Roosevelt Island Residents Ask Where Are RIOC Senior Managers & Supervisors - Acting President Haynes Responds Saying RIOC Following NY State Pandemic Guidelines And Outlines Operations During Coronavirus Shutdown
Some residents have been asking when will the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) return to full staffing as the NY State Covid-19 re-start continues.
One of those residents is Judy Berdy, the President of Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS) and community activist. Ms Berdy reports:
To our long lost staff from RIOC:I asked RIOC Acting President Shelton Haynes if he wished to reply. According to Mr. Haynes:
Where, oh where are the bosses?
It is rare to see any managers at RIOC. Tram Manager Armando and Bus Czar Cy are exempt from this inquiry, because they have been here all or most of the time.
The Tram, Public Safety, Grounds, Maintenance, Bus Drivers and service workers are here what seems to be 100% of the time.
Where are RIOC's Island-based supervisors & managers?
Looks like they are Ducking & Covering from home. It has been almost 6 months since we had serious on-site management.
The 50% rule is being over-used as an excuse to stay away. The RIOC offices are large and spread apart. It is time for all the managers, supervisors, lawyers, financial staff, community relations, and all the rest to come back to work safely on-site here on Roosevelt Island. Many folks are still trying to figure out how Public Safety can be effectively run from home?
Many of our the Island's workers are essential, but some of the superiors are not, so maybe we have too many bosses? How can we miss you and see the great work if you are not here?
I am at Coler frequently, The staff is there, serving their community with great dedication. They are essential, must be there and have been there the entire time. There is no working from home for hospital workers.
If you have a valid reason, then stay home and enjoy teaching your kids their schoolwork!!! Otherwise, please show up.
First, I would like to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to respond. As for Judy’s post, I would like to provide some clarity, as her comments regarding RIOC staff are inaccurate.
Due to the current Pandemic, RIOC has taken lead in prioritizing the health and safety of our staff, ensuring that we provide safe working spaces for everyone. Under the Governor’s New York Forward guidelines, and with the exception of essential employees, Corporations such as RIOC, are advised to perform at a 50% capacity to align with the safety standards. This has significantly decreased our 136 staff to 86 staff working onsite. We have met and exceeded every target under the New York Forward guidelines, doing more with less, limiting spending and working with staff vacancies due to the mandated statewide hiring freeze for state agencies. In compliance with NY Forward, Plexiglas partitions have been installed and retrofitted at all workstations in all RIOC offices.
I would also like to shed some light on our overall operations since the beginning of NY on PAUSE:
Here are some of the RIOC staff working during the Pandemic.
- The Executive team (myself, CFO John O’Reilly, General Counsel Gretchen Robinson, and AVP of Operations Altheria Jackson) have been both on the island and working remotely, to review and implement safety plans in line with the Governor’s directives, and for ensuring the health and safety of staff and residents alike; while also maintaining the daily operations and business of the Corporation.
- Grounds, Facilities, Human Resources, Transportation, and the Public Safety Department have all been on the island throughout the pandemic, including each department’s leadership: Directors Mathew Kibby (Grounds), Alvaro Santamaria (Facilities), Tajuna Sharpe (Human Resources), Cy Opperman (Transportation), and Kevin Brown along with Deputy Director Anthony Amorosso (PSD).
- All our essential staff/services (Buses, Public Safety, Grounds, Information Technology, Human Resources, Youth Center, and Facilities teams) worked throughout the pandemic and are still present on the island.
- Teams working remotely: Legal, Finance, Organizational Efficiency & Special Projects
- The Legal Department has functioned seamlessly throughout the pandemic in coordinating board meetings, committee meetings, and drafting and reviewing all pertinent legal documents required for contract execution, and all other necessary business of the Corporation. In fact, business has never been busier.
- The Finance team has met every target; all reports have been completed on time, bills and invoices processed promptly, and procurement processed in alignment with state regulations.
- Our Organizational Efficiency & Special Projects team has reached out to all community organizations to review and approve all safety plans that are required by the State under NY Forward to ensure that all organizational programs re-open safely. In addition, this department continues to map all RIOC processes and procedures to align with best practices.
- The IT department has been instrumental in providing the infrastructure for our employees working remotely and has updated software to improve work processes.
- The HR team has met all departmental goals and deliverables, with employee training and support throughout the pandemic. This department has also served as a vital department for employees and their families in coping with the pandemic crisis and its aftermath.
- Our Sportspark Staff have been repurposed to manage weekly operations, including managing the pool, the tennis courts, and the permitting process for RIOC-managed properties.
- The Youth Center (YC) team worked remotely during NY on Pause, creating health and safety guidelines, as well as emergency procedures to operate during this pandemic. Staff received youth development, and safety & risk management training; also meeting virtually daily, via Zoom, to review programming plans to ensure that social distancing guidelines were applied. We had a successful summer. Please see link of the slideshow that recaps the YC Summer Day Camp Program: rioc.ny.gov/538
- The Communications & Community Affairs team has improved RIOC’s communications efforts significantly, by enhancing our social media presence (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), while also re-producing a newsletter, improving the RIOC website, and increasing the frequency of our overall communications engagement.
- Capital Planning and Projects has been onsite since NY on PAUSE and continues operations in the oversight of all of our public health and safety construction projects (there are currently 5 major projects in various stages of completion). Other construction projects that were initially deemed non-essential have begun to come back online. As mentioned in our newsletter, our capital projects have been reassessed with restrictions due to the pandemic, re-establishing goals and timelines to ensure that our projects are completed on time, and in accordance with state guidelines.
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