Roosevelt Island Community Board 8 Committee Discusses RI Bridge Bike Lane Resurfacing, Can WIRE Newspaper Return, Coler Task Force, Search For Community Bank, Helicopter Noise & More

The Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee held an April 15 virtual Zoom meeting. According to the meeting Agenda, subjects discussed included:

Roosevelt Island Bridge Bike Land Resurfacing Update - Joint with Transportation Committee. 

Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Capital Projects Presentation. 

Resurrect the WIRE initiative to bring back our local paper. 

Status of the Coler Task Force, 

Friends of Coler 

Old Business 

Status of Community Bank 

Status of Helicopter Task force 

Additional Vaccine Pop-Up site 

New Business 

 Lynne Strong-Shinozaki, Chair Roosevelt Island

 Here's the discussion.

You're Invited To A Celebration Of The Life Of Dick Lutz Saturday May 19 At Good Shepherd Community Center - Main Street WIRE Newspaperman Of Roosevelt Island From 1996 To 2016 Passed Away Last March 18

As reported March 20, Dick Lutz, the Newspaperman of Roosevelt Island, passed away Sunday March 18. Mr. Lutz was the longtime editor and publisher, 1996-2016, of Roosevelt Island's Main Street WIRE newspaper.

This Saturday, May 19, Mr Lutz's friends, neighbors and colleagues are holding A Celebration of the Life Of Dick Lutz at the Good Shepherd Community Center (543 Main Street) from 1-3 PM.

You're invited to attend.

In 2011, WNYC profiled Dick Lutz, The Newspaperman of Roosevelt Island.

Dick, The Newspaperman of Roosevelt Island from WNYC on Vimeo.

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Children, Youth & Education Committee Chair Adib Mansour adds:

RIRA’s Children, Youth & Education Committee and the Roosevelt Island Disabled Association are thrilled to invite you to our “Music Is All Inclusive Concert” on May 19th, at 5PM.

The concert is dedicated to Dick Lutz and will follow the memorial on that same day, at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd.

As part of our initiative to bridge our island’s youth with the community, and following a few events with the seniors, we are pleased to bring this concert emphasizing the equality in our community. We summarize the event with the following quote: “I do not have a disability, I have a gift”!

We will be honored if you joined us. Please note that the Good Shepherd Church will be filled with people honoring our Dick Lutz. Please come as early as possible.

Sad News, Dick Lutz, Newspaperman Of Roosevelt Island Passed Away Last Sunday - Publisher & Editor Of Main Street WIRE 1996- 2016

Dick Lutz, the longtime Publisher and Editor of Roosevelt Island's Main Street WIRE newspaper died last Sunday. According to the Main Street WIRE:

Dick Lutz, editor/publisher of The WIRE from 1996-2016, died Sunday, March 18, from a massive heart attack at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Florida....

Main Street WIRE founder and owner Dr. Jack Resnick remembers Dick Lutz:

I can never say enough about how important Dick was to me. He resuscitated a dormant newspaper, professionalized and raised it to a new level of journalistic excellence. Fate is cruel to have taken him away just as he was starting a new life with his high school sweetheart. I will never forget him.

In 2011, WNYC profiled Dick Lutz, The Newspaperman of Roosevelt Island.

Dick, The Newspaperman of Roosevelt Island from WNYC on Vimeo.

Condolences to his friends, family, neighbors and Main Street WIRE colleagues.

Roosevelt Island Newspaper Main Street WIRE Commences Legal Proceedings Against Roosevelt Island Daily News Web Site - Allegations Include Improper Use Of Email List And Defamation

The Roosevelt Island community is fortunate, in my view, having three local media sources to cover and opine on various issues facing our neighborhood - the Main Street WIRE, Roosevelt Island Daily

and Roosevelt Islander Online.

However, rather than reporting on Roosevelt Island news,  the WIRE and Daily are now making news.

On November 10, the WIRE and publisher Briana Warsing filed a lawsuit in NY State Supreme Court against the Roosevelt Island Daily and publisher David Stone. The allegations in the WIRE/Warsing complaint include improper use of an email list and various defamatory statements allegedly by Daily/Mr. Stone.

Below is an excerpt from the complaint:

FACTS COMMON TO ALL CAUSES OF ACTION

... 15. Prior to the spring of 2016, Defendant Stone worked as a freelance contributor to the The Main Street WIRE.

16. In the spring of 2016, Defendant Stone engaged in discussions to take over the The Main Street WIRE as publisher, replacing the retiring editor, Dick Lutz (“Lutz”)

17. During the course and in furtherance of the discussions identified above, Stone requested disclosure of the Wire Bulletin List. Lutz shared the Wire Bulletin List with Stone with the understanding that Stone only use the Wire Bulletin List in furtherance of the business of Plaintiff WIRE.

18. A satisfactory arrangement could not be reached between Defendant Stone and Plaintiff Wire.

19. On April 13, 2016, Defendant Stone informed Plaintiff Wire via e-mail that he was “moving on”.

20. On April 16, 2016, Defendant Stone sent an e-mail to all people and business on Wire Bulletin List to announce that Stone was starting a competing business, i.e. Defendant, Roosevelt Island Daily.

21. On April 25, 2017, Lutz, on behalf of Plaintiff Wire, provided written demand to Defendant Stone to cease and desist use of the Wire Bulletin List for his own purposes. Defendant Stone provide written refusal on April 25, 2017, stating that Lutz, “[a]s a 77 year old man, [has] a lot of growing up to do”.

22. Bulletin List:
On November 12, 2016, Stone conceded improperly retaining and using the Wire Bulletin List:

The email list [the Wire] claims I don't have ‘permission to use’ was already in use before our deal with the WIRE collapsed. Lutz gave it to me, along with detailed instructions on how to upload it to my own account.

The reason he did was because I wanted to restart the Alerts that he'd dropped months before after reducing full time activities with the WIRE. Warsing had not picked them up.

I picked up the list and began sending Alerts as a service to the community. No one paid any sort of sponsorship. It was just a good thing to do. So, why should that not continue after my deal with the WIRE ended?

See http://rooseveltislanddaily.prosepoint.net/143780.

23. Defendants Stone and Daily acknowledged on August 19, 2017 that the Wire Bulletin List was created by the Wire:

“[the] mailing ... did not originate with The Daily. It's a list compiled from residents who wanted to receive community alerts from the former Main Street WIRE... Our active list is roughly 90% subscribers who started out with the WIRE.

See http://rooseveltislanddaily.prosepoint.net/risa-gets-little-support-for-rioc-public-purpose-funds.

24. In August of 2017, after the termination of negotiations between Stone and Lutz, and after the creation of Defendant Daily by Stone, plaintiff Warsing was appointed the Editor in Chief of The Main Street WIRE.

25. Thereafter, Stone began to systemically and repeatedly attack Warsing, the Wire and anyone associated therewith with false and misleading allegations of racisms, sexual misconduct, and lack of professionalism. ...

You can read the entire Complaint at bottom of post.

I asked Roosevelt Island Daily Publisher David Stone if he wished to comment. Mr. Stone replied:

First, I was surprised by the WIRE’s claims of defamation because no one connected with the newspaper has ever complained about the factual accuracy of anything I’ve written, not even once. When I heard about their concerns, I immediately informed them that I’d be eager to correct, retract and publicly apologize for any factual errors. Most newspapers have practices like that, as mine does, and had the WIRE ever complained, I’d have taken it seriously. They didn’t, even after I offered.

What all this appears to be is an unprecedented attack on the First Amendment by a financially stronger competitor seeking to silence criticism by dragging them into expensive litigation. It’s made even worse — and potentially embarrassing to the community — by its being driven by a newspaper that exists only because the First Amendment gives them a right to free expression. Even Trump doesn’t do that with CNN, and certainly, the WIRE has every right and a broad platform to defend itself and counter criticism. Resnick, Lutz and Warsing chose litigation instead. The Roosevelt Island community can reach their own conclusions about that.

They may be successful. The Roosevelt Island Daily is a financially borderline community service online newspaper. We simply don’t have the resources to fight the WIRE’s backers, including at least one well-heeled nonresident. But they don’t seem interested in any other course of action.

