Roosevelt Island resident and iDig2Learn founder Christina Delfico reports:
Greetings from iDig2Learn,
Well the trees love the rain, so that is good.
WEATHER UPDATES:
Due to rain predicted mid day for SAT OCT 14th, City of Forest Day WILL continue Saturday with 11 AM Tree Care at Lighthouse Park. However, the Art and Dance activities will MOVE INDOORS to Good Shepherd Church Community Center, 543 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY 10044. This event is free.
11 AM - Compost activity for tree care with Big Reuse will continue outdoors at 11am at Lighthouse Park, 910 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY 10044.
12:30 PM - Create hats with Artist George Krassas & Coler friends using reclaimed paint (Good Shepherd, downstairs)
2 - 2:45 PM - Enjoy a mesmerizing dance performance of "Plastic Harvest" and "Arbor" by Jody Sperling's Time Lapse Dance ensemble with six dancers (Good Shepherd, upstairs).
Saturday's scheduled Plogging Activity is cancelled.
You can join the Plogging Club activity at their weekly meetup every Sunday 2-4 PM at the Good Shepherd Plaza's bell.
Stay tuned and follow IG:@idig2learn for upcoming events like the 11/4 Great Pumpkin Event and 11/11 Stop N' Swap in November.
Though not named as defendants in the lawsuit, Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson
claim in their lawsuit that NY State Senator
Liz Krueger,
NY State Assembly Member
Rebecca Seawright
and
Roosevelt Island Daily
publisher David Stone contributed to a "racist backlash" against them.
The lawsuit also claims that Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson were excluded from
the appointment process of 3 new RIOC Board Members in an attempt to
undermine their authority and "ability to discharge their job functions."
Haynes and Robinson claim the 3 new RIOC board members are antagonistic to
them.
This is a case about how the Executive Chamber for the Office of the Governor
of New York (the “Chamber”) and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
(“RIOC”) have unfairly subjected Shelton J. Haynes and Gretchen K. Robinson
(“Robinson,” and together with Haynes, the “Plaintiffs”), two African American
executives, to continuous and pervasive discrimination by, including but not
limited to, subjecting Haynes and Robinson to frequent unwarranted
investigations by the New York State Inspector General (“NYSIG”) as well as
ordering an independent investigation by an outside counsel – something not
done for other, more serious allegations – based entirely on specious
allegations of wrongdoing. The Chamber did so while simultaneously thwarting
Haynes’s and Robinson’s efforts to fight back against the discrimination and
defend themselves and RIOC against a multitude of defamatory statements made
by a local blogger and a group of disgruntled former employees....
Who's In Charge Of Dysfunctional Roosevelt Island Operating Corp? RIOC
President Shelton Haynes Tells RIOC Board Directors Not To Communicate
With Staff And Staff Not To Talk With RIOC Board Directors
and following up on the September 27 and September 12 email inquiries below seeking comment regarding the:
Haynes/Robinson racial discrimination lawsuit and
Who's currently in charge of RIOC
Is Shelton Haynes still on Extended Leave from his position as RIOC President as described in Sept 14 RIOC Board meeting
by Gretchen Robinson? If he is still on Extended Leave, who is the
Acting President? Does the RIOC Board need to appoint an Acting
President or can it be done without formal RIOC Board approval?
In
addition,why are RIOC Directors not allowed to speak with RIOC staff
and RIOC Staff not allowed to speak with RIOC Directors. This has not
been the policy under prior RIOC Presidents?
These
are important issues of concern to the Roosevelt Island community.
Answers from RIOC Board Members, Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson would be
greatly appreciated.
On October 8, RIOC Board Director Ben Fhala answered:
I'd like to acknowledge receipt of your email.
Our board chair, RuthAnne Visnauskas, has instructed the RIOC executive team to
prepare answers for review by the board and for the chair to respond.
Please allow them sufficient time to work on a thorough response.
I followed up a few minutes later:
Thank you for the acknowledgment.
Can you provide an estimate of what a sufficient time for the response is?
Mr Fhala replied last evening, October 11:
I have not received any communication from the executive team regarding the feedback requested by the chair.
Furthermore, I was informed (not in writing) that Shelton has
extended his medical leave. Aida made a statement to Lydia and me, which
left us in some confusion, and we are currently awaiting clarification
from the executive team. As a measure of caution,
I believe it's best to allow the team more time to address our
questions and yours, ultimately enabling the board to convey a unified
message.
