Please Cast Your Roosevelt Island Vote In Tuesday's RIOC Board Nominee and RIRA Common Council Election - Show Governor Cuomo That We Care About Local Representation

In addition to the Presidential election being held on Tuesday November 6, local elections for Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board Nominees and Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council Members will also be held. According to RIRA:

On November 6, 2012, Roosevelt Islanders will go to the polls to elect resident representatives for President and Vice-President of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) and individual building members of RIRA's Common Council.

In a continuing effort to bring democratic governance to Roosevelt Island, three nominees for appointment to the Board of Directors of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) will also be elected on November 6, 2012.

Who is eligible to vote in the RIRA and RIOC elections?
People who are 18 years and older and who live in residential housing on Roosevelt Island.

Where do I vote in the RIRA and RIOC elections?
Polls are open 6am to 9pm at three sites:
* Southtown residents vote at 455 Main St. (lobby)
* Westview, Island House, Rivercross, Roosevelt Landings and Manhattan Park residents vote at PS/IS 217 (front hallway)
* Octagon residents vote at the Octagon (art gallery, ground floor)...

More information explaining what RIOC Board Directors do for Roosevelt Island here.

Here is a list of candidates provided by RIRA:

RIOC:

Larry Parnes
Michael Shinozaki
Margie Smith
Lydia Tang

RIRA President:

Ellen Polivy

RIRA Vice President:

Jeffrey Escobar
Sharon (Nneka) Pope

Island House

Helen Chirivas
Frank Farance
Russell Fields

Manhattan Park

Barbara Allen
Michael Churchill
Arnold Cohen
Julina Hooks
Mark Lyon
Bryn Bass McCleary
Ilonka Salisbury
Lynne Shinozaki
Joseph Strong

MP - 2 River Road

Steven Heller

MP - 4 River Road

Jim Bates

Octagon

Jeffrey Escobar
Elisabeth Stapen
Nicole Walden

Rivercross

Ellen Polivy
Sharon (Nneka) Pope
Ethel Romm

Roosevelt Landings

Cynthia Ahn
Laila Amatullah
Juyana Armstrong
Ahmad (Bob) Darwish
Vivian Hines
Linda Maynard-Hall
Joyce Mincheff
Romano Reid
Lorraine Williams

RL - 546 Main

Dolores Green

Southtown

Trevre Andrews
Eva Bosbach
Peter Digilio
David Evans
Aaron Hamburger
George Ohring
Mickey Rindler
Mona Sen

Westview

Erin Feely-Nahem
Susan Marcus

Last Saturday afternoon, RIRA sponsored a Meet The Candidate Session for RIOC Board Nominees and RIRA President and Vice President. Ellen Polivy is running unopposed for RIRA President. Jeffrey Escobar and Sharon Pope are running for RIRA Vice President. Of the four candidates for the three expired RIOC Director seats, Margie Smith and Larry Parness attended the Meet The Candidate Session. Michael Shinozaki and Lydia Tang were not able to attend the Session.

Here's an excerpt of the Meet The Candidate Session.



For whatever it is worth, I would recommend voting for current RIOC Board Directors Margie Smith and Michael Shinozaki to continue as RIOC Board Members. They have both demonstrated great knowledge of Roosevelt Island issues and a willingness to be effective, independent overseers of RIOC policy and RIOC staff.

Here's an excerpt from Ms. Smith at Saturday's Candidate Session.



I do not have any recommendation for the third RIOC Board Nominee between Mr. Parness and Ms. Tang because I don't know either of them well enough. Also, no recommendation on RIRA President or Vice President. Those running are all fine people willing to volunteer their time to improve our community.

Mr. Parness explains that it is important to vote in the RIOC Board Nominee Election and RIRA Common Council Election because it shows Governor Cuomo that Roosevelt Islanders care about local representation.



Below are statements submitted by several RIOC Board Nominee and RIRA Common Council candidates. From Lydia Tang:

My name is Lydia Tang and I've lived on Roosevelt Island for 18 years. I raised my three children, all educated at the Roosevelt Island School, PS/IS 217.

I am running for the RIOC Board of Directors because I want to contribute my time and expertise to a community I hold dear.

I have graduate and undergraduate degrees in Operations Research from Columbia University's School of Engineering and Applied Science. I know how to work with large and small organizations to maximize efficiency. I've used my training both professionally and as a volunteer for the Roosevelt Island community.
Professionally, I worked for major financial institutions for ten years. I spent most of those years working in areas such as productivity management, business planning and different financial risk management areas. Using my training and experience as a computer scientist, I functioned as an internal consultant with both line and staff managers. I organized information and created and implemented algorithms that allowed senior management to improve the efficiency of their departments by making knowledgeable and cost effective decisions. I worked with high level management both nationally and internationally, and l interacted with managers from the Trading Floor, Operations, IT, HR, Legal, etc.

