Transfer Of Roosevelt Island Land Controlled By RIOC For Cornell NYC Tech Campus Approved at RIOC Board Of Directors Meeting Last Night - But Contingent On NY State Signing Funding Memo

Image of Goldwater Hospital/Future Cornell NYC Tech Campus From Google Maps

As reported last evening:

...The RIOC Board of Directors unanimously approved the Cornell NYC Tech project about an hour ago.

However, that approval was made contingent upon NY State signing a memorandum agreeing that the net present value of NY State's 55 annual $1 million payments to RIOC, as outlined in the December 10 Deal Sheet Memo, will instead by fully paid by December 31, 2018. The Memorandum is anticipated to be signed within the next few days....

Here's what happened.

It began with a presentation by Empire State Development Corp (ESDC) attorney Lisa Lim describing the terms for the RIOC controlled land to be transferred for the Roosevelt Island Cornell NYC Tech campus



followed by a discussion of the environmental impact of project on Roosevelt Island. garbage, air quality, noise, parking, transportation etc as well as monitoring Cornell's compliance with the agreement by RIOC and NY State.



Then a discussion of the funding issues which was the stumbling block for approval by the RIOC Board. It was resolved by NY State agreeing at the last minute to make the full net present value payment of its contribution to RIOC by December 31 2018 instead of making 55 annual $1 million payments. Although NY State agreed to make full payment by 2018, they were unable to get the funding agreement signed before the RIOC Board vote which is the reason why the RIOC Board approval is contingent.



Not sure what the total value of the NY State payment is yet. 

In addition to the payment by NY State, Cornell will also annually pay RIOC Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($400,000) for 55 years, the term remaining on RIOC's lease with NYC which expires in 2068.

Finally, RIOC President Charlene Indelicato thanked the RIOC Staff, Governor's office, Ms. Lim and the volunteer RIOC Board Members for their hard work and looked to the future with Cornell as a good neighbor.



Cornell

Credit: Kilograph via Cornell NYC Tech

issued the following statement after the vote:

This agreement is a result of a very positive collaboration between RIOC, the State, the City and Cornell. It reflects the widespread recognition of the importance of this project to Roosevelt Island, New York City and New York State. We are grateful to the RIOC board for their support of the campus, and we look forward to a long and beneficial relationship with RIOC as well as with all those who reside on Roosevelt Island. We are excited to move forward to begin construction early next year and to welcome everyone to the campus beginning in 2017.

This was a fantastic job by Ms. Indelicato, her staff and the RIOC Board against great odds and very powerful interests. They deserve the thanks of the entire Roosevelt Island community for their work which resulted in an outcome much better than I or anyone else hoped or expected.

Still more to come on this. Remember it is a contingent approval until the funding is signed off by NY State.

UPDATE 12/17 - The funding memorandum was signed by both NY State and RIOC on Monday December 16.

The Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC), composed of Roosevelt Island organizations comment:

RICC was delighted with the significant contribution to our community that resulted from RIOC's negotiations with NY State and Cornell. There remain many aspects of demolition and construction that will continue to require negotiation and monitoring; however, the recognition of responsibility for the tremendous impact that Cornell's campus will have on the Island and its residents validated RICC's long advocacy.

We were honored that so many Roosevelt Islanders put their faith in us.

We are incredibly pleased with the efforts that RIOC's President, Charlene Indelicato, made to champion our community's needs. We also owe the RIOC Board members and staff a sincere debt of gratitude for their hard work and efforts. We believe this result clearly shows how much can be accomplished when we all work together for the common good.