NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright Introduces Legislation This Week To Bring Major Changes For Roosevelt Island Governance - RIOC CEO To Be Appointed By Board Directors And CEO Must Live On Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island's NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright
 

 Image Of Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright At 2015 Roosevelt Island Town Hall

introduced Bill A09605 which, if passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, would bring major changes to the governance of Roosevelt Island by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC).

According to Assembly Member Seawright:

This bill allows the board to appoint the CEO of RIOC, determine the term of office and requires that the CEO complies with the rules that apply to public officers. It is a pivotal step towards self-governance for Roosevelt Island residents, creating accountability and requiring greater transparency.

The legislation, introduced on March 22, would also require the RIOC CEO to be a resident of Roosevelt Island or become one within 6 months of being appointed to the position.

Below is the purpose, summary and justification for the legislation as outlined in Bill A09605:

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To establish the position of chief executive officer of the Roosevelt Island operating corporation, and the requirements for such position.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill makes a technical amendment, and provides the following:

1. The board shall appoint a chief executive officer of RIOC, who must be a resident of Roosevelt Island or become a resident within 6 months of appointment;

2. The board shall determine the term of office, fix the compensation and prescribe the duties for the position; and

3. The CEO must comply with, and be subject to, certain rules that apply to public officers.

Section two provides that this act shall take effect immediately, except that the term of the current chief executive officer shall end at such time as a successor chief executive officer is appointed.

JUSTIFICATION:

Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) was created in 1984 to manage Roosevelt Island, oversee its continued development through the Master Plan and allocate state capital funding and operational support.
The directors of RIOC board are not elected but rather appointed. Presently, there is neither residency requirement for all RIOC board directors nor for the President/Chief Executive Officer. The President/CEO is primarily responsible for operations of daily life on Roosevelt Island. There has never been a RI resident appointed to this position but rather only persons who reside outside the community once appointed, the President/CEO has never moved into the community.

This bill provides a step toward self-governance for Roosevelt Island residents by requiring the next newly appointed CEO to be a resident or become a resident within six months of his/her appointment. This residency requirement will ensure the CEO is a member of the community.

This bill would make the next CEO more accountable to the residents he/she will serve. The RIOC Board of Directors will appoint the CEO, determine the term of office, fix the compensation to be paid, prescribe the duties and responsibilities and may remove him/her for cause. This bill requires greater transparency because the next CEO will be subject to the Public Officers Law including financial disclosures and a Code of Conduct.

and the contents of the full Bill.

Image From NY State Assembly

Click here for more information on Bill A09605 introduced by NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright regarding Roosevelt Island governance.

Roosevelt Island Residents Meet With NY State Governor Cuomo's Secretary Larry Schwartz - Discuss Democracy, RIOC Board Elections And Appointment Of Non Residents To The Board

 Image of October 25 RIOC Board Meeting With Govenor's Secretary/Office

On the Friday before Christmas, December 21, I learned of a meeting scheduled that day between Larry Schwartz, Secretary to NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo, and certain residents of the Roosevelt Island community.  I asked to attend the meeting and was told it was closed to the press. Since that meeting, I have been seeking comment about what was discussed and was told a statement would be made available after the holidays.

Yesterday, I received the following statements from former Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Matt Katz who was one of the attendees at the meeting. From Mr. Katz:

This report to the community of the December 21 meeting with Lawrence Schwartz has waited a long time to be shared with you, and we apologize for that. A statement that would be inclusive of the material discussed but sensitive to the provisos stipulated by Mr. Schwartz and the other State officials attending the meeting took us some time to draft. In addition, and as a courtesy to the officials who agreed to meet with us, we offered the attached report to Schwartz’s office with today as a deadline for comments. Having received none, we are pleased to offer this account, which follows twenty months of work since the appointment of a non-resident to the RIOC Board of Directors and a year of work mounting two Board elections.

and:

To the Community:

Since the February 2012 RIOC Board election, a small group of Islanders has been steadily following up about appointment of the nominees with Assembly Member Micah Kellner and State Senator Jose Serrano, and pressing for a meeting with Governor Andrew Cuomo or his staff in order to explain the importance and context of the elections. (The effort to engage with gubernatorial staff via these elected representatives dates from the June 2011 formation of The Democracy Team, following Cuomo’s appointment of unelected non-resident Salvatore Ferrera to the Board.)