For 15 years, I have been a college math professor, sharing my business experience with college students. In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I've worked in the community teaching math test preparation for the specialized NYC high schools admissions test and the SAT examinations. I also serve as a judge for the NYC High School Math Fairs.

I have been an active volunteer in Roosevelt Island community organizations, using my business and academic experience to improve the life of Roosevelt Island residents. I served as Treasurer of my building's tenants association, as President and Treasurer of the Roosevelt Island School's Parent Teacher Association and was co-chair of the 2012 Cherry Blossom Festival. Currently I serve as Library Advocate, acting as liaison between the local NYPL branch, elected officials and RIOC. I am actively involved in the Cornell Tech NYC Community Coalition, supporting employment opportunities for Roosevelt Island residents. I have a special place in my heart for the Roosevelt Island School, as well as the various greening programs of Roosevelt Island, especially the Living Library.

Roosevelt Island is my home and I want to make it the best home possible using my education, professional experience and contacts in the Roosevelt Island organizations.

I urge all Roosevelt Island residents to vote in these elections, especially the international and newly of age populations.

From Sharon Pope:

Please Vote Pope
Vice President 2012 Roosevelt Island Residents Association
RIRA Council Member
36 year Roosevelt Island Resident
Former RIRA President & Vice President
Public Member Manhattan Community Board 8
Commitment to ethical values, social justice and environmental stewardship
Expertise in constituent advocacy, consensus building and compassionate communication techniques

A long-time resident, advocate and staunch supporter of Roosevelt Island, Sharon Pope is dedicated to mobilizing community engagement and participating in civic service. She is an urbanist with public participation outreach and professional urban planning experience. She will ensure that your voice is heard in all matters that impact you.

With a strong ability and willingness to communicate and work collaboratively across gender, income, racial and political strata, Ms. Pope, a Democrat was first recommended by a Republican Council Member for appointment to Manhattan Community Board 8. Manhattan Community Board 8’s district encompasses the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island. Community Board members are appointed by the Borough President and make recommendations to government agencies about matters affecting the district including quality of life issues, land use and zoning, the budget and service delivery. She served several years as a full Board Member.    During her tenure on the Board 8, she chaired the Housing Committee, where she tackled issues ranging from rent control/rent stabilization to tenant harassment and housing discrimination of elderly women.    Under her leadership, the Housing Committee convened several well-attended town hall forums on a variety of housing issues including:
• property insurance
•  emergency preparedness
• homelessness
•  inclusionary zoning and its impact on affordable housing
•  Rent Guidelines Board

The Housing Committee also organized a district-wide housing clinic. The clinic was staffed with a team of rental, cooperative and condominium housing experts. One-on- one advice was provided to help residents, whether renter, shareholder or owner, with housing concerns and resolve housing issues.

She represented Board 8 as a member of the Community Advisory Board of the Metropolitan Hospital Center, a Health and Hospitals Corporation hospital in East Harlem. Sharon has served on the Community Advisory Board of Lenox Hill Hospital, an Upper East Side hospital.

Currently she is a Public Member of Board 8.

Ms. Pope is a former President of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association. She led the organization through a severely difficult period of fiscal cut-backs and unresponsive Roosevelt Island management. She advocated for increased community input in Roosevelt Island development proposals, including organizing and leading protest. She is also a former President of the Island House Building Committee and former Eastwood (Roosevelt Landings) RIRA Council Member.

She is an active member of the New York Society of Ethical Culture, completing its Lay Leadership training program. She has served as a facilitator for its movie and discussion series, Ethics In Films. This series explores ethical issues raised in various films. With a strong interest in social media, she is an assistant organizer of the Society’s Meetup group.

After graduation from Morgan State University, Ms. Pope was employed as a financial auditor specializing in the capital market sectors. She has since redirected her career path focusing on her twin passions; advocacy and planning. She is a former Environmental Planner. She reviewed City Environmental Quality Review applications to identify potentially adverse environmental impacts of projects, assessed their significance and proposed measures to eliminate or mitigate significant impacts.

