Thursday, May 18, 2023

Congressman Jerry Nadler Meets With Roosevelt Island Residents - Discusses Local & National Issues Including January 6 Insurrection, RIOC Governance, Constituent Services & More

On Monday May 8, Congressman Jerry Nadler met with a group of Roosevelt Island residents at the apartment of long time resident, former Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board Director and former VP of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Margie Smith.

Due to recent redistricting and defeating former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney in last year's Democratic Party primary election, Jerry Nadler now represents Roosevelt Island in Congress. 

I asked several of the attending residents what they thought of the meeting with Congressman Nadler.

According to Island House Board of Director James Starance:

The hardest thing for Roosevelt Island residents to handle and accept is the lack of communication and partnership from the state of New York. It genuinely feels like taxation without representation and that hits to the core of what drove us to become a sovereign nation in the first place. 

Mr Nadler made the effort to get to know some new constituents and the meeting was a great beginning for Island residents, informing Mr. Nadler of our long history of activism and advocacy for our community. 

Being Federal representation and not State representation he vowed to assist in any way he can on the Federal level and this is important for our newer residents to understand since the State issues are between us and the State of NY. 

All in all it was a great introduction and he seemed genuinely to want to understand what makes our Island unique. 

Also, local activist and former Roosevelt Island Residents Association member Sherie Helstien reported:

Thanks to Congressman Nadler for meeting with us & listening closely to our problems with RIOC & the way our community is governmentally designed. Nadler and his staff were very aware of the governmental likeness & very important economic differences between us and our “sister” community in lower Manhattan, Battery Park City. 

I appreciated the Congressman’s listening to our comments & asking cogent questions, and, finally, offering, though it seems minor in the scope of RI issues, to look into replacing the missing Northtown mid-Main Street postal box.

 Former RIRA President Matt Katz, who helped organize the meeting with Congressman Nadler added:

I thought we accomplished our purpose for proposing the meeting. 

 Our new Congressman, Jerry Nadler, did not have much to say; not surprising given his lack of information regarding the Roosevelt Island community's politics and issues. The Island activists who came together gave him a good deal of history on our efforts to democratize the administration of the Island and he asked good questions on the basis of what we said. 

He noted that most of our issues were on the State level, not federal, which is quite true, but we mentioned some avenues where his input could be essential and where his predecessor made a difference. 

My hope is that we can build on this first get-together and establish the first name relationship we've had with all of our elected representatives. We hope that he and his staff will visit us again to take in the beauty of the Island and the amenities that distinguish us from the rest of the City.

Congressman Nadler noted:

It was my pleasure to join friends old and new on Roosevelt Island last night to hear their concerns and discuss my work in Washington to address them. 

I look forward to my continued partnership with RIOC, community leaders, and residents as we work together to support Roosevelt Islanders.

Here's video of the meeting. It began with an overview of Roosevelt Island issues by Ms Smith and Mr Katz followed by personal introductions

 

and then a Q&A about a variety of local and national issues including:

  • January 6 insurrection,
  • RIOC Governance and relationship with the community
  • Meeting with RIOC President Shelton Haynes and
  • Constituent services among other issues.

Portions of the meeting with Congressman Nadler were posted earlier this week on the Roosevelt Islander Instagram Page.

Among the Instagram comments were:

  • While I understand that not everyone who attended is present in this video . Roosevelt Island is not just an older community. I'm sad to see no younger folks represented. We bring a lot of passion and life to this community as well!
  • If us Roosevelt islanders want younger people and more variety involved? How do we do that? I would love to be part of the committee!
  • Why is only one age group representing the community and all white. Was there an open invitation or where can we get news of next meeting.

I replied on Instagram:

There were 3 African American women at the meeting including 1 RIOC Board member. 2 were speaking during this video. Good point about the age issue. I don’t think there was anyone under 50. Hopefully, future meetings will have a greater variety of residents.

and:

I wish I had an easy answer for you. There was no “committee” for the Nadler meeting. Those invited were either members of local volunteer organizations or had a history of local political activism. My advice is get involved in a local organization and meet other residents. In the past, some RI organizations were very cliquish. But I think that has changed over the last several years and young people would be welcomed. to their organizations. I was invited to cover the meeting as local press.

Congressman Nadler also met with RIOC staff and toured several Roosevelt Island facilities on May 4.

Congressman Nadler is the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

By ROOSEVELT ISLANDER at 8:40:00 PM

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