The WIRE and Warsing have also complained about a mailing list Dick Lutz gave me for the purposes of sending out alerts. Because it was filled with duplicates, stale and uninterested addresses, I haven’t used it in a year and a half, but I do not agree that I have no right to. The list was given without any strings attached, and there was no agreement about limitations. Moreover, as I’ve explained, I was never a WIRE employee and never finalized any commitment with the WIRE, although I was willing to until they backed out. The transfer happened while negotiations were ongoing. Later, Dick along with Jack Resnick and Briana Warsing decided not to honor the terms under which we’d been working together. I was saddened when that happened, but I don’t see how that gives the WIRE retroactive rights they never claimed at the time. The list itself is not only stale and outdated but also unused by the WIRE. Why they would want to prevent Roosevelt Island residents from getting daily alerts on transportation, weather and news is beyond me.

They have also complained about my encouraging businesses and their customers to consider what they investing in when their money goes to the WIRE. That’s a reasonable suggestion, I think, and conditioned on specific actions by the WIRE that I sincerely believe were detrimental to the community. Again, people can decide for themselves. Print media everywhere is bleeding advertisers, as you well know, because it’s not considered an effective way to reach customers. I can’t change that nor should I be expected to protect the WIRE against its own practices that hurt community members and institutions. If a business or a resident disagrees with me, nothing stops them from supporting the WIRE.

I can’t see how any of this reflects well on Dick Lutz, Jack Resnick, Briana Warsing or the WIRE or why they’re so concerned about this much smaller competitor that they’d attack the First Amendment in a way that has never been done before in America.

I asked Main Street Wire Publisher Briana Warsing for comment. Ms. Warsing replied:

As provided in the complaint, we are simply seeking redress from defamatory comments and theft of property and are not seeking to limit any rights under the First Amendment. We would prefer a private resolution without court intervention, though the other side, to date, seems uninterested.

Below is the Complaint.

Main Street Wire v Dailey - Complaint FILED 

Click here for better view to read the complaint.

UPDATE 11/30 - From the Twitterverse:

This seems like kind of a ridiculous media spat that should have been settled already. Right now, because they can't work it out, the Wire and the Daily have succeeded in making it into a news story for @Rooseveltisland

— AJB Communications (@ajbcomms) November 30, 2017

The Roosevelt Island Daily publisher has more today including:

I haven't seen the complaint Main Street WIRE attorney Marc Jonas Block filed against me and the Daily in Supreme Court. Others have, including other local media. Word spread around Roosevelt Island....

Click here for full article.

Roosevelt Island Newspaper Main Street WIRE Editor Retiring After 19 Years - Future Uncertain For Paper

Roosevelt Island's Main Street WIRE

Image From WNYC Vimeo Video

newspaper editor Dick Lutz announced his retirement in the December 12 issue after 19 years on the job. According to Mr. Lutz:

... If I could magically grow younger instead of older, I would not vacate this post. But it is time to get on with other projects, deferred for 19 years while dedicated to this community enterprise.

Again, because it bears repeating: Thank you, Roosevelt Island.

Click here for the full announcement.

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) tweets:

Thanks to Dick Lutz for his many years of dedicated service to the #RooseveltIsland community and leadership of the @MainStreetWIRE.

— RIRA (@riraonline) December 13, 2015

WNYC profiled Mr. Lutz and the Main Street WIRE volunteers in 2011

Dick, The Newspaperman of Roosevelt Island from WNYC on Vimeo.

and the Wall Street Journal did too in 2015.

Volunteers for the Main Street WIRE still aim to deliver the newspaper to every household on Roosevelt Island http://t.co/kfjA8GR11c

— WSJ Greater New York (@WSJNY) September 16, 2015

The future of the Main Street WIRE newspaper is currently uncertain.

Good luck and Best Wishes to Mr. Lutz on his new endeavors.

Former RIRA President Polivy Renews Call To Expel Farance From Common Council - Farance Answers RIRA Critics, Accuses Main Street Wire Newspaper Of Biased, Shoddy Reporting And Criticizes RIOC President Indelicato For Procurement Criteria

As previously reported, the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) May 2014 Common Council approved a resolution requesting $10 Thousand:

... in order to continue its work for the Island....

from the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC).

The motion was approved by a vote of 18 in favor 1 against and 2 abstentions. RIRA Common Counsel Member Frank Farance was the lone vote against.

 Image of Frank Farance from March 3 CB 8 MTA Transportation Meeting

The RIOC Operations Advisory Committee met on May 12 and after a presentation by RIRA Vice President Sherrie Helsien, as well as former RIRA President Matt Katz (video of presentation here), approved RIRA's request for $10 thousand. The RIRA $10 Thousand funding allocation was then placed on the May 15 RIOC Board Of Directors Meeting Agenda.

Prior to the RIOC Board meeting, Mr. Farance sent an email to RIOC President Charlene Indelicato and others, including NY State Government officials, describing his objections to the RIRA $10 Thousand allocation. During the RIOC Board meeting, it was announced that the RIRA $10 Thousand allocation item was removed from the Agenda and not voted upon. RIOC did not confirm that the reason the RIRA allocation was taken off  the Agenda was the letter from Mr. Farance.

The May 24 editorial of the Main Street Wire newspaper criticized Mr. Farance for sending the letter to RIOC and NY State Government officials expressing his view opposing the $10 Thousand RIOC allocation to RIRA. According to the Main Street Wire editorial with the headline "More Politics of Destruction":

Frank Farance is at it again – or still.

With his viewpoint rejected by an 18-1 vote at the May meeting of the Residents Association’s Common Council, but in his certainty that he was right and everyone else was wrong, he set out to destroy the good works of others – and apparently succeeded.

But Farance was wrong. Wrong to play the sore loser after the vote, wrong to attack his fellow Common Council members, wrong to broadcast his attack and accusations to State officials, and wrong in his basic assumptions....

and:

... From the vantage point of a longtime observer of Farance, RIOC, and the RIRA Common Council, it now appears that Farance is expecting to leave the Island, and is quite willing to burn bridges and people on his way out the door....

Click here for the full Main Street Wire editorial.

Mr. Farance was also criticized at the June RIRA meeting by former RIRA President Ellen Polivy.  Ms. Polivy, who resigned as RIRA President after failing to expel Mr. Farance from RIRA last February, appeared at the June RIRA Meeting Public Session. Ms. Polivy accused Mr. Farance of continuing to sabotage RIRA and encouraged RIRA members to renew efforts to expel Mr. Farance from RIRA. Ms. Polivy referred to Mr. Farance as the:

Crazy Uncle 

and

Village idiot.

Here''s Ms. Polivy's full remarks during the June RIRA Public Session.



There was no reaction from the RIRA Common Council following Ms. Polivy's Public Session remarks.

Mr. Farance responds to some of his critics:

Sadly, the WIRE's reporting, editorials, journalistic standards, and ethics reach new lows. "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated", i.e., Roosevelt Island is home for me and I have no plans on leaving. It seems Dick Lutz, lacking valid arguments, short on facts, and without basis, is left with the fabrication that I'm leaving the Island. One might have expected Lutz to do some fact-checking, but that didn't happen.

The WIRE has other problems, too. Did Lutz or Briana Warsing disclose that Sherie Helstien and Matt Katz (who also spoke at the RIOC meeting) are managers at the WIRE? Certainly any credible newspaper would disclose that kind of relationship among its supervisory staff and what is being reported. My sense is that Lutz waves off these complaints with "They're All Volunteers", as he's explained his Letters policy recently. The disclosure is important because we, as readers, can have a better understanding of the perspective (a potentially biased one) in the news being reported -- whether they are volunteers or not is irrelevant to journalistic integrity. Additionally, Ms. Warsing did not disclose that her husband was one of the Common Council members who voted for the faulty RIRA proposal. Again, it is important to disclose this kind of information because readers might be concerned about journalistic conflicts of interest and bias in the WIRE's reporting: favorable and consistent with her husband's position.