As reported both on the Roosevelt Islander blog (October 26, 2012) and in The Main Street WIRE (November 3, 2012), there was a special meeting of the RIOC Board on October 25, 2012, with Lawrence Schwartz, Secretary to Governor Cuomo, at which Schwartz promised to work more closely with the Board and with residents. This small group of Islanders attended the public session of that meeting. Then-President of RIRA Matthew Katz gave Schwartz his card, and said that he would follow up to request a meeting with him. When contacted, Schwartz's office responded that he would meet with the group, and it was arranged for December 21, 2012, at New York State premises in Manhattan.

In order to provide background for the meeting -- whose purpose was to discuss the two elections that RIRA mounted in 2012 to fill seats on the RIOC Board of Directors -- we, the undersigned Island attendees, sent a two-page briefing document in advance (copy available from xs.ashton.barfield@gmail.com). It consisted of an historical timeline of the Island’s efforts to attain representative local democracy, and an updated version of the related goals that had been provided to Kellner and Serrano by The Democracy Team in July 2011: restoration of the Island’s electoral precedent; documented agreement to the goals; regularization of the expiration dates of Board terms; and, ultimately, legislation providing that all seven public RIOC Board members be Roosevelt Island residents elected by the community.

At the December 21 meeting, attended by several other NYS staff, we were pleased to learn that the State recognizes the responsibility that residents were given in earlier administrations to act as a “search committee" for gubernatorial appointments to the Board. They also recognize that the June 2011 appointment of a non-resident to the Board was seen by the community as a setback to the objective of “a government .... deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” (per the Declaration of Independence) that would give residents more inclusion in decision-making. Schwartz noted that Board appointees must satisfy the fiduciary responsibilities imposed upon them by statute, and we noted that the residents elected to serve on the Board are all professional people, all dedicated to serving this community to the best of their abilities, and all carefully vetted by the State prior to appointment. He agreed that the Island’s elected nominees would be considered when Board appointments are made.

The conversation was cordial, frank, and wide-ranging, including fundamental questions regarding the appropriateness of local government by Public Authority, and even whether New York State should be in the business of running a locality. We spent considerable time on a detailed discussion of the 1984 law that created RIOC, and current and historical personnel questions. We hope to sustain and build on the new relationship with these State officials who determine the Island’s future.

In alphabetical order by last name:

Ashton Barfield David Bauer Vicki Feinmel Linda Heimer Sherie Helstien Matthew Katz Ellen Polivy

Below is the briefing document submitted to Mr. Schwartz referenced above.

DEMOCRACY and THE ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION

HISTORICAL TIMELINE

1984 - Legislation creates the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), a public benefit corporation, to administer and further develop the residential community.

1984-97 (and beyond) -  Many decisions that adversely affect the community and residents are made by non-resident Board members and managers, who are ill-equipped to grasp and solve local problems and capitalize on local opportunities. In addition, patronage and/or conflicts of interest characterize most Board and executive appointments.

1997 - Fed-up residents begin seeking both better Island administration and representative democracy, with direct election of residents to all seven public Board seats. (In advisory referenda conducted during the ensuing years, large turnouts repeatedly indicate overwhelming community support, ranging from 80-96%.)

2002 - Governor George Pataki endorses legislation mandating that residents occupy five of the Boardʼs seven public seats. (There are two ex officio seats.)

2007 - Governor Eliot Spitzerʼs administration offers residents the opportunity to create an Island-wide election to nominate residents for his appointment to Board seats.

6/2008! & 5/2009 - Governor David Paterson appoints four of the top vote-getters from the first election (2/2008), and reappoints an unelected resident first appointed in 1994.

1/2010 - Governor Paterson appoints the top two vote-getters from the second election (5/2009), and reappoints a 2008 elected appointee whose term was only one year. Of the seven public Board members, all are residents and six are community nominees.

6/2011 - Governor Andrew Cuomo appoints an unelected non-resident to the just- expired seat of an elected resident. The other two resident Board members with expired appointments (one of them unelected) continue to serve.

2/2012 - Residents hold a third election, for three expired seats, and send Governor Cuomo the names of the three top vote-getters as the communityʼs nominees. The highest vote-getter is the former elected-resident member who was replaced in 6/2011 by the unelected non-resident; the other two are incumbents. There is no gubernatorial response.

