NY Post Reports Roosevelt Island Operating Corp President Fired For Racially And Sexually Offensive Language After Complaint Made By RIOC Employee To Governor's Office

This evening, I asked Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Information Officer Terrence McCauley:

Has there been any change in Susan Rosenthal’s status as RIOC President?

Have not received any response from Mr McCauley but received this statement from Ms Rosenthal:

Please be advised that all communications regarding RIOC matters should be directed to Shelton Haynes, shelton.haynes@rioc.ny.gov.

The NY Post reported a few hours later:

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. head fired over 'racially and sexually offensive' remarks https://t.co/pliNM82cc9 pic.twitter.com/NVZmjnu0Qu

— New York Post (@nypost) June 20, 2020

Stay tuned for more.

UPDATE 6/20 - Statement from Rich Azzopardi, Senior advisor to NY Governor Andrew Cuomo:

A complaint was made to the Governor’s office and others on June 12th by an employee of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation that alleged that the President of the organization had u‎sed inappropriate language and engaged in inappropriate conduct in the workplace.

This complaint was immediately referred to the New York State Governor’s Office of Employee Relations for investigation. This investigation substantiated that the President had used racially and sexually offensive language, in clear violation of State policy and the strict standards set by this Administration. The President was Immediately terminated.

UPDATE 6/21 - Roosevelt Island NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright comments on firing of Ms.Rosenthal:

The top priority must be to ensure the continuity of operations and services for the residents of Roosevelt Island during these most challenging times. We will look to the new leadership of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation for such assurances plus regular and transparent communication going forward.

UPDATE 2:15 PM - Roosevelt Island real estate developer (Southtown Riverwalk Buildings and Shops On Main Street) David Kramer of Hudson Related adds:

Susan was the best President RIOC’s had in the 24 years I’ve been involved on the island. But your reader’s shouldn’t conclude that means she was a shill for real estate developers.

She could be very tough on us, bullying us to agree to all sorts of concessions. But I liked working with her because she was fair, thoughtful and communicative. She asked the right questions.

She also cursed like a sailor and had a “tough broad” persona at times that obviously got her in trouble. But she always wanted the best for the island, and she’ll be missed.

UPDATE 5:45 PM - Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Interim President David Lawson comments:

RIRA has entertained a very constructive and productive working relationships with RIOC under Susan Rosenthal.

We hope that her departure will not affect the progress made and significant results achieved on Roosevelt Island under her leadership.

While RIRA fully supports a 0-tolerance for the use of inappropriate racial and sexual language, behaviours or biases, and we condemn any such actions at all times under any circumstances, we cannot comment on the particulars, which remain unknown to RIRA.

RIRA never experienced any such inappropriate language, action or gender or racial bias with Susan Rosenthal. On the contrary, Susan Rosenthal has been a fervent advocate of gender equality and diversity, in words and actions. She recruited African American in RIOC senior positions. We were planning activities with RIOC to promote diversity, racial equality and equity in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. She supported the peaceful demonstration that was organized on RI a couple of weeks ago.

We trust that this decision by Governor Cuomo will also be followed-up on and lead to greater diversity and gender balance on the RIOC board in the future, as it currently very much lacks both.

UPDATE 6/22 - Ms Rosenthal also had critics of her tenure as RIOC President. According to RIRA member and community activist Frank Farance:

Susan Rosenthal's tenure at RIOC is undistinguished among other RIOC Presidents: on average 3.5 years. Her legacy is defined by:

- Purposeful destruction of the Island's oldest and largest institution (Roosevelt Island Youth Program);
- Wasteful creation of a Youth Department that is unpopular and unused; gratuitous hostility towards the Cat Sanctuary (Roosevelt Island's biggest protest); again gratuitous hostility towards the Cat Sanctuary (seeking to unnecessarily demolish wildlife);
- Incompetence towards water quality (foot-dragging on investigating water contamination in children's drinking fountains) and water infrastructure (lack of backflow preventers that cause water supply contamination);
- Hostility towards affordable housing (foot-dragging on Westview privatization);
- Incompetence towards affordable housing (Southtown #8);
- Willful ignorance of RIOC's financial issues that affect the Island (billion dollar debt that RIOC owes); and
- Perhaps her most spectacular failure: putting the community at risk by allowing the 2019 Cherry Blossom Festival regardless of known severe and dangerous overcrowding issues well before the event (as FOIL records show).

Prior RIOC Presidents actually had CEO experience, but Ms. Rosenthal had no executive experience as evidenced by outsourcing the RIOC's executive function under the rubric "Owners Representative". The executive RIOC staff lack the basic competence to do their jobs - a kind of executive level incompetence that would be unacceptable in any incorporated village throughout the State because an incorporated village has elected positions, i.e., an electorate would never accept the kinds of incompetence in RIOC staff. Hopefully Governor Cuomo will find a replacement that actually knows what he/she is supposed to do."