Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Nominations Open For 2012-14 Common Council Delegates, Come Participate And Help Improve Your Community - Ellen Polivy Running For President and Jeff Escobar Vice President

Do you want to help improve life here on Roosevelt Island? Provide input on issues of importance to you and your neighbors such as Affordable Housing, Cornell NYC Tech development, Public Safety, Transportation (Red Bus,Tram, Bicycles, Ferries), Governance, Main Street Retail, Parks, Parking, Dogs and anything else you can think of?

If so, please consider representing your building area as a delegate to the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council in the upcoming November 6, 2012 elections and lending your voice and expertise to these discussions.

 Panorama Image of October 2012 RIRA Common Council Meeting From Trevre Andrews (Click to enlarge)

More information on the RIRA Common Council and RIRA election process available at the RIRA web site.

Current RIRA Vice President Ellen Polivy and RIRA Common Council Member Jeff Escobar have announced their intent to run for RIRA President and Vice President respectively. Ms Polivy reports:

Dear neighbors,

On Wednesday night I put in bid for Presidency of the RIRA Common Council and Jeff Escobar stepped up to be Vice President. Both of us have full time careers. But we have big ideas and RIRA can be a huge undertaking.

If we all work together, we can improve our community in ways that can only happen in a small, defined community such as ours with strong channels of communications. Thanks to the WIRE, the blog, the kiosks and to the RIRA Common Council we are able to get the word out to the community rapidly. Each council member need only connect with his or her building residents with moderate consistency.

Remember how Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney saved our post office? She asked us to get 3000 signatures. It took us a long time to do that but we succeeded and she had the community backing to save our post office. Our elected officials, including our elected RIOC board members need the continued mass support of the community. This helps them justify fighting for us. And mass community support gives me legitimacy when advocating for us.

Jeff and my vision for this term is to have a cadre of 5000 residents who will quickly and consistently respond on many issues of importance to the to the island so that we have strength in numbers. With such a grass roots response, our residents can become an effective and powerful political force here on Roosevelt Island, in the City and in the State. To make this happen will take a concerted effort by all the Common Council Members. Jeff and I cannot do this alone. Will you join us on the Common Council to make history?

Jeff and I look forward to working with you in November.

Both Ms. Polivy and Mr. Escobar are members of Manhattan Community Board 8 and are leading efforts to establish the Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC) to negotiate with Cornell NYC Tech on behalf of Roosevelt Island stakeholders.

Here's Ms. Polivy



and Mr. Escobar



speaking at the October 2 meeting of RICC.

Don't forget, your voice is needed as well. Please consider representing your building at RIRA.