11/2012 - Residents hold a fourth election, for the three seats whose appointments will expire in mid-2013, and send Governor Cuomo the names of the three top vote-getters as the communityʼs nominees for this separate group of seats. One nominee is an incumbent. The resumes of the two non-incumbents are requested by, and provided to, the Appointments Office.

REQUESTS

In light of this history of Roosevelt Islanders striving for local democracy, and with knowledge of Governor Cuomoʼs commitment to "strong and vibrant urban communities," we are respectfully seeking the following:

Ultimate Goal

Legislation providing that all seven public RIOC Board members be

• Roosevelt Island residents

• elected by the Roosevelt Island community

• seated in order of election results (even if executive appointment and legislative approval must
be retained because Board members are State officers)

Intermediate Goals

Restoration of our recent electoral precedent

• by having the nominees from our February 2012 election be appointed to the three expired seats. (Two nominees are incumbents; the other, a former Board member, would replace an unelected resident. See related request below, in Regularization of Board term expirations.)

• by having the nominees from our November 2012 election be appointed in June-July 2013 to the three seats that will expire then. (One nominee is an incumbent.)

A Memorandum of Understanding

• documenting agreement to the Intermediate Goals.

• agreeing to honor our Ultimate Goal, while the legislation is sought, by continuing the process of recognizing our elections (which, in the future, will always precede expirations).

Regularization of Board term expirations (related to February 2012 election goal, above)

• Durations of Board terms are covered by the legislation governing RIOC, but expirations are not. They appear to have been set by the timings of the first appointments.

• The term expirations of two of the seats contested in the February 2012 election are out of synch with those of the other five public seats.

• If the nominees for those seats, who are incumbents, are reappointed, we hope that a simple administrative adjustment in term expirations can be accomplished at the same time.

• The two requested changes are illustrated by arrows and dashed-line boxes on the second page of the attached table (RIOC BOARD TERMS), which contains detailed information about elections, appointments, and term expirations for Board members and nominees since 2008.

• Further context will be provided when relevant.

Of course, this statement does not really tell us anything about what really happened in the meeting and what NY State's position is on, as Mr. Katz puts it:

... fundamental questions regarding the appropriateness of local government by Public Authority, and even whether New York State should be in the business of running a locality. We spent considerable time on a detailed discussion of the 1984 law that created RIOC, and current and historical personnel questions....

Hopefully, in the coming days, our fellow Roosevelt Island residents will be more forthcoming in what was said during the meeting with Mr. Schwartz and the other NY State officials.

Here's previous post on earlier meeting by RIOC Directors with Mr. Schwartz and background on the appointment of the non-resident to RIOC Board in June 2011.

RIRA President On Election Difficulties, RIOC Board Nominations, Maple Tree Group, Critics, Tribalism, Calendar, Capital Budget & Other RI Issues

Image of Mr. Farance At September 2010 RIRA Meeting

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Frank Farance sends the following report to Roosevelt Island residents. Mr. Farance addresses:

1. RIRA Elections. We elected Aaron Hamburger as Chair of the RIRA Nomination Committee, which is responsible for getting candidates for RIRA's approximately 50 seats, including building representatives and two Island-wide representatives (President and Vice President). We elected Joyce Mincheff as Chair of the RIRA Elections Committee, which is responsible for the running the elections. Unfortunately, Mincheff has since resigned because of difficulties with the Nominations Committee, who didn't include her in discussions and review. I haven't seen the documents forwarded to the WIRE. Hamburger has not responded to questions on who was on the committee and when they met. You would think that with all fuss made previously, Common Council members would be sensitive towards including *all* members that wish to participate, but this still continues. Immediately, I will look for a new Elections Committee Chair for proper elections this November.