While the WIRE reported that I was concerned about a fraudulent RIRA proposal, the WIRE never reported the nature of the fraud -- I'm guessing that many of the WIRE's readers would have arrived at the same concerns, too. Why didn't the WIRE, at least, report what the actual concerns of the proposal? The WIRE's staff never contacted me about my position, and it seems that the WIRE was not interested in the nature of the complaints of fraud. The WIRE seemed more concerned about supporting its tired editorial narrative about Farance, Reid, and Chirivas ... and whitewashing any unpleasant news about Friends/Staff of the WIRE.

However the NYS Attorney General had enough interest in these concerns and has started an investigation with the NYS Inspector General. I look forward to their findings.

Unfortunately, the retaliation has started again in RIRA. RIRA has a new ethics committee, Chaired by Mickey Rindler. Rindler seems more interested in having anonymous RIRA Common Council members slip in last-minute provisions in the RIRA Code Of Ethnics (which will be used to expel people from RIRA at an even quicker pace), and Rindler improperly collected votes outside of the meeting's discussion. What were those last minute provisions? In essence, those anonymous RIRA Common Council members wanted to make sure that anyone reporting RIRA misconduct outside of RIRA can be expelled. Maybe Rindler should focus more upon fixing the ethics problems within RIRA rather than looking for more reasons to expel people who report ethics concerns.

For RIOC President Indelicato, a former Westchester politician, feigns ignorance of State procurement procedures: "It was my fault, the procurement process was not right". Well when you have a 501c4 lobbying organization (RIRA) that is involved in legislation that affects your NYS Public Authority, can Indelicato tell us what the right process is for that lobbying organization to merely say "Services Rendered For Doing Good Stuff In The Past" and get money from the government? It's not just Westchester, or New York State -- I can't think of any place in the US were we'd allow this whimsical Services Rendered as a basis for legitimate government procurement. RIRA Vice President Sherie Helstien is still touting the advantages of this RIOC money: We Can Co-Mingle It With RIRA Funds. Organizations doing legitimate work don't talk this way.

Also, Indelicato is inconsistent with her procurement criteria. She can explain all the procurement hurdles for RIRA's efforts to get Air Quality monitoring for the Island, but for others (the RI Royalty) saying the magic words "Services Rendered" gets money flowing from RIOC. Certainly RIRA's proposal (as presented by another organization) would have never passed muster in its Public Purpose Grant allocations process. I seems that Indelicato, as an executive, favors the Dinosaur Brains approach towards decision-making: it's more important, in a primal way, to sniff out who is Friend and Foe and give money to your Friends, and put up roadblocks for your Foe's legitimate proposals.

Lastly, I'd like to correct the WIRE's perception that I have more power than the Governor. Nope, I don't. But Truth has more power than politicians, and that was one of the founding principles of our country.

Mr. Farance later clarified his comments regarding Mr. Rindler:

Since my letter was circulated within the Common Council, Mickey Rindler has changed his position on accepting "late" votes (he withdrew the late vote). It is exactly this kind of behavior (Mr. Rindler's) that is curbed by transparency, which Mr. Rindler opposes. Still Mr. Rindler persisted in the next Ethnics Committee meeting: he still wanted the provision (making RIRA Common Council members' actions public as a kind of "misconduct") put into the Code Of Ethics, so it would be declared misconduct for expulsion proceedings.

In essence, these rules are used to punish Common Council members who have opinions the majority does not like. If a resident (who is a RIRA member) were to do the same behavior (e.g., report to their neighbors what was heard at a Common Council meeting or RIRA committee meeting), they would not be punished. RIRA's enforcement has been selective and only against certain Common Council members.

And ditto for the Roosevelt Islander Blog: In Matt Katz's term as RIRA President, RIRA approved a policy that the RIRA agenda package could not be published, i.e., we are prohibited from sharing positions and proposed motions to our constituents until AFTER they are voted upon them. Thus, when RIRA is about to do something poor/wrong/bad, we Common Council members can get expelled from letting our neighbors know about it (so they might come to the RIRA Common Council meeting to complain in the public session). Yeah, Matt Katz's not-so-brilliant idea for quashing the minority's opinions, and making much of RIRA secret before decision-making.

Mr. Rindler makes this even worse by suggesting that people should paraphrase what someone is proposing but not reveal to our neighbors what the actual person's position/proposal/statement is. Why? Because, according to Mr. Rindler, it would allow the author of the faulty/problematic position/proposal/statement to deny that he/she said it.

Mr. Rindler has a terrible sense of ethics as it applies to RIRA practices and policies. It requires constant vigilance to keep track of these misguided and damaging ideas. The Ethics Committee, under Mr. Rindler, is not about transparency and fairness, it is about creating a framework for an express path to expulsion for Common Council members who have unpopular opinions.

I asked those mentioned by Mr. Farance if they cared to respond. None did other than Mr. Rindler who replied:

I am honored to be counted among the pantheon of civic leaders that Mr. Farance has attacked for trying their best to serve this community.

Today, Mr. Farance writes to RIOC President Indelicato expressing concern that RIOC may be reducing their financial contribution to Roosevelt Island Day.

RIRA President Jeff Escobar reports that the Common Council is currently on Summer Hiatus.

Farance Charges Local Roosevelt Island Main Street Wire Newspaper With Conflicts Of Interest, Bias, Inaccurate Reporting And Manipulating News For Benefit Of Some Residents

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Island House Common Council Member Frank Farance writes:

In the March 22, 2014 issue of the Main Street WIRE, the Editor Dick Lutz singles out three RIRA Common Council members who are doing their best, which includes making transparent much of the problems to the rest of the organization's members (the residents). In other words: do legitimate and substantiated points deserve expulsion proceedings and a (bogus and erroneous) talking-down from the Editor of the newspaper whose staff is influencing the news, and doing it secretly? (not!)

Dick Lutz had no problem printing complaints about Keith Guerra (including some unsubstantiated complaints about him taking small favors/food, which turned out to be false). But it was all in the name of Openness, Fairness, and Transparency, right? So why are the complaints about Guerra not considered The Politics Of Destruction? Yet, genuine and legitimate complaints concerning Openness, Fairness, and transparency against the RIOC Board, RIRA, etc. are considered The Politics Of Destruction?

Truly, Dick Lutz has poor journalistic standards, he doesn't fact-check his reporting, he and his reporting suffer from racial/ethnic bias, he (along with others) manipulate the news and RIRA committees, and he has his own significant conflicts of interests that can question his ability to report objectively/truthfully on the Island. Rather than take up many pages, you can see the full details on the RI Blog at the page "http://tinyurl.com/wirerebuttal".

The WIRE's April 26 Editorial, Dick Lutz has doubled down on this double standard with a No Complaints Against Volunteers Or Their Motives policy for its Letters To The Editor. It's a double standard because the WIRE finds it acceptable to write an editorial incorrectly attributing motive (Politics Of Destruction) to three RIRA Common Council members (volunteers), including myself, yet us residents are prohibited by WIRE policy to raise questions about Openness, Fairness, and Transparency of elected members that represent our community, regardless of their volunteer status. Consistently, I have expressed concerns about Openness, Fairness, and Transparency -- resident or not, volunteer or not. Furthermore, the WIRE inoculates itself from criticism by touting (opposite page of its editorial) the WIRE staff are volunteers and, thus, would also be shielded from complaints about the WIRE staff and the WIRE's problematic reporting and journalistic ethics.

Or said differently, as residents read the WIRE they get incomplete or inaccurate reporting where one's scratches his/her head thinking: I Don't Know The Whole Story, clearly there is a story, there are holes in the WIRE's reporting, and I wish someone would tell us what is going on (transparency) since these organizations purport to represent us. Because of the ongoing efforts to quash reporting in many fronts (the WIRE, certain old-timer RIRA Common Council members, etc.), residents reading the WIRE continually get the impression there are key parts that are not being reported.