Ms. Pope is a volunteer with Civitas, a community-based planning organization advocating for improved land use, zoning, and transportation for the Upper East Side and East Harlem. She researches and writes urban affairs articles for Civitas and has written extensively about the East River Esplanade from 96th Street to 125th Street, Upper East Side and East Harlem. She helped to draw attention to the deteriorating conditions of the East River Esplanade including bulkhead breaches, sink holes, and buckling sidewalks, advocating for significant capital investments to repair the esplanade’s infrastructure. Sharon Pope has also written about how the Upper East Side’s air quality is impacted by the release of particulate matter when #6 heating oil is used in boilers. She also participates as a member of Civitas’ Land Use and Zoning Committee.

She can be reached via Linkedin at http://www.linkedin.com/in/spopeny

From Bryn Bass McCleary:

My name is Bryn Bass McCleary. I am running for Manhattan Park RIRA Common Council. I am interested in working with college representatives, politicians and local volunteers to improve our transportation situation as the population increases with the college, most especially to open ferry service and a pier for speed boats, both to increase accessibility for emergency evacuation of the island, commuters and tourism.

UPDATE 10/5 - From Jeffrey Escobar:

My fellow Roosevelt Islanders: I stand before you today with the hope that I may serve as your next RIRA Vice-President. Together, with my running mate and your next RIRA President, Ellen Polivy, we hope to realize what RIRA should mean to the residents of the Island: Community. Communication. Advocacy. Looking forward, and with your help, it is my personal hope that we can also help RIRA be known in the community at large as a home of Innovation; an advocate for Accountability; and place of Acceptance. Will you come on this journey with us?

For those of you who I have not had yet the privilege of introducing myself: my wife and I are original residents of the Octagon, raising our soon-to-be two-year-old daughter along with our two dogs on this wonderful rock we call home.

For the last two years, I have had the privilege and honor of advocating and working on your behalf together with Ellen – as two of the four appointed Roosevelt Island appointees backed and vetted by City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin’s office and appointed by the Manhattan Borough President’s Office to Manhattan Community Board 8 – on a number of initiatives aimed at improving Island life, including the inclusion of easily accessible access points for Roosevelt Islanders to the city-wide bike share program, the fortification of our waterfront under the City’s waterway initiative including commitment to bring ferry service to the second expansion of the East Side Ferry service, and ensuring the saving our Island’s Beacon Program Center.

During this past term, as RIRA Common Council Representative for the Octagon, I have also been able to utilize my professional training and background as a construction, land use and development attorney for the law firm Proskauer LLP, one of the top law firms in the country, to advise RIRA on the current and innovative methods communities such as Roosevelt Island have been successfully able to use to ensure that a community receives long term benefits and programs from development projects such as the Cornell NYC Tech, as well as to navigate the City’s land review process as the Project marches to City Council for approval.

Due to such background and advice, I along with Ellen and other community leaders have successfully formed the Roosevelt Island Community Coalition, a coalition of over 30+ Island community groups, educational and religious institutions and stakeholders – including RIRA – to represent the interests and concerns of the Island as it looks towards the shared future of our Island with the future Cornell campus, to which I now serve as legal counsel. Together with your voices during the first public hearing regarding the Project, we were able to persuade Cornell NYC Tech to consider barging their construction materials and debris on and off the Island and not use the helix to bear heavy weight loads, an option that had previously been off the table for Cornell NYC Tech.

The next two years will prove to be both an exciting and trying time for the Island. A 1.8 million square foot graduate school will start demolition and construction to the South, the final three new residential towers of Hudson/Related will come to fruition and the improvements to the Main Street retail corridor will be in full swing. As our population begins to boom and our resources tested, leaders with a strong sense of vision, community conviction, energy to follow through, willingness to compromise and openness to innovation must lead. I have heard this call and wish to continue to be the advocate for our Island, using my professional training, background, relationships and knowledge to ensure that our voices do not get lost amidst the hammers, shovels and trucks that the next two years will entail.

Furthermore, it is my strong belief that a greater sense of community and integral social bonds must be built between the residents to the North, the South and of the Wire buildings. Through consistent Island-wide events and community gatherings, we can ensure that the lives of our population rich with personal talents, histories, and socio and economic backgrounds will be interwoven. More community opportunities for our Island children to be engaged and to learn such as Christina Delfico’s idig2learn community garden program must also be sponsored. Community concerns regarding safety on the Island and proper communication of Island occurrences, as well as timely emergency responses, must be addressed.

None of this, however, can be accomplished without a strong elected body, led with a strong sense of professionalism and ethic, with a willingness to embrace innovative ways of doing thing; whose vision for the future is with one foot firmly rooted in our Island way of life with the other foot stepping forward. I firmly believe that I can help lead the way and ask for your support as your RIRA Vice-President.