In addition, I want to note that I initially overlooked a message
sent by Shelton on September 6th titled "RIOC Update" due to its
subject. In that message, Shelton mentioned:
" ...through October 6th, with the possibility of extending it as needed.
... I am thrilled to announce that Gretchen Robinson, our Vice
President & General Counsel, will be stepping up to act on my
behalf."
This is the official communication as far as I'm aware that
informed the staff regarding this matter. I'm aware that multiple team
members have been confused or unaware prior to the last board meeting.
Nevertheless, I eagerly await official updates from
the executive team to hopefully clarify things.
Aida is Aida Morales, Mr Haynes assistant and Lydia is Lydia Tang who was appointed to the RIOC Board on June 7, 2023 at the same time as Mr Fhala and Dr Michal Melamed.
... executive team has
instructed staff to "ignore" communications from new Resident board members,
a directive officially confirmed on 08/31 by Aida Morales....
10 minutes after receiving Mr Fhala's response, RIOC Communications Director Bryant Daniels replied:
Thank you for your inquiry. President Haynes notified the RIOC Board and staff in late August of his approved leave. He is set to return to the office in late October. In his absence, Vice President and General Counsel Gretchen Robinson will be temporarily in charge with the full support of the Board.
Please note that RIOC does not comment on matters of pending litigation.
This morning, I asked RIOC Board Members, RIOC President Shelton Haynes and General Counsel Gretchen Robinson:
In reply to my inquiry, last evening, RIOC Communications Director
Bryant Daniels reported that RIOC President Shelton Haynes is on leave
until the end of October and General Counsel Gretchen Robinson is
temporarily in charge of RIOC with the full support of the Board....
... I followed up asking Mr Bryant this question.
Has
there been a vote of the full RIOC Board approving Gretchen Robinson
being temporarily in charge? If not, how does she have full approval of
the Board and under what authority is she placed in charge of RIOC?
As
you know, Ms Robinson is currently a plaintiff in a racial
discrimination lawsuit against the staff of Governor Hochul's Executive
Chamber and the DHCR. How can she be placed in charge of RIOC when she
is suing NY State officials for racial discrimination?
My understanding is that Mr Haynes has been on leave since the end of
August making it at least 2 months of Ms Robinson in charge.
What
is the procedure for someone taking over the role of RIOC President
when the current RIOC President is unable to perform the job? Is a RIOC
Board approval vote required or can the current RIOC President simply
designate a replacement himself without a Board approval?
Any comment from RIOC Board members?
No response yet. Will update when more info becomes available.
UPDATE 10/13: RIOC Communications Director Bryant Daniels adds this morning:
To clarify, Gretchen is serving as Mr. Haynes’ designee (proxy) until his return. This does not require Board approval as his leave is only temporary. Board action would only be required if she were appointed “Acting President” which is not the case. As Executive Vice President, she is permitted to act on Mr. Haynes’ behalf.
At about 5:50 PM this evening a Roosevelt Island resident Tipster reported:
i waited 60 min on F Shuttle at 63rd to get to Island. Never came. had to take
Tram that had a long line.
According to the MTA:
Travel Alternatives For service between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan
(see map): Take the Roosevelt Island Tram (free transfer with OMNY and
MetroCard)
Here's the Roosevelt Island Tram line this evening down the staircase
stretching to 59th street and almost over to third avenue.
Frustrated Roosevelt Island residents reported:
It's time to just walk on the Track back to Roosevelt Island.
On days like this, why can't RIOC send one Red Bus to 59th Street to get
people home?
The Tram used to be such a nice bonus of living on the Island. Now I avoid
it like the plague if I can help it ... If anyone here is an influencer,
please tell tourists not to take it so that residents can actually live
their lives, get to and from work/school.
I’m trying to get on line for the tram and it goes more than halfway to 3rd ave, it’s insane
I hope they realize this nonsense is chasing the people that actually pay rent off the island….
2-hour commute home for RI residents. Consistently more expensive and consistently longer. Resident-only lines or hours would be a minimum courtesy and still insufficient for what we pay in fares and taxes.
And no one makes the people on the tram take their backpacks off which takes up even more space
I took on Uber across from the tram $25 . I rather that then to wait on the line
F subway service resumed with delays at about 6:40 PM. At 7:15 PM Tram line was about a 10 minute wait.