Here are some highlights:

1. The WIRE manipulates the news, example #1: The discussion in Matt Katz's 2011 redistricting testimony did have a racial/ethnic bias, and four elected officials responded with letters to the WIRE. But it was Dick Lutz who contacted the officials to ask them to withdraw their complaints because the WIRE did not have space to print them. Meanwhile, that same week Dick Lutz was requesting RIRA Common Council members (via E-mail forwarded by Matt Katz) to provide ADDITIONAL letters to the WIRE to counter Helen Chirivas and the RIRA Housing Committee's complaint about racial/ethnic bias in the WIRE and the Katz redistricting testimony, i.e., the WIRE says it has no room for complaints against Katz or the WIRE, but has lots of room to complain about Chirivas. At the RIRA meeting, Sherie Helstien motioned to table the Housing Committee report, which Matt Katz quickly acknowledged, and there was no possibility discussing this. The WIRE and Katz, via a kinda quid-pro-quo where they covered for each other, successfully quashed the community hearing about legitimate concerns concerning racial/ethnic bias. So to those who say Write A Letter To The WIRE, that's a bunch of baloney: you'll get WIRE staff (Lutz, Katz, Helstien, etc.) working against you.

2. The WIRE manipulates the news, example #2: Lutz correctly recalls that I lost to Katz in the RIRA 2010 elections. For Katz and I the election was mainly argued over RIOC 2010 elections: I though they should be held, as scheduled, and I complained about the secret meetings of the Maple Tree Group - MTG (which is now called the RIRA Legislative Subcommittee - LSC); meanwhile Lutz (and other WIRE staff) were voting in these secret meetings, which had the effect of cancelling the RIOC 2010 elections (among other pitfalls). In June 2011, the Governor appointed Sal Ferrera to the RIOC Board, and that whole MTG group went ballistic. Katz's gambit had failed spectacularly: there were no candidates because those MTG people manipulated the elections process. Instead of having candidates to advocate, the Island was left with the idiotic position of explaining why we chose to cancel the RIOC 2010 elections. A huge loss of credibility for the democracy / self-governance efforts because, in fact, thanks to Dick Lutz, Matt Katz, and several other WIRE staffers, the elections were manipulated. And done secretly.

3. The WIRE manipulates the news, example #3: It's like Summer of 2010 all over again. These latest shenanigans of the RIRA LSC include secret meetings where letters to legislators advocating positions on Island legislation:

- the RIRA LSC committee had secret meetings (essentially, facilitated via private E-mail discussions)
- there are no minutes of RIRA LSC meetings
- the RIRA LSC committee is presenting itself as representing the Island in legislative matters yet there was no input from the community, RIRA Common Council, or the Government Relations Committee
- there was no possibility for the community to participate in this RIRA LSC effort
- the letter was signed by the "chair" of the RIRA LSC committee when no such appointment of chair had occurred

On top of that you have Matt Katz (former RIRA President), Ellen Polivy (former RIRA President), Sherie Helstien (current RIRA VP), and Dave Evans (Chair of the Constitution and By-Laws Committee), and none of them know that these meetings, discussions, and decisions need to be made in publicly held meetings? Or said differently, with the exception of Evans/Polivy, the committee (Ashton Barfield (chair), Linda Heimer, Vicki Feinmel, Matt Katz, Sherie Helstien) is comprised of and led by WIRE staff?

Dick Lutz seems to focus on Helen Chirivas, but she has been reporting much of these unpleasant facts. Lutz's response looks like retaliation against Chirivas for exposing the almost-all-WIRE committee secretly meeting and presenting itself as the legislative committee that represents Roosevelt Island.

4. The WIRE has low journalistic standards, example #1: It doesn't fact check. Lutz implied that Joyce Mincheff quit RIRA and as RIRA Secretary because of my E-mails. Not true. This has been the third or fourth time Mincheff has quit RIRA, including the prior term under Matt Katz when she didn't like Katz, and the second time (I believe) she quit as RIRA Secretary. Had the WIRE investigated Mincheff's repetitive quitting, a clearer explanation would have been had that Ms. Mincheff has quit many times.

5. The WIRE has low journalistic standards, example #2: In an on-line complaint against Chirivas, Lutz takes a video sound bite out of context to try to make a point, but the full videos need to be posted so the community can see what had actually occurred, including the shenanigans of the LSC meeting. The WIRE has not provided the videos. Additionally, Lutz's complaints are unsubstantiated in a variety of ways (just like the expulsion proceedings against me). See the link above for more details.

6. The WIRE has significant journalistic conflicts. My understanding of Lutz's explanation is that the WIRE, while a For-Profit business, is operating out of the Rivercross Community Room, and that the WIRE have access to the space for free, but Rivercross rules only allow access to the space for organizations, not to For-Profit businesses.

Based upon his explanation, if someone were to complain to the Rivercross management or the Rivercross Board, he would lose his space. Thus, avoiding complaints is essential to Mr. Lutz having free access to the operating space of the Rivercross community room, right? All it takes is just ONE complaint, right?

So if the WIRE were to report something unpleasant about (say) the Rivercross privatization, in which approximately 360 apartments stand to cash out with hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in profits, including some Rivercross Board members who stand to gain millions of dollars in profits, and the Editor's own apartment with cash-out benefits -- then it is reasonable to believe the WIRE cannot report objectively/comprehensively or reveal the complete truth because the WIRE's operations might be at stake, and much of the WIRE's main staff are from Rivercross (Dick Lutz, Ashton Barfield, Linda Heimer, Vicki Feinmel, and a handful more) who might suffer financially in less profit-taking in the selling of their apartments.

In other words, the WIRE journalistic conflict of interest arises from multiple interests, such as financial and operational. Which means that reporting on broad swath of RIOC/Island issues (Rivercross/etc. ground leases, board members' conflicts of interest, billion-dollar debt/liability, assessments, etc.) could be both unpleasant and unprofitable for fellow Rivercross residents, including much of the WIRE staff.

Thus, there are serious questions about the objectivity, truthfulness, and completeness about the WIRE's coverage of our community.

Mr. Lutz, Mr. Katz, Ms. Helstien, Ms. Polivy and Mr. Evans were offered an opportunity to respond and rebut the allegations made by Mr. Farance. All declined to do so.

Termination Of Main Street Wire Newspaper Door Drop Delivery To Roosevelt Island Apartments And Keeping Member Communications Secret Among Items On Tonight's Roosevelt Island Residents Association Meeting Agenda

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) will be meeting tonight, 8 PM, at the Manhattan Theater Club (8 River Road).

 Image Of February 2014 RIRA Meeting At Manhattan Theater Club

As always, prior to the start of each monthly meeting there is a public session in which residents can come and address the Common Council Delegates on any issue of concern.

Among the items on tonight's agenda is a motion asking Roosevelt Island building owners to prohibit the local newspaper, the Main Street Wire,

from distributing the paper at each apartment door. According to the resolution:

Roosevelt Island Residents Association

Motion Demanding Issuance of Letter by RIRA President re Distribution of The Wire.

Movant: Helen Chirivas, Secretary

“Whereas the WIRE publication does not reflect the interests and aspirations of the entire RI community in its reportage;

Whereas the WIRE publication has offended the sector of the RI community whose interests and aspirations it does not reflect;

Whereas the WIRE publication is currently distributed door to door to every household on RI, thereby causing offense to the residents of the RI community its reportage does not reflect;

Therefore, be it resolved that RIRA President J. Escobar, acting in the best interests of the entire RI Community, will arrange for the dispatch of letters (sample attached) via Email and Certified Mail, to each and every management company on RI, requesting, on behalf of the entire RI community, that said management companies henceforth not permit the door- to-door distribution in their properties of the WIRE publication.”

Below is an except from the sample letter described in above motion:

It has come to the attention of the Roosevelt Island Residents’ Association (RIRA) that residents are unhappy with the quality and tenor of the reporting in the WIRE publication, and many no longer wish to be obliged to take delivery of the publication by means of the present door drop distribution method in effect at your property.

I trust that you will agree that the responsible course of action is to therefore terminate the WIRE door-drop distribution policy in your property so as to eliminate the possibility of further offending any tenants/owners residing therein.

To implement the cessation of the door-drop distribution policy in your property, please contact the WIRE via email...