2. RIOC Director Nominee Elections to be held in 2012. We voted 14-4-3 to postpone the RIOC elections. I believe they made a serious mistake. With no resident nominees, the Governor will start filling the spots. What will we do? We've already lost this argument. The Governor will say "You had the opportunity to run elections, but chose not to". A quick election in response? "But short elections don't give the best candidates (according to MTG)". Running a longer election? "But only elections in conjunction with biannual general elections produce good candidates (according to MTG)". We have thwarted every line of rhetoric for the Governor to pay attention to us. MTG suggested elections *after* term expiration. For example, RIOC director seats expiring in June 2011 (Kalkin and Kraut) would not face elections until 2012, giving them 2 extra years. In the 2012 elections, the next candidate's 4-year term is shortened: starts in 2013 and expires June 2015. Elections *after* expiration *never* produce a good result, unless you're interested in keeping the current RIOC Board members in place (which gets back to the secret meetings, apparent conflicts of interest, etc.). The Governor understands this: manipulation to keep present board members. Mr. Katz worries about burning bridges, but doesn't consider MTG's legislation to "taking all the marbles" (we have 5 resident directors now, we want all 7) is just a poke-in-the-eye to the Governor. Katz and others don't see the RIOC Board, in exerting much more force than necessary, was the perfect corporate manipulation: coax them to flex their muscles to toss Shane (unwanted by the Governor), then point out the all-resident board is predisposed to too much force (merely board resolutions could have boxed in Shane). The Shane firing becomes long-term rhetoric for why the Governor will give no more on self governance. In sum: (1) we've ruined the rhetoric and elections to provide our own nominees, (2) MTG legislation is our own power grab that caught the attention of the Governor, (3) RIOC Board overreacted on the Shane firing which demonstrates why we (residents) aren't good at governing.

3. RIRA Presidents Have Always Spoke Their Own Opinions In This Column. I agree with Ms. Vicky Feinmel who seems to have handy my E-mails from 1999. Ms. Feinmel omits reporting that at the October 1999 RIRA meeting (recorded by Mr. Matthew Katz, then Secretary of RIRA) RIRA agreed with my suggestion: the RIRA Column in the WIRE is always an opinion column. Mr. Patrick Stewart, Mr. Katz, Mr. Steve Marcus, and I have always said this was an opinion column that might or might not necessarily represent the positions of RIRA.

4. RIRA Sponsored 9/11 Memorial Service. We had a crowd of about 30-50 people with singing from Sherie Helstien and Laura Stelman Jaeger, piano accompaniment by Craig Crabtree, and poetry reading by Linda Heimer. We had an open microphone and one resident made the observation that, unlike downtown Manhattan, Roosevelt Island has a inclusive spirit, including broad and strong support for the establishment of a mosque here for the Muslim community.

5. RIOC Presentation on 15-Year Capital Budget. RIOC CFO Steve Chironis made a presentation to the Common Council of the 15-year capital budget. According to Mr. Chironis, the RIOC Budget needs to be approved in December, so the schedule is pushed back earlier for us: we're now reviewing in September what we usually review in January. RIRA will be providing feedback and Mr. Chironis will present this at the October 12 RIOC Board meeting. Mr. Chironis felt comfortable with the building of Southtown 7, 8, and 9, which are essential to RIOC's finances.

6. RIRA Support for NY Public Library to Move to 504 Main Street. At the meeting RICLA (Roosevelt Island Community Literary Associates) presented a proposal for designating one floor of 504 Main Street as the new home for the Roosevelt Island branch of the New York Public Library. RIRA endorsed the proposal. The proposal is consistent with the RIOC Master Lease RFP which recognizes that NYPL was interested in the space in 504 Main Street.

7. Island Organizations work towards Common Calendar. On September 21, we met. We had input from the following organizations: RIOC, PS/IS 217, PTA, Main Street Theatre and Dance Alliance, Island Kids, RI Marlins, RI Youth Program, RI Beacon Program, NY Junior Tennis League, RI Jewish Congregation, RICLA, Main Street WIRE. We learned about each others programs, activities, members, and schedules. The goal is to have regular meetings, roughly every September, December, February, and May so we can avoid gratuitous schedule conflicts (which have happened in the past). Roosevelt Island Day 2011 will be on June 11 (so far, so good). The Holiday Tree Lighting will be on December 3 and the PS/IS 217 Winter Concert will be on December 8 (whew, a near miss). However, the Halloween Parade and the RIYP soccer games are both on October 30. Ms. Erica Wilder (RIOC) and Mr. Scott Bobo (RIYP) discovered that conflict and will work to resolve that by changing the schedule of the soccer games that day. We expect to meet in the next 4-5 weeks, with a combined calendar; and we expect to meet regularly to schedule events 10 months into the future. Thank you all the participated, I welcome other organizations to participate.

