO Steve Chironis presenting RIOC's
proposed fiscal year 2011 - 2012 budget.
Nothing new from previous discussions regarding the budget was revealed but it was good to see many of the new Common Council members had reviewed at least portions of the proposed budget and were prepared with questions for Mr. Chironis that he ably answered.
Image of RIOC CFO Discussing RIOC 2011-12 Fiscal Year Budget At December RIRA Meeting
Approval of the proposed fiscal year 2011 - 2012 budget is on the Agenda for the
December 15 RIOC Board of Directors Meeting.
More on RIOC's Proposed 2011-2012 Budget
here and
here.
After Mr. Chironis spoke during the Public Session, Roosevelt Island Community Literary Associates (RICLA) representative Janet Falk spoke to the Common Council members regarding her attempt to bring Roosevelt Island organizations under a common insurance umbrella and urged those interested in participating to contact her.
RIRA President Mathew Katz
Image Of RIRA President Katz (center), VP Polivy (left), Secretary Helstein (right) & RIOC's Chironis (standing) at December RIRA Meeting
then delivered his RIRA President's Report to the Common Council.
RIRA President’s Report – December 1, 2010
1. We have put together some of the basic Council materials to help us in our work. The Contact sheet has been forwarded to you and please let Sherie know if there are any errors. She has prepared table tent cards for each of us to display here tonight and please return them to Sherie at the end of the meeting. Vini Fortuna has created an Attendance sheet that is available on a Google website and I’ve forwarded the link to everyone. Also, you will see that all the 2011 Common Council dates are listed on tonight’s agenda, so please put them on your calendars. I’ve brought extra wall calendars as well should you need one.
2. We’ve been asked to convene our next Common Council meeting on January 5 at the Sportspark gym, 250 Main Street. We were asked to do this because RIOC is conducting asbestos abatement at the Good Shepherd Community Center during the first week of January. I’ve been assured that sufficient tables, chairs and heat will be provided for our needs.
3. I attended the ceremony to mark the reopening of the Tram yesterday. It was truly a gala affair with considerable coverage by the media including the BBC and French television. Some of you may have seen Dave Evans on an ABC broadcast expounding on the Tram and I got my licks in on NY1. By the way, I was interviewed by The New York Times on Monday about the community’s perception of the Tram, and that story appeared in today’s New York section.
4. Today marked the first session of RIOC open office hours. There will be a RIOC representative available every Wednesday between 3 and 5 p.m. at their 591 Main Street office. I met with Community Liaison, Erica Wilder, who will be the point person for this program. The Main Street WIRE and the Roosevelt Islander blog will broadcast this information and I’ve asked RIOC to do the same. The project will continue only if it is utilized and I hope that the community will recognize this opportunity and take advantage of it. The RIRA Common Council should lead the way and I urge you to drop in and introduce yourselves to Erica, a very nice young woman who, among other things, created the Fall for Arts program on Roosevelt Island.
5. During the last Common Council,Vice President, Ellen Polivy, brought the issue of hydrofracking to our attention. This is the practice of using water mixed with toxic chemicals to release natural gas from shale and is threatening the aquifer that supplies New York City’s drinking water. Yesterday, the State Assembly passed a bill previously endorsed by the Senate that now awaits the Governor’s signature. This bill will suspend permitting of hydrofracking in New York State until May of 2011. I know that Community Board 8 has come out against this practice and I hope Ellen will continue to keep us informed.
6. I’ve suggested to the resident RIOC Board Directors that it would serve the community well should they meet occasionally with the residents. While we do have an opportunity to speak to them at the RIOC Board meetings, those are formal affairs at 5:30 in the afternoon, with video coverage, RIOC executives and the DHCR Commissioner in attendance. It might be more comfortable for us to schedule informal get-togethers at a more convenient time. Lynne Shinozaki has suggested that RIRA start the ball rolling by offering a sit-down over coffee or drinks at one of our Island watering holes. I’ll ask if they’re interested at the December 15 Board meeting and let you know.
7. Our primary goal this evening is to elect the chairs of our seven primary committees. Remember, every Delegate is required to serve on at least one committee. Chairs must convene at least three meetings over the course of a year, but the number will be dependent upon the issues and programs each committee undertakes. And as always, I will require written reports of committee meetings by the Friday before Common Council unless the meeting is held after the mailing deadline or late- breaking news needs to be shared verbally. And in January, we will elect a chair of the Public Purpose Fund Committee, the RIRA group charged with allocating $100,000 among those Island groups requesting financial help.
8. And finally, I urge you all to go out and find a virgin to sacrifice some time before December 21 to insure that the Winter Solstice will guarantee that days begin to lengthen once again. Seriously, Sherie and I lit the first Chanukah candle this evening and, as we begin this month of celebrations, we wish you a Happy Chanukah, a Merry Christmas, a good Kwanzaa and a healthy and prosperous New Year. Together, I know we’re going to do great things for Roosevelt Island in 2011.
The remaining portions of the meeting were devoted to nominating, voting and appointing the chairperson(s) of the various RIRA committees. Former RIRA President Frank Farance was voted Chair of the Planning Committee, a position formerly held by Mr. Katz. Essentially, the result of the
2010 RIRA Presidential election was a switch of positions between Mr. Farance and Mr. Katz - both now holding positions formerly held by the other.
The RIRA President"s Report delivered to the Common Council and included above is different than the
RIRA President's Report which had previously been appearing in this blog (since
February 2009) during the tenure of Frank Farance and once during
Mr. Katz's current term as well as in our local print newspaper, The Main Street WIRE. The RIRA President's column as well as the RIOC President's column (which has been appearing in this blog since
April 2009) had been appearing only in the print newspaper (
and it's online version) before the establishment of this Blog.
The RIRA President's Report to the public may no longer be appearing in this blog. At the direction of the Main Street WIRE Editor, Mr. Katz has decided to allow that Editor to set the terms and conditions for how the RIRA President's Column may appear on the Roosevelt Islander Blog. According to the Editor, only a small snippet of the RIRA President's text may appear in the blog with a link to the WIRE's online version for the complete column. That is unacceptable to me. I had previously been publishing the entire column as well as linking back to the WIRE and will not publish the RIRA President's column unless it is whole and complete. If any of you wish to read Mr. Katz's RIRA President's column, it will only be in the print version of the WIRE as well as it's
online version unless Mr. Katz changes his mind and allows me to post the entire version of the column - which I am happy to do.
The Main Street WIRE editor also tried to persuade Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (
RIOC) President Leslie Torres to stop sending the
RIOC President's column in full to this blog but, again, only provide a snippet with a link to the full article in the WIRE. Unlike Mr. Katz, Ms. Torres refused to comply with the Editor's request. Ms. Torres told me that she will continue to provide her column in full to the Roosevelt Islander Blog. However, yesterday I learned from Ms. Torres that she will delay sending her column to this blog to comply with the WIRE's production and weekend distribution schedule. I had previously received her columns on Wednesday and usually posted them on Thursday's. Ms Torres now tells me that she will send the RIOC column to the Blog on Friday afternoon although I think and hope she is open to sending her column out earlier.
That's a brief summary of the nonsense that has been going on for the last month in Roosevelt Island media land. I have offered both Mr. Katz (who is listed as the circulation manager on the WIRE's masthead) and the Main Street WIRE Editor the opportunity to present their views on this ridiculous situation. To date they have not responded but will post any reply they have on topic if they wish.
UPDATE 9:45 PM - Clarification - Both Mr. Katz and the Editor have presented their views on this issue in several email messages between the three of us but they have declined my request for permission to post their messages.