Other RIRA members who object to the reporting in the local newspaper suggest an opt in policy for delivery of the WIRE. They suggest if a building resident wishes to have the paper delivered to their door, they tell building management of their desire and they will receive delivery. Those who don't opt in will not get door delivery. Supporters of the door drop delivery to every apartment claim that an opt in system for delivery will ruin the business advertising model of the Wire.

Also on tonight's RIRA Agenda is a motion to keep secret from the Roosevelt Island public certain communications among RIRA members. According to the resolution:

Roosevelt Island Residents Association

Motion Regarding Transmittal of RIRA Electronic Communications

Movant: Mickey Rindler, as Chair of Ethics Committee

“Be it Resolved

Common Council members shall not publicly disclose, publish, or distribute confidential information, including transmission of:

1. private emails or conversations in which RIRA business is discussed, unless authorized by the author or speaker.

2. communications posted on Common Council-sponsored websites or email reflectors unless authorized by the author or unless otherwise authorized by the Council.

3. Committee work, minutes, or reports not approved for release.”

Here is the rest of tonight's

RIRA Agenda which includes approval of a conflict of interest policy, support of the annual Blood Drive and more.

UPDATE 11:35 PM - Another excellent job by RIRA President Jeff Escobar presiding over tonight's Common Council Meeting. Here's Mr. Escobar's Report to the Common Council which followed the decision by the Common Council to remove the item regarding the Wire distribution door drops from the Agenda.



Also, the motion by the Ethics Committee Chair to prohibit disclosure to the public of internal RIRA communications was tabled and not approved by the Common Council.

RIRA's Aaron Hamburger stood up for Common Council openness and transparency by stating:

I'm strongly opposed to this motion. We are an open organization. We represent our community. There are no secrets. If you write something you stand behind it. I don't care if gets sent to the public. It should in fact....

... In my view it is contrary to the spirit of this organization....

Here's the RIRA Common Council discussion of the issue



and vote to table the issue.



Needless to say that I agree with Mr. Hamburger.

Frank Farance Commends New Roosevelt Island Residents Association President Escobar For Running A Good Meeting But Asks If Good Governance Will Follow

Reported previously on the efforts of some Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council (CC) members to expel CC member Frank Farance. Those efforts created a circus like atmosphere within RIRA and ultimately led to the resignations of several CC members, a new RIRA President and Mr. Farance remaining a CC member.

As reported following the March RIRA meeting:

Just left tonight's RIRA meeting and am happy to say the Circus has left Roosevelt Island. This RIRA meeting under the leadership of President Jeff Escobar was efficiently run, productive, civil and informative. It provides hope for the future of RIRA as an organization.

After the meeting, the overwhelming consensus of those present was that Mr. Escobar did a great job. Some RIRA members even came over to me and said they now understand why Roberts Rules Of Order is a good framework for conducting meetings.

Hopefully, this will continue going forward in the future...

Mr. Farance comments

Image Of Frank Farance

on the March RIRA meeting and governance issues facing the organization. From Mr. Farance:

I believe Jeff Escobar did good job running the March Common Council meeting. There were a variety of potential changes he proposed (e.g., auditorium seating, not circle seating as it had been). I expressed several concerns to the Common Council prior to the meeting, it's possible he was listening to my concerns. It's not the actual use of time, it's the perception about the use of time that is the problem. Ellen Polivy's meetings were so poorly run, every vote needed to be counted over and over.

The CCtalk E-mail reflector, which is not a blog (as reported in the WIRE), is sorely missed because now we are communicating with 30-ish E-mails on a To: line. I've provided the following explanation to old/new CC members and it seems to resonate with some:

"While CCtalk has been shut down, it is merely one mechanism, it doesn't prohibit other email reflectors to be set up. E-mail reflectors provide the important corporate value of making sure all directors are communicated to evenly, not some skipped by the erroneous setting up multiple recipients (three dozen or so) on an E-mail message. So if it has to do with the business of the corporation, any director has the Right to communicate with other directors. ... As I've pointed out, the RIOC board has an E-mail reflector that is public and any person can send to. Clearly, RIOC directors (including our neighbors) are able to manage their E-mail flow. [You] shouldn't look to quash corporate communications among directors. If you don't like an E-mail, you can just ignore it."

Although there are still some imperfect E-mails (even from friends), I think this will calm down soon because: (1) CC members now recognize we have a right to communicate, (2) being perceived as quashing communications is not good, and (3) the receiver can just delete unpleasant messages ... just as the RIOC Directors seem to manage without difficulty.

The lack of the corporation's minutes and prior resolutions are still an issue (a variety of Duty-Of-Care issues). And because the minutes are in poor shape, the RIRA Auditor didn't look at the Cherry Blossom Finances from last year (because the request was in the lost minutes), and thus this topic is still unresolved.

I've heard some say that we were trying to get rid of Ellen Polivy and Lynne Strong-Shinozaki, but that was not so. The goal was to correct the corporate governance, including its finances. Simply, the disagreement isn't between two factions over something arbitrary, such as choosing Chocolate vs. Strawberry ice cream for Roosevelt Island Day. The two factions can be easily described as: those interested in good governance, fairness, openness, and transparency ... and those against it via a variety of methods, such as telling untruths, misrepresentation, obstruction, manipulation, and inaction. Really, almost every argument really comes down that.

Lots of the problems that RIRA had were about getting to the truth/facts behind what was reported. The Cherry Blossom Festival was a spectacular example of a problem with the truthy-ness of the reporting from the Ms. Strong-Shinozaki and others. Simply, had Ms. Strong-Shinozaki reported the truth, been forthcoming, and answered questions, then it would have all blown over ... and RIRA would have had an opportunity to understand/correct financial/legal controls that would positively affect future RIRA fundraising efforts. But Ms. Strong-Shinozaki kept twisting the truth. It reminds me of the story children learn about lying: the first lie begets a bigger lie and so on. So rather than Ms. Strong-Shinozaki telling us the truth in a forthcoming way, her and followers doubled down with a misguided expulsion process that ultimately failed and almost toppled RIRA. The Common Council, via a democratic process, saw it for what it was. Unfortunately, RIRA is unlikely to understand/correct the problems it had with financial/legal controls with Mr. Escobar's approach to ignore the past.

Yeah, a resident writes a letter to the WIRE with genuine concerns about RIRA (which were validated and not refuted), and it percolates into an expulsion, and Ms. Polivy was quoted in the WIRE saying They've Done Us A Favor, Now This Can Drag On. Yeah, the community Got It.

And the WIRE is part of this, too. So you have WIRE staff (Sherie Helstien, Matt Katz) angling to get in something positive, some kind of exoneration for Ms. Strong-Shinozaki. Here is an excerpt of a February 19 E-mail from Sherie Helstien (Matt Katz, Jeff Escobar are CCd) where Ms. Helstien is pressuring the RIRA Treasurer:

Sherie Helstien> "... you agreed that you’d write something for The WIRE letters section, clearing up the issue around RIRA’s finances (w/the "clean bill of health" from the Audit). We’ve not seen that letter you promised you’d write. PLEASE write it and send it to Matt today so he can look it over. ... Preferably, the letter should appear in The WIRE before the March 5 Common Council meeting. Dick Lutz’s deadline for copy in the February 22 issue, the last before the March CC meeting, is past, but he may be able to make space for something important like your letter."

The RIRA Treasurer did not write such a letter. What he has said was:

CBF Financial Report was "misleading", "did not reflect arms length transactions", and "could not be considered a valid accounting report and should not be considered as such".

And for additional WIRE influence on the process, Jeff Prekopa resigned as RIRA Secretary in early December. However, he can develop the WIRE's fancy new website, he advertises in the WIRE (Big City Softworks), and he can attend RIRA Common Council meetings (as he did in February, on behalf of the WIRE?), but for three months he can't seem to give Mr. Escobar or Ms. Polivy the website administrator's user ID and password so that RIRA can correct/update the content. That's not about doing stuff competently, it seems that this is about inaction that favors that protected circle, right? And do you think the WIRE is going to report that Mr. Prekopa, in his sudden resignation, has been irresponsible in not promptly handing over corporate assets - for three months? Certainly, had the WIRE provided unbiased coverage, maybe some attention would have been given to a matter that actually affects RIRA's integrity and long-term governance.