8. Upcoming RIRA meetings. The next meeting is on October 6 at 8:00 p.m. in the Good Shepherd Community Center, which is our last Common Council meeting for the 2008-2010 session. Because RIOC meeting was rescheduled to October 12 and the day prior is Columbus Day, RIRA will include an hour-long public session (RIRA informational meeting) that addresses Q&A for the RIOC meeting.

9. Response to letters in last WIRE. I'll make this as brief as possible. In the history of RIRA, right now RIRA has the best working relationship with RIOC and other organizations. I have a good working relationship with all RIOC departments. If Mr. Kellner thinks he has a poor relationship with RIRA, then why did he call me on vacation 6 timezones away to set up the community meeting on short notice with Ms. Torres as a RIOC President candidate? I spent 3 days of vacation making the arrangements so that Mr. Kellner, Ms. Torres, Mr. Lawlor, RIOC, the RIOC Board, DHCR, etc. all could look great and have the community interact well with her. It was a big success. So Mr. Kellner asked me to do something that was completely counter to my complaints about RIOC and Mr. Shane's firing. Why did he ask me? He knew that I would do my best to help him in my role as RIRA President, and he knew I could pull it off on short notice. Likewise, Mr. Kellner has had many gruff words about Mr. Shane, yet it didn't stop them from working together. Even at our last RIRA meeting, the RIOC CFO came to present to us, Mr. Kellner's representative attended, and three RIOC Board Members attended, including Mr. Kalkin and Ms. Smith who spoke at the public session (on why their RIOC Board terms should be extended). Mr. Katz is wrong, there is no loss of working relationships for RIRA -- in fact, the relationships are much stronger than when he left office.

The people that are complaining in these letters are deflecting the fact that the main issue is: the Maple Tree Group (MTG a subcommittee of GRC) got caught with an un-democratic, un-inclusive, secretive process. At last week's RIRA Common Council meeting, Government Relations Committee (GRC) Chair Ms. Ashton Barfield confirmed the basic facts of the secrecy: the meetings were not open to all members, the discussion of voting did not include all members, and the vote itself excluded some the members. I asked Ms. Barfield why the GRC report had listed 8 members of MTG instead of the 12 members she reported in her E-mail of July 7 confirming MTG membership. She said that the 8 members were "Formal Members". I asked what provisions in the RIRA By-Laws make the distinction of "Formal Members" versus other kinds of members (bingo!). She threw her hands back and said "Maple Tree Group is open to everyone". It has taken 13 years for some residents to hear that. Many have complained quietly about being shut out of MTG and so did I. It was only by complaining publicly that MTG has changed. Mr. Katz implies that I shouldn't tell the truth about what is going on here, how I should not say it at all, or say it obliquely -- as anyone on the Internet can tell you, that doesn't get results. The galling part of MTG's actions are: they held themselves out as the shining beacon of democratic principles, no different than the disappointment in the "Sherriff of Wall Street" getting caught with prostitutes. The problem isn't having a secret meeting (or getting caught with a prostitute), the issue is: behaving inconsistently with principles that are essential and foundational to their identity. On top of that, Mr. Katz is the former RIRA President who shepherded RIRA through the revision of its Constitution and the creation of its By-Laws. yet Mr. Katz is advocating a process the is improper for the By-Laws of the corporation -- he should know better.