Roosevelt Island resident and
iDig2Learn founder
Christina Delfico reports:
In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of the urban forest,
and the essential role residents play in caring for the “lungs” of our city,
while having fun doing so, three organizations –
iDig2Learn,
Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance
(MSTDA) and
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler
(Coler Hospital) – are collaborating to host City of Forest Day on Roosevelt
Island.
This second annual event will be an enriching and inclusive celebration of
nature outdoors. The day includes a series of four activities, supporting
awareness of trees’ vital role in our local environment – they eat carbon
dioxide and release oxygen, provide shelter for birds and butterflies and
stabilize the land capturing rain during storm events, which reduces
flooding.
Roosevelt Island’s City of Forest Day details include:
WHAT: City of Forest Day
WHEN: Saturday, October 14 – 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.:
11:00 a.m. – join Gil Lopez of
Big Reuse to learn about
tree stewardship and participate in a community compost mulching activity to
blanket existing trees and enrich the soil (funded by
City Council Member Julie Menin) utilizing a truckload full of compost derived from the weekly resident food
scrap collection. As such, feeding the trees will be a direct result of the
Haki Compost Collective’s efforts – both those who volunteer supporting Big
Reuse’s weekly collection and the hundreds of residents who drop off their
food scraps.
12:30 p.m. – decorate hats using reclaimed paints with
RIVAA Gallery featured artist George Krassas and residents from Coler Hospital (note, all
materials will be provided)
2:00 p.m. – enjoy a 45-minute performance by Jody Sperling and Time Lapse Dance ensemble whose work “aims to investigate the relationship of the moving
body to the ecologies we inhabit through performance, media, education and
activism.” The company will perform two ecologically-themed works exploring
the connections between humans and their habitat: "Plastic Harvest," exploring
plastic proliferation; and, "Arbor," dwelling on the kinship between trees and
humans.
3:00 p.m. – connect with the local teen-led Plogging Club to learn more about
this invigorating and healthy way to keep our community clean
WHERE: Roosevelt Island Lighthouse Park, 910 Main St, New York, NY 10044 (the
northernmost tip of the island). Please note that in case of pouring rain, the
dance performance and art activity will take place indoors at the Good
Shepherd Church Community Center on Roosevelt Island, 543 Main Street, New
York, New York, 10044 (the dance performance will be upstairs and the art
activity downstairs). For up to the minute updates on these events, please
follow iDig2Learn on Instagram.
This celebration on Roosevelt Island is just one of over 70 taking place throughout New York City on October 14 to highlight the vital need to better
protect, maintain, and expand the New York City urban forest to benefit all
New Yorkers.
iDig2Learn is a part of
Forest for All NYC (FFANYC), a diverse coalition of over 115 organizations across business, nonprofit,
conservation, and environmental justice sectors that is working to expand the
tree canopy of the urban forest in New York City to 30% by 2035. FFANYC in
partnership with the
Parks and Open Space Partners
– NYC Coalition and NYC Parks is presenting this citywide.
As we celebrate City of Forest Day, iDig2Learn is thrilled to join with Coler Hospital and Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance to host this day on
Roosevelt Island. Island residents and visitors alike treasure the island’s
greenspace. No matter how you arrive – by ferry, subway, tram, bike, bus or
foot – you cannot miss the abundance of trees on the island, which have been
thoughtfully managed by the RIOC Grounds Team and partners Trees New York.
Since 2022, with the help of these outstanding local partners, we have added
100 new baby trees, growing the urban forest by focusing on species that are
known to support New York City’s habitat.
I am deeply thankful to our partners that support iDig2Learn’s
ongoing efforts and programs, including Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors
(GRIN), Girl Scouts, Roosevelt Island Garden Club and Coach Scot's baseball
players. I invite everyone – our existing supporters and those new to our work
– to join us for this joyful City of Forest Day to explore, celebrate and get
to know our trees and what they do for us so that we can do for them. Each of
the day’s activities has been designed to inspire us to do more to help our
trees thrive.
The annual Roosevelt Island Fall For Arts Festival took place today at the
Rivercross Lawn after being delayed the last 3 Saturdays because of rain.
Organized jointly by the RIVAA Gallery and Roosevelt Island Operating Corp
(RIOC), this year's mural theme was:
(1) Mythology and
(2) Riverside Rhythms, A Day of Art Meditation and Nature
Solo artists and those working in teams began painting their murals on blank
canvasses this morning.
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
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