Sure RIRA has a new President and Vice President, but it still remains to be seen whether this translates into good governance, openness, fairness, and transparency ... all for the benefit of our community. Certainly, my constituents have always supported these goals.

Frank Farance
Island House

New RIOC President Charlene Indelicato Tells Main Street WIRE Change Is Coming To Roosevelt Island - Will Be Hard But RIOC Has Obligation To Make Changes Reasonable For All Parties She Says

Ms Indelicato Seated At Right During May 15 Real Estate Advisory Committee Meeting

May 18 issue of Roosevelt Island's local newspaper, The Main Street WIRE, has an interview with new Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Charelene Indelicato.  Click here for the entire interview.

Below are some highlights.

Ms Indelicato says about Cornell NYC Tech:

... For example, Cornell. There’s an agreement that has to be made. Although it was stated that it is solely the agreement for that piece of property and an appraisal, I think there are a lot of other issues that involve the Island, like the future of the Operating Corporation, because there’s going to be an impact. It’s a good impact. But change is always hard. And we, as the Board of Directors and the administration and the governor’s office, have the obligation to make that change reasonable for all parties.

Now does that mean everybody’s going to be happy? Very rarely. It means the traditional thing: Some people are going to be happy, some unhappy, some in the middle. But the fact is that we have to have some kind of equitable solution. Now, I know there are issues of transportation – the barging or not barging, and what happens afterward – parking, impact on the City, access to the water, all those things that we worry about, and have worried about in all the construction that has gone on here. The Island didn’t start out with buildings all here, so we’ve gone through this a number of times and we’ll go through it again, and this is a little bigger vision than most, but in truth, I think it will be good for the Island, and I think it is our job to make sure it is, because if it’s not, then I don’t think Cornell will be happy. So we have that issue....

About Riverwalk Southtown development:

... Then we have the Southtown development going – David Kramer, a very reputable guy as a developer – I need to work with him to make sure he’s happy, to make sure we’re happy. I worked with him many years ago, so, knowing that he’s unhappy, we need to look at that. The [Island] master plan was done many years ago, so knowing that he wants to make changes in it, that’s reasonable; we need to look at it. I’m very pro-development, with my background, but not pro-development that is not good for the municipality that I work for....

About quality of life improvements for residents of small communities like Roosevelt Island:

... One thing I learned working in smaller communities, ...  is that it is of utmost importance. But it’s not going to happen overnight. It just isn’t. Every time I hear it from the Board or read it in the blogs and it says, We’ll wait ’til she comes in, it’s like, Hey, I am not doing this the first day. I mean, [on that standard,] already I’ve failed.

You don’t shake up a whole organization without knowing what you’re shaking it up into....

In closing:

... I am thrilled to be here.  It think it’s going to be very interesting, very demanding, but hopefully, and I don’t mean this in a facetious way, a fun job – that there are things that can be done, that we can progress, that the Board won’t have to work 24/7, that the people of the Island will see that there is a government that cares, and a Board that cares, and an administration that cares.

It was a good interview. Click here to read the entire Main Street WIRE interview with RIOC President Charlene Indelicato.

RIRA Public Purpose Funds Committee Meets Yesterday To Review and Recommend Distribution Of $100,000 To Roosevelt Island Organizations - Meeting Held In Secret and Media Kicked Out

Image Of RIRA Public Purpose Funds Committee Meeting Last Night

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Purpose Funds Committee met last night to review the proposals submitted by Roosevelt Island organizations seeking financial grants and make recommendations to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) as to how $100,000 in Public Purpose Funds should be allocated to the organizations making requests. As reported in January 20 post:

... The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) has been delegated by RIOC to make recommendations to the RIOC Board for the allocation of available Public Purpose Funds.  RIRA created a Public Purpose Funds Committee that will interview and evaluate the applicant organizations and then make recommendations as to how the funds get distributed to the full RIRA Common Council. Upon approval by the RIRA Common Council, the recommendations are forwarded to the RIOC Board for approval....

and:

Below are the organizations requesting Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) 2012 Public Purpose Fund Grants and the amounts sought.

Roosevelt Landings Residents Association - $ 2,800.00
Roosevelt Island Disabled Association, Inc. -  $ 10,500.00
R&R Concerts Inc. -  $ 14,400.00
Island Kids, Inc. - $ 16,000.00
Flannigan Chiropractic Offices -  $ 19,200.00
Roosevelt Island Seniors Association, Inc. - $ 20,000.00
Roosevelt Island Community Literary Associates, Inc. -  $ 20,000.00
Life Frames, Inc. - $ 25,000.00
Roosevelt Island Historical Society - $ 26,000.00
Parent-Teacher Association PS IS 217M, Inc. -  $ 26,558.00
Roosevelt Island Visual Art Association, Inc. - $ 28,800.00
Roosevelt Island Day Nursery, Inc. - $ 35,000.00
Roosevelt Island Swimming, Inc. - $ 53,000.00
Total Amount Requested - $ 297,258.00

I attended several of the Public Purpose Committee meetings during the last several weeks in which Roosevelt Island organizations were interviewed about their proposals and like last year was impressed with the diligence, objectivity and hard work demonstrated by the committee members.

As I did last year, I planned to attend the Public Purpose Funds Committee Recommendation meeting and was provided the time and place for last night's meeting. Several hours before the meeting was to take place, I was informed by the Committee Chair:

A couple of committee members have asked not to have media at our meeting tonight. I feel I should honor their wishes.

I replied:

This is a public meeting. 

I am a member of the public and intend to attend. 

I attended last year's meeting and see no reason why I can't attend this year. 

I am sorry if this causes you any additional problems but openness and transparency are important in the public purpose funding process.

Apparently, it was not to be a Public Meeting. I showed up for the meeting and was allowed to stay for the presentation of the Roosevelt Landings Residents Association. When that presentation was completed, I was informed that the Public Purpose Funds Committee intended to hold their recommendation discussion in secret, what they call Executive Session, but was provided a few moments to make my case for staying which was basically my reply above. I  was then asked to leave the room and a vote was taken to determine if the meeting was to be closed to the public.  I was informed that the vote was to keep the meeting secret and left.

I offered the Public Purpose Funds Committee an opportunity to comment but have not heard back yet. When and if they do, I will include their comment as an update.

The Editor of the Main Street WIRE made a brief appearance at the beginning of last night's Public Purpose Funds Committee meeting just prior to the Roosevelt Landings presentation. I had not seen the Main Street WIRE editor at any of the previous Public Purpose Funds meeting in which I attended though he may have attended the others. The Main Street WIRE editor's contribution to last night's Public Purpose meeting was to inform the Committee that he agreed with those on the Committee who wanted the meeting to be held in secret and closed to the public.

WNYC Radio Know Your Neighbor Video Profile of Roosevelt Island Main Street WIRE Editor - See How The WIRE Get's To Your Door Knob

Image From WNYC Know Your Neighbor You Tube Video

WNYC Radio interviews the Main Street WIRE editor and shows how Roosevelt Island's local newspaper gets distributed to building residents.

You Tube Video Of WNYC Know Your Neighbor

Old Roosevelt Island Print Media Attacks New Media Roosevelt Island Blog And Distorts Story On RIRA Censorship Motion - Does Email Count As Letter To The Editor?

Image of Printing Press From Compass Rose via Library Of Congress

 Roosevelt Island's local newspaper, the Main Street WIRE, reappears after more than a month's absence this weekend with an article (sorry, only a PDF File of the January 15 issue of the entire paper is available online) involving this blog which is full of material omissions, inacuracies and distortions.The WIRE article concerns the recent Roosevelt Island Resident's Association (RIRA) resolution, reported earlier here, censoring RIRA Committe Reports from being made available to the Roosevelt Island community at the same time that they are presented to the full RIRA Common Council, as has been the practice for almost the last two years, unless a 2/3 majority vote of that committee permit the Report to be made public.