Regarding other points in the letters:
• Regarding Ms. Heimer's concern about a bid to the Storefront RFP by me, unlike Ms. Heimer's building, the Island House Tenants Association (of which I'm the corporate secretary) does *not* own the building and could never make such an offer. In fact, the tenants in Island House are purely focused on long-term preservation of affordable housing and the retention of the existing tenancy post-conversion (if it ever happens), they are not interested in the store fronts (Mr. Kalkin knows this).
• Regarding Ms. Heimer's report about Mr. Kellner and privatization she omits the full discussion: it was months ago that I told Mr. Kellner that the privatization issue was only with Rivercross and not Island House; since then (according to Graham Cannon, President of Island House Tenants Association) Mr. Kellner recognized that was true and issued a memo in support of Island House privatization and decouples the two buildings (one making more progress than the other). There are three points here: first, as I reported originally, the privatization issues surrounding the firing of Steve Shane only concerned one building (which Mr. Kellner did not know at the time); second, I asked Mr. Kellner to socialize his efforts among a wider audience because (as he now recognizes) he is getting a limited perspective on Roosevelt Island from these self-selected residents; third, because of the Governor's veto and the complaints about proposed legislation, Mr. Kellner again understands that a broader review (not just self-selected residents from MTG) would improve proposed legislation. Mr. Kellner does very good work for Roosevelt Island; it is a shame that he was misled.
• It is too bad that Ms. Heimer does reflect upon the fact that if a state-appointed official or RIOC Board Director took the same actions as a resident RIOC Board Director, Ms. Heimer would be complaining loudly. Largely, there is a sense of tribalism here: only residents can do good, state-appointed officials can only do wrong. That is not my take on RIOC, which is why I (along with RIRA members and RIOC staff) have been able to build a better relationship -- a transactional one, not a tribal one. As another example, Ms. Heimer complains that there were only two merchants at the RIRA Town Meeting on the storefronts. Ms. Heimer omits that one of them was the head of our Chamber of Commerce, whose role is intended to represent the merchants. When a RIRA representative goes to a meeting, Ms. Heimer would never let someone get away with the perception "just one person attended", she's voice loudly that that person represents RIRA, which represents the Island; so why does Ms. Heimer diminish the same kind representation the merchants have in their Chamber of Commerce?
• It should have been clear to Mr. Katz that I referred to a different sense of "whopper", akin to the kind of hamburger one buys at Burger King.

A version of the RIRA President's message is also published as the RIRA column in the 9/25/10 Main Street WIRE.

Additional background on the Farance/Maple Tree RIOC Board Nominee dispute available here.

NY Governor Paterson Vetoes Roosevelt Island Governance Reform Legislation - Large Investment In RI, Interests of Residents and State May Differ

Image of August 2010 RIOC Board Of Directors Meeting

By coincidence, on the same day that the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) took it's first step to get government out of the retail leasing and management business by issuing the Roosevelt Island Main Street Master Leaseholder RFP, New York State Governor David Paterson clamped down on the RIOC governance reform legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Micah Kellner by vetoing it. The bill, A10392, provided according to Mr. Kellner:

...that Islanders will have a greater role in the governing process—it opens up the corporation to the public and establishes the principle that Island residents must have a say in how the Island is run.

The legislation gives the public a role in the process of hiring the RIOC President — requiring the Board of Directors to consider at least three candidates for the job and to hold hearings allowing members of the public as well as Board members to interview the candidates. It requires that meetings of the Board of Directors be subject to the state’s open meetings law, and specifies that members of the public must have an opportunity to comment on all agenda items before the Board votes on those items.

The bill also provides that two of the public members of RIOC’s Board of Directors will be chosen upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the Assembly and the Temporary President of the State Senate—who will make their suggestions based on consultation with the local member of the Assembly and the Senate, ensuring input for the elected officials who are most answerable to Roosevelt Island residents...

Asked to comment on the Governor's veto, Assembly Member Kellner replied:

I am incredibly disappointed that Governor Paterson vetoed the RIOC reform legislation I introduced, and I vehemently disagree with the reasons he has given for his veto. By passing the reform bill with overwhelming margins, the legislature clearly communicated its intent that RIOC should be more open and accessible, and that Island residents should have a greater say in the Island’s decision-making process. RIOC’s decisions have a vastly bigger impact on Island residents than on anyone else, and the needs of those who live on the Island should outweigh the abstract concerns expressed by the Governor in his veto message.

“By rejecting these common-sense measures, the Governor has set back the cause of open government and public authorities reform. Nonetheless, I will not stop fighting to open up RIOC and make it more accountable to the Island residents it serves. I will bring these reforms back as many times as it takes to make them a reality.

Governor Paterson's veto statement on the proposed Roosevelt Island governance reform legislation is below.
Roosevelt Island Governance Reform Veto

NY State Assembly Passes Bill Sponsored By Micah Kellner On Roosevelt Island Governance - More Community Input & Oversight By Directors

Image From Micah Kellner

Received the following release from Assembly Member Micah Kellner yesterday.

Legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner (D,WFP) to reform the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) passed the state Assembly today. The bill will open up RIOC to greater community input and improve oversight by the corporation’s Board of Directors. It is sponsored in the State Senate by Senator José Serrano.

