Watch Video Of RIOC Interim Leadership Interview With CB 8 Roosevelt Island Committee Chair Revealing "What It Takes To Run Roosevelt Island" - Informative Discussion Of Governance, Master Lease, Tram Overcrowding, Red Bus Delays, Tourism, Day To Day Repairs & More

Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee Chair Paul Krikler moderated a fascinating and informative interview with Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Deputy General Counsel and member of the RIOC Interim Leadership Team Gerrald Ellis last night.

Mr Ellis began his presentation with a discussion of:

What It Takes To Run Roosevelt Island, 

summarized in the slides below.

Mr Ellis noted that Roosevelt Island:

... is entirely self-financed—we do not receive any supportive funding from the state. 

The majority of our funding comes from our ground rent and commercial leases.

Mr Ellis took comments and questions from Mr Krikler and other Roosevelt Island residents. 

I asked Mr Ellis:

 What are the 3 or 4 most important things on your plate right now?

Mr Ellis answered:

... That's a tough question. Obviously this interim situation is very difficult.... There are all kinds of challenges that just flow from that alone. That's at the top of my list ....  There are certain hiring decisions that we cannot or should not make while we're in this interim position. There are big projects that we can't explore or don't want to explore while we're in in this position. Basic day-to-day repairs we're obviously doing and they are big priorities for us.... 

... The Master Lease discussions are a major priority right now... An extension of the Master Lease. We have had conversations with the City of New York about this but we can't really make progress on those discussions or on that negotiation until we have more certainty internally about our own governance structure, about our own direction. There are internal/external all sorts of things that flow from that one issue that we we don't yet have permanent leadership...

... We have our next board meeting on the 14th. Maybe there's going to be some movement there. I'm optimistic but I don't know and I've learned not to get ahead of myself in hoping or in predicting that anything might or might not happen at a board meeting....

Mr Ellis also discussed problems with the Red Bus delays, overcrowding on the Roosevelt Island Tram and expressed a willingness to explore models from other cities that are attempting to manage problems caused by tourist overcrowding.

He reported that in a few weeks there will be a live traffic camera feed from both the Manhattan and Roosevelt Island Tram stations available for residents to see how large those line are so you can make a decision about using the Tram or the subway. Another improvement coming this summer is the Red Bus will have a location tracking system installed so that riders will know when it will be at any stop. 

Here's the full discussion from beginning to end. I highly recommend watching the entire video if you are interested in Roosevelt Island issues and governance.

Great job by Mr Krikler and Mr Ellis. This type of conversation and Roosevelt Island community engagement would not have happened under the prior RIOC administration.

CB 8 Roosevelt Island committee meetings are scheduled for the first Monday of the month. The next meeting will be on June 3 and will be a discussion will Mr Ellis about the Roosevelt Island Master Lease extension.

You're invited to attend and participate.