Briefly, here is how the whole mess got started.

• I received the January 2011 RIRA Common Council Package, including Agenda and Committee Reports from RIRA President Matt Katz and then published them. I have been receiving and publishing these materials for almost two years without any objections. 
• RIRA Delegate Joyce Mincheff and then Matt Katz asked me to delete the Public Safety Committee Report from Blog. I refused for reasons stated below.
• Public Safety Committee Chief Keith Guerra asked me to remove paragraph about Officer. Instead I offered to redact name. I believed him to be satisfied with my response.
• At Ms. Mincheff's request, RIRA Passes Censorship Resolution by a vote of 17-12 failing to distinguish between Committee Reports, Work Product and Preliminary Minutes.
• Publish Housing Committee Report And RIRA Southtown RIRA Representative's response.
• Main Street WIRE publishes (PDF File) misleading report on incident.

Earlier this morning, after reading the WIRE's description of the events leading up to the RIRA censorship resolution, I sent the following email message to the WIRE's editor:

I just read your January 15 WIRE article on the RIRA Censorship resolution and quite frankly I am saddened and disappointed with your lack of balance, blatant partiality and disregard of significant facts known to you.

Your failure to state in this so-called "news article" the fact that what I published were final RIRA Committee Reports from both the Public Safety and Housing Committee Chairs submitted to the RIRA Common Council in the ordinary course of their procedures and not what you label as 'working papers" or "minutes" (page 1 para 3) makes a mockery of your editorial claims in the same issue as holding some sort of exclusive "responsibility" and "good-sense judgment" in Roosevelt Island reporting for your newspaper and you as a "seasoned professional".

Your failure to include the below statement from Ms. Mincheff, which you had a copy of, thanking me for the way in which I handled the Public Safety information demonstrates the intent of this article, together with your editorial, was really designed to be a personal attack against me as a competitive news outlet on Roosevelt Island

If he's okay with redacting his name- it works for me. Keep in mind, there may be responses you've received that mention his name as well.


Thanks for dealing with the problem in a humane manner.


Joyce

You also failed to mention that the Public Safety and Housing Committee reports were provided to me by RIRA President Matt Katz and that the Public Safety Committee Chair Erin Feely-Nahem told me that she had no problem with my publishing the material. She did have a problem that Matt Katz failed to forward a subsequent report that provided additional context to the published Public Safety Report which had it been sent, I would have added to the post. Did you not think that was an important part of the story or did it not fit into your personal agenda of attacking me?

You asked me to comment on this situation and I provided a full response expecting you to be fair and accurate. By failing to correctly represent my side of this story, you have badly misinformed the Roosevelt Island community.

Also, the condescending tone of your article and editorial, including these remarks:

... The technologies of the 21st century have put those megaphones into inexperienced and irresponsible hands. It’s no longer a news organization’s community of professionals making a disciplined, careful decision about what gets re- peated by publication. Now, it can be just one person, answerable only to himself, free of traditional constraints, with no particular responsibility to standards of right and reason...

is self serving and just plain wrong. I may not be a member of what you consider to be the journalism profession but will put the Roosevelt Islander Blog's news judgement and ethics besides the WIRE's any day of the week and come out ahead. I strive to be fair, accurate and provide as many different sides of a story that exist without claiming my own personal opinion to be a fact. When I do give my personal opinion it is stated to be so and not disguised as fact as you have done in this article in an attempt to discredit your competition in the world of Roosevelt Island news and information. I believe you have only hurt yourself and the WIRE.

Again, I am very disappointed that you have chosen this path.

The Editor's response to me was to write a letter to the editor - which I thought I just did - unless the WIRE editor meant for me to send an actual physical letter in an envelope with a stamp through the mail and that an email message somehow does not count.

Here's how the latest in the ongoing saga of the Roosevelt Island media wars began. Earlier in the week, the WIRE Editor contacted me and asked if I wanted to comment on the RIRA resolution restricting media access. I asked the WIRE Editor:

Are there specific questions or charges involving me or are you looking  for general policy comment.

The WIRE Editor replied that I might want to respond to the charge that I was irresponsible in publishing the RIRA Report and a general policy comment as well.

I responded:

OK, I will have a full response for you tomorrow.

If you have not done so already, you may want to consider asking Vini Fortuna, Ava Dawson, Frank Farance and other members of RIRA who opposed this resolution for their views on subject.

FYI - In regard to redacting the Police Officer's name, I never refused to do that but, in fact, I suggested redacting the officer's name to Keith Guerra and he was satisfied with my offer. Ask Keith about that.  I did refuse to delete post from Roosevelt Islander Blog when asked to by Joyce Mincheff, Matt Katz and Chief Guerra.

RIRA Common Council Packages have been sent to me and posted on the blog prior to RIRA Monthly Meetings many times before without any objection. To be clear, none of the material sent to me or posted was "work product" or "preliminary minutes" but were the RIRA Committee reports submitted to the Common Council in the regular course of RIRA business and similar Committee Reports have been posted many times in the past.

Below are two emails I sent to Joyce Mincheff and Matt Katz on January 5 in response to their emails asking me to remove the post of the RIRA Common Council  Package sent to me by Matt. You have my permission to print these emails in full if you wish. First

Joyce & Matt,

I understand your concern but this is news obtained lawfully and is not defamatory towards anyone.

I do not intend on deleting the material.

I think there has been much criticism in the past of RIOC's lack of transparency and keeping information from the public. I don't think it is wise for the Roosevelt Island Residents Association to follow down that path which seems to be the suggestion. It is the right thing to do for RIRA Committee reports to be made available to the public and not just for the select few in the know.

If anyone feels that Officer {Name Redacted} has been unfairly criticized, the solution is not to delete information but rather to add more information explaining why the criticism is wrong or incomplete which I am always willing to do.

I am happy to discuss this with any of you further if you wish.

Regards,

Rick

and second:

Joyce

I just got off the phone with Keith Guerra and I think he is satisfied with my redacting the officer's name but leaving the rest of the post. I also told Keith that I am happy to post additional information that counters the view expressed about the Officer.

I am not going to delete the post.

Rick

Joyce responded later that same day.

If he's okay with redacting his name- it works for me. Keep in mind, there may be responses you've received that mention his name as well.

Thanks for dealing with the problem in a humane manner.

Joyce

Dick, If you wish to print Joyce's response, you should ask her permission to do so. I will have a chronological statement of the events for you tomorrow. I think that the above emails I am sharing with you provide the context for what occurred.

Also, Erin Feely-Nahem who wrote the Public Safety Committee report told me that she had no problem with my publishing the report. In addition to the Public Safety Report controversy, some RIRA members were embarrassed by the contents of the Housing Committee report submitted and want to prevent similar embarrassments from occurring again by prohibiting the distribution of these reports.

I am happy to respond to any specific follow up questions you may have.

The next day, I sent these comments to the WIRE Editor most of which were ignored and left out of the article.

Since April, 2009, the Roosevelt Islander Blog has been regularly publishing the RIRA monthly meeting Agenda and those Committee Reports provided by RIRA representatives, unedited and in their entirety, without any objections.  In fact, the material was made available with RIRA official's approval and encouragement.

Last week, continuing such practice, RIRA President Matt Katz provided me with the Agenda and Committee Reports for the January 2011 RIRA Common Council Meeting, which the Roosevelt Islander Blog published in full in the ordinary course, as was customary. The next day, I received an email message from Joyce Mincheff and Matt Katz, requesting that I remove from the Blog, the post which contained RIRA’s Public Safety Committee report about the NYPD officer assigned to Roosevelt Island because of certain critical comments made about the officer in the Committee Report.

I declined such request to remove this post, for the following reasons which were provided to Ms. Mincheff and Mr. Katz in an email:

“I understand your concern but this is news obtained lawfully and is not defamatory towards anyone.

I do not intend on deleting the material.

I think there has been much criticism in the past of RIOC's lack of transparency and keeping information from the public. I don't think it is wise for the Roosevelt Island Residents Association to follow down that path which seems to be the suggestion. It is the right thing to do for RIRA Committee reports to be made available to the public and not just for the select few in the know.