“Roosevelt Islanders know that the Island only works when RIOC is accountable and responsive to the community,” Assembly Member Kellner said. “This bill means that Islanders will have a greater role in the governing process—it opens up the corporation to the public and establishes the principle that Island residents must have a say in how the Island is run.”

The legislation gives the public a role in the process of hiring the RIOC President—requiring the Board of Directors to consider at least three candidates for the job and to hold hearings allowing members of the public as well as Board members to interview the candidates. It requires that meetings of the Board of Directors be subject to the state’s open meetings law, and specifies that members of the public must have an opportunity to comment on all agenda items before the Board votes on those items.

Additionally, the legislation provides that two of the public members of RIOC’s Board of Directors will be chosen upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the Assembly and the Temporary President of the State Senate—who will make their suggestions based on consultation with the local member of the Assembly and the Senate, ensuring input for those elected officials who are most answerable to Roosevelt Island residents.

“This is a victory for Roosevelt Islanders,” Assembly Member Kellner said. “It is a clear affirmation of residents’ right to be part of the Island’s decision making process.”

The full text of the bill (A10392) is here.

Given the departure of Steve Shane as President of RIOC last Monday, this legislation is certainly timely though it has been in the works for some time and is not related to Mr. Shane's leaving RIOC.

A similar bill sponsored by Senator Serrano was recently passed by the State Senate.

New Roosevelt Island Governance Bill Sponsored By State Senator Serrano Passes NY State Senate - Waiting On State Assembly To Pass

Image Of State Senator Jose Serrano

Received the following message from Roosevelt Island's representative to the NY State Senate, Jose Serrano's office:

The New York State Senate today unanimously passed a bill (S7985/A10392), sponsored by Senator José M. Serrano (D-Manhattan/Bronx), that will improve the governance of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC), while making it more representative of the residents of the area by improving accountability and increasing transparency and openness within the Corporation.

"This bill is designed to help Island Residents play a more active role in their governance," said Senator Serrano. "Just as Roosevelt Island is a wonderful, one-of-a-kind treasure to our city, it also has distinctive needs that are specific to the area."

RIOC, which has been managing Roosevelt Island since 1984, has also been responsible for overseeing the Island's development and allocating state capital funding. This legislation will reconstitute the RIOC board by requiring that all of its public members be residents of Roosevelt Island, and will improve the board's accountability by requiring that elected officials be provided with any and all information received by board members in board meeting agendas. It also stipulates that some of the board's public members are to be appointed upon the recommendation of the local elected officials representing the island.

"Elected officials are uniquely familiar with the challenges and needs of our constituents," said Serrano. "Providing electeds with all of the information received by the board further qualifies them to make informed recommendations as to who would be capable of working toward finding solutions to any problems facing the Island," said Senator Serrano.

The bill also improves openness and transparency within the board by specifying that meetings of the board, or any committee within the board, be subject to the open meetings law. In addition, it specifies that prior to hiring the chief executive officer of the corporation, the board must hold a public hearing to interview at least three qualified candidates for the position. During this hearing, Island residents will have the opportunity to get their questions answered by the candidates.

The bill has not yet passed the Assembly, where it is carried by Assemblyman Micah Kellner (D-Manhattan).

Here is link to the full Senate Bill S7985 on Roosevelt Island governance and:

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: -reconstitutes the RIOC board into a nine member body, with the commissioner of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR, and the NYS Budget Director serving as ex-officio members, and seven public members appointed by the governor subject to the advice and consent of the senate-one upon the recommendation of the local member of the state senate, one upon the recommendation of the local member of the state assembly, and two upon the recommendation of the mayor of the city of New York, all seven public members being residents of Roosevelt Island; -provides that the elected public officials who represent Roosevelt Island shall be provided with all information received by board members for all board meeting agenda items; -provides that all meetings of the board of directors or any committee of the board shall be subject to the open meetings law; -requires purchase and contracts to be entered into in accordance with a program adopted under ? 2879 of the public authorities law; -provides that prior to hiring the chief executive officer of the corporation, the board shall hold a public hearing to interview at least three qualified candidates for the position where at residents of Roosevelt Island can question the candidates;, and -requires that any expenditures of the corporation be in accordance with the adopted budget or a modification approved by the board of directors. -act to take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.