If anyone feels that {Name Redacted} has been unfairly criticized, the solution is not to delete information but rather to add more information explaining why the criticism is wrong or incomplete which I am always willing to do.

I am happy to discuss this with any of you further if you wish.”

Later that day, Public Safety Director, Keith Guerra, called me and also requested that the post be removed. He explained that criticism of the NYPD officer would make it difficult for the officer to do his job effectively, and that if the officer was removed from Roosevelt Island by his superiors, another officer probably would not be assigned to Roosevelt Island. I told Mr. Guerra that I would not remove the post for the reasons stated above but offered to redact the officer's name from the post. Mr. Guerra understood the reasons why I would not remove the post, and was satisfied with my redacting the officer's name.

The information published on the Roosevelt Islander Blog, which some RIRA members are now objecting to, was contained within formal RIRA Committee reports submitted by such Committees to the RIRA Common Council in the ordinary course of their business. These Committee reports were not "work product", " preliminary notes" or "unofficial minutes".

RIRA should not be preventing the Roosevelt Island public from reading the same Committee reports that are available to the Common Council Delegates which represent them.  These Common Council Delegates were elected to serve all Roosevelt Island residents, in a responsible and transparent manner, not behind an opaque and arbitrary wall preventing the free exchange of information to the public.

The effort by a majority of RIRA members to censor these Committee reports is an attempt to prevent individual members and the Council itself from being embarrassed or looking foolish. In my opinion, that is not a reason to censor information from the Roosevelt Island public."

After I read the WIRE article this morning, I called Roosevelt Island Public Safety Director Keith Guerra to inquire if I misrepresented his position. Mr. Guerra replied that he did not say he was "satisfied" with my redacting the officer's name but that he was "OK" with it. To my mind, there is not much difference between being "satisfied" and "OK". Mr. Guerra did repeat that he would have preferred the entire paragraph concerning the officer be removed but fully understood my position of reporting a news story.

In my opinion, it's too bad the WIRE Editor, in this case and for his own particular reasons, does not understand the difference between a news story and a hatchet job. The WIRE Editor is entitled to his own opinions, but not his own facts!!!!!!

Update On Being Kicked Out Of MTA Roosevelt Island F Train Meeting - Reader Comments and Main Street WIRE Editor Responds

You Tube Video of MTA Chairman Walder Speaking On Transparency At Citizen Budget Committee

Last week's post about the December 9 MTA meeting with Roosevelt Island residents, RIOC and elected officials to seek solutions for Roosevelt Island F Train problems generated two surprising reader comments. To recap what happened:

I am very pissed at being removed earlier this morning by MTA Press Office from meeting on finding temporary solution to alleviating the anticipated overcrowding on the Roosevelt Island F Train service during 2010 Tram outage despite being invited to attend by a Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Director, the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President and with the knowledge of Assembly Member Micah Kellner's office who convened the meeting. I also got soaking wet walking in the poring rain to MTA Headquarters for this meeting which did not help.

MTA press people present removed me and the Main Street WIRE editor from meeting claiming that MTA could not speak openly or frankly about this subject with us in the room.

These reader comments support the MTA's decision to bar press and blogger from meeting:

Did you really think you can just attend a meeting like that? That's a little naive, no? I am very sure that it is not okay to have the press attending meetings like that pretty much everywhere - MTA or not. That has nothing to do with transparency or what not. You will get the press release or meeting notes through official channels later on.

And:

What I like about the Roosevelt Islander is that even when there are posts contra to what he believes or that disagree with him, he still allows them to be posted. Other Blogsites would remove such comments. That's what makes this site enjoyable to read.

BTW, I also scratched my head when I read that it bothered you to be asked to leave that meeting. But, I think you knew that would happen and gave it a shot anyway.

Main Street WIRE editor Dick Lutz responds and I am in complete agreement with him. According to Mr. Lutz:

I find it "amazing" and a "head-scratcher" that citizens of a democracy would be so willing to have a public agency act unobserved by the public, unquestioned, answerable to no one but themselves, while spending tax dollars and making decisions that affect the daily daily lives of those same citizens. Government behind closed doors, unexamined, is an open invitation to corruption, nepotism, and incompetence.

And it does have everything to do with transparency. Getting the "press release or meeting notes through official channels later on" means that the very people who need watchdogging get to decide what is seen and what is hidden. The first of these anonymous posters, if not an MTA employee, is clearly quite willing to accept whatever government decides he should know -- and not know. And we can point to hundreds, if not thousands, of recent examples of what happens when public authorities and government agencies get to hide what they're doing behind press releases and official statements.

Members of the public at large can't attend a meeting like the one held in that crowded conference room at the MTA offices, for reasons of their own time and availability, if nothing else. If the press cannot attend, as in this case, incompetence goes unobserved and unreported, as in this case -- unless the first Mr. Anonymous trusts that an MTA press-release writer will be allowed to report and comment frankly on the work of his fellow MTA employees, and have that mailed out by the MTA.

Dick Lutz

Editor & Publisher, The Main Street WIRE

Of course, I have yet to receive any information from the MTA regarding this meeting despite being promised so while they kicked Mr. Lutz and myself out of the building. Reports of the meeting from residents allowed to remain in attendance and from Assembly Member Kellner were that the MTA does not think there is any Roosevelt Island F train problem requiring a solution. More on that here.

Below is slide from MTA's Power Point Presentation used during the meeting dealing with Roosevelt Island. Click on the image for better reading.


Here is an editorial on subject from the 12/13/09 Main Street WIRE:

The MTA,

Hiding Incompetence

The MTA seems to think that it can hide the agency’s inability to serve the public by keeping reporters out of the meetings where, in response to good ideas, they give stock answers: "We don’t do that," or "It can’t be done," or "It’s against policy."

The transit agency has a lot more ways of saying "no," of course, but would apparently prefer to keep objective listeners out of the meetings where their technical people divert the attention of supplicants from problems and suggested solutions to relatively unimportant matters, while slipping some form of "no" into their responses.

As the story on page 3 reports, MTA personnel would not allow a meeting with Roosevelt Island leaders and officials to go forward on Wednesday morning until two reporters were escorted from the building. Oddly, this ensures that the MTA’s view of things will not be heard, since those attending such a session tend not to be objective in seeing how their ideas were treated, hoping against hope that there’s some crack in the closed-door minds of those charged with rejecting both the pleas for help and the ideas that would make that help possible.

Keeping the press out has the effect of keeping the public out.

The explanation, that "it’s a different dynamic" when the press is present, is another way of saying, "We don’t want you to hear us say ‘no,’ because then you’ll report it for what it is, rather than the smoke-screen with which we surround it.

Unfortunately, Assemblymember Micah Kellner is complicit – an accessory before, during, and after the fact in allowing the MTA to say "no" out of earshot of objective reporters. We can applaud him for responding to this publication’s call for a full-court press by elected officials to get the MTA moving on solutions rather than additional ways of refusing to help. But setting up a meeting in which they duck that responsibility and competent reporting is excluded makes him part of the problem: As long as the MTA can refuse help behind a door closed to the press, the public will not have a clear-headed assessment of what the MTAspeak ("no," etc.) really means.

The MTA’s handling of the press aside, they’ve made it abundantly clear that they have no intention of being helpful in the transportation crisis that will arise when Roosevelt Island’s Tramway is down for six months (let alone the current rush-hour mess). They claim, despite abundant in-the-station evidence that it just isn’t so, that there is "plenty of capacity during the morning rush." There isn’t, as is known by anyone knows who’s had to wait on the platform while unboardable trains go through and more competition for space accumulates on the platform.

So we’re left with a no-can-do agency that won’t supply capacity, gives us elevators that break down more regularly than the trains run, and operates escalators that often run the wrong way but always lecture us repetitively while multiple trains leave us behind in the morning.

Shame on the MTA.

Shame for a bad job, and shame for hiding your meetings from the people.

DL

Copyright 2009 The Main Street WIRE (reprinted with permission)