New York State Public Authorities Reform Act Passes Assembly - How Will It Impact Roosevelt Island?

Image of NY State Capital From Lehman.cuny

According to The Gov Monitor:

... Governor David A. Paterson and Legislative Leaders today announced an agreement on legislation to reform New York’s public authorities. The measures include the creation of an independent Authorities Budget Office with expanded regulatory responsibilities and subpoena power to improve the oversight of authority operations.

The New York State Comptroller will also be empowered to review certain noncompetitively procured contracts for more than $1 million. The reforms, while raising transparency standards, will maintain the authorities’ ability to promote economic development.

“For too long, public authorities have operated in the dark, under little or no public scrutiny. Today, we turn the lights on,” Governor Paterson said. “The reforms will ensure that authorities have an independent auditor to examine how they operate and that they best serve the interest of the public....

CBS 6 adds:

... There are more than 700 public authorities operating in New York State generating more than $140 billion dollars in debt and the State Senate is expected to soon consider legislation that would reign in and reform these authorities to protect the taxpayer.

Brodsky said the legislation "creates a new cop" when it comes to public authorities....

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. (RIOC) is one of those NY State Public Authorities and I asked Assemblymember Micah Kellner how this legislation will impact Roosevelt Island. Mr. Kellner replied:

Yesterday the Assembly passed the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009. This bill included several major reforms that will have significant impact on RIOC.

• Subject board members to oath of office or acknowledgement of fiduciary duty to the authority;
• Dramatically expand the powers of the independent Authorities Budget Office (ABO) within the Department of State and make all ABO information available to the public;
• Require authority boards to establish finance committees to review proposals for debt issuance by an authority and its subsidiaries and make recommendations;
• Subject state and local authorities to additional reporting requirements, such as authority board performance evaluations
• Give the State Comptroller the power to pre-approve state authority contracts valued at over $1 million that are not competitively bid and contracts that are paid with the state funds appropriated to the authority;
• Establish rules governing and limiting the creation of subsidiary public corporations and authorities;
• Authorize the disposition of property below market value when the transfer is to a government or public entity and the purpose of the transfer is within the mission of the authority;
• Require state authority contracts to comply with the minority and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) statute;
• Provide whistle-blower protection for employees of public authorities, to protect those individuals who report wrongdoing

I later asked Mr. Kellner:

how this legislation specifically impacts disposition of Roosevelt Island real estate? For instance the current ability of RIOC to lease Main Street Retail shops or the possible selection of private sector Master Leaseholder for Main Street retail shops.

Mr. Kellner replied:

The Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009 clarifies the 2006 law when it comes to the disposition of property. The 2006 law allowed for the disposition of property below fair market value when it was determined to be for the public good. The 2009 law allows for the disposition of property below fair market value when the reason for such disposition was within the mission of the authority. What had been previously been at issue with the retail spaces was how to determine their fair market value, that has been resolved and RIOC has an appraisal. Now that there is an appraisal for the retail spaces RIOC should have no issue in leasing them under the old or new law.

Globe Street has more on Public Authorities Reform Act's impact on sale of real estate by Public Authorities:

The state Assembly’s passage of a modified bill to reform as many as 1,098 public authorities throughout New York State drew plaudits from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who expressed relief Wednesday afternoon that the revised legislation no longer prohibits the authorities from making any land sales at below-market rates, as an earlier version of the measure did...

What are the chance's of this legislation passing? According to CBS 6:

It is unclear how the bill will fare in the Senate and whether Democrats will have enought votes in the Chamber to push the legislation to Governor Paterson's desk.

UPDATE - 12/3 - According to the NY Times the legislature finally passed the Public Authorities Reform Act:

... “This is the most fundamental reform of state government in decades, and it’s a blueprint for further reform of state government,” said Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat who championed the legislation. Senator Bill Perkins, a Harlem Democrat who sponsored the legislation in the Senate, said, “For too long public authorities have operated as a ‘shadow government,’ ” adding that the legislation would “make them more responsive to the needs of the public.”

Elizabeth Lynam, deputy research director of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit organization, was less moved, calling it “a middle-of-the-road package.”

“It will marginally improve transparency and reporting requirements without tying the hands of authorities too much,” she added....