Watch Video Of Roosevelt Island Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney's Forum On How New Tax Plan Affects New Yorkers - "Tax Scam Will Be Devastating For New York City" Says Maloney

Roosevelt Island's Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney hosted a forum on how the new Tax Plan will impact New Yorkers last Sunday. Elected representatives attending the forum included:

• Public Advocate Letitia James,
• NY State Senator Rebecca Seawright,
• NYC Council Member Ben Kallos,
• Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and
• NYC Council Member Carolina Rivera.

You can watch the forum below.

Today I hosted a forum on how the #GOPTaxScam will affect New Yorkers. We discussed how it will impact our state, seniors, healthcare, and more. https://t.co/tsRILe8bzj

— Carolyn B. Maloney (@RepMaloney) January 13, 2018

According to this January 13 Press Release from Congresswoman Maloney's office:

Today, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) hosted a community forum on how the GOP tax law affects New York State. She was joined by a panel of experts including Director of Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign Mark Hannay, Senior Budget & Policy Analyst at the Fiscal Policy Institute Jonas J. Nazimoff Shaende and AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel. The panel used their expertise to help break down the GOP tax law that was rushed through the House and Senate at the end of 2017 despite opposition from every Democrat in both chambers.

“While Americans were celebrating the holidays, President Trump and Congressional Republicans handed millions of hardworking people a big lump of coal with their tax scam, disguised as a tax reform bill,” said Congresswoman Maloney. “This tax scam will be devastating for New York City and raise taxes on over 80 million Americans across this country. The new Republican tax law steals from states like New York and borrows another $2.3 trillion that our children and grandchildren will have to pay back, in order to give massive tax breaks to big corporations and the wealthiest, fortunate few.

“This bill is a disaster for the middle class, for healthcare, and for New York. Our state already pays more than its fair share. We were already sending over $56 billion more to the federal government in taxes than we got back in federal spending. We are a donor state – and proud to do our part, but we’re not fools and can see how badly we’re being taken advantage of.”

Constituents spent over an hour asking questions about the State and Local Tax Deduction cap, the mortgage interest cap, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act individual mandate, the $25 billion cut to Medicare, and the Republicans’ plan to slash funding for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. A full video of the event can be found here.

Roosevelt Island Town Hall Meeting With NYC Public Advocate Letitia James Co-Hosted By NY State Senator Jose Serrano And Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright - Here's What Happened

Image Of Public Advocate Letitia James, State Senator Serrano & Assembly Member Seawright

NYC Public Advocate Letitia Jones, please call her Tish, held a Roosevelt Island Town Hall meeting last night at the Good Shepherd Community Center

Great to be on #RooseveltIsland kicking off first annual #SeniorWeek with town hall discussion pic.twitter.com/2FMrIIT77O

— Letitia James (@TishJames) August 5, 2015

co-hosted by NY State Senator Jose Serrano and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright.

With my colleague @Rebecca76AD, as I introduce our Public Advocate @TishJames at our #RooseveltIsland town hall. pic.twitter.com/bm72Pz45C2

— Sen. Jose M. Serrano (@SenatorSerrano) August 5, 2015

Here's what happened.

Part 1 - Senator Serrano introduced Ms James and Assembly Member Seawright. Ms Seawright noted that she and Senator Serrano passed legislation permitting the distribution of RIOC Public Purpose Funds.



Part 2 - Ms James described the role of the NYC Public Advocate in public policy issues as well as constituent services for New York City residents.



Part 3 - Ms James discussed issues of specific concern to Roosevelt Island residents including:

• Upcoming Con Ed Gas upgrade,
• RIOC charging fees for community space and recreational fields,
• Main Street retail diversity,
• Cornell Tech failing to provide financial backing for school programs
• Insuring that Cornell Tech fulfills its promises to the community and
• more.

 Ms James emphasized that:

... Roosevelt Island cannot become a playground for the rich...

noting that:

... Roosevelt Island is run like a company and not a community...

and asked if it was time to change the Public Authority model by which Roosevelt Island is governed to that of a:

... democratic system representing Roosevelt Island...

Many of these issues were raised by Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Governance Committee Chair Joyce Short here.

Part 4 - Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer talked about getting fresh fruits and vegetables to Seniors, disabled access to curb cuts in Manhattan, higher education for seniors, affordable housing, preventing tall towers in residential areas and other issues.



Part 5 -Recently deceased Roosevelt Island resident Dominic Sciallo was was honored for his service during World War 2 and to the Roosevelt Island community.



Part 6 - Questions from Roosevelt Island residents including:

• legislative priorities to help Seniors. Mr James responded affordable housing for Seniors,
• discrimination issues,
• tenant rights,
• Tram Station elevator problems,
• what can the Public Advocate do to help Roosevelt Island residents, (Ms. James said she would love to have a satellite office on Roosevelt Island),
• Westview Co-op conversion electricity sub metering issue and
• making sure Cornell Tech keeps promises it made to community in lease agreement.

That's it.

NYC Public Advocate Letitia James Holding Roosevelt Island Town Hall Meeting Hosted By NY State Senator Jose Serrano Wednesday August 5 - Bring Your Questions & Concerns

NYC Public Advocate Letitia James will be holding a Roosevelt Island Town Hall Meeting hosted by NY State Senator Jose Serrano 6- 8 PM Wednesday August 5 at Good Shepherd Community Center.

According to the NYC Public Advocate web site:

The Office of Public Advocate for the City of New York is a citywide elected position in New York City, which is first in line to succeed the Mayor. The office serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government, effectively acting as an ombudsman, or "watchdog," for New Yorkers by providing oversight for city agencies, investigating citizens' complaints about city services and making proposals to address perceived shortcomings or failures of those services.

Public Advocate James is a non-voting member of the New York City Council with the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation. Public Advocate James is also charged with appointing members to various boards and commissions, including one member of the New York City Planning Commission. Public Advocate James serves on the committee which selects the director of the Independent Budget Office. These duties are laid out in Section 24 of the City Charter.

On November 5, 2013, Letitia "Tish" James was elected as the fourth Public Advocate for the City of New York. She began her term on January 1, 2014....

Bring your questions and concerns to the NYC Public Advocate's attention at the August 5 Roosevelt Island Town Hall Meeting.

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Government Relations Committee Chair Joyce Short shares this list of concerns.

Here are some of the most pressing issues we face in our community, and it would be wise for the Public Advocate to be prepared on these topics:

• Con Ed's gas line installation down Main Street, our ONLY traffic corridor
• The unreasonable expectation that RIOC should charge high fees to the non-profit organizations that support the quality of life in our community.
• The negative impact of RIOC's policies to charge the community for the use of recreational fields, prohibiting our children from the use of our fields in favor of the paying permit holders.
• Failure of Westview and Island House's landlord (Hishchorn) to disclose the actual costs that will fall on the resident's shoulders if their buildings are converted without performing the energy upgrades to convert to submetering.
• Lack of merchants and commercial services on Main Street
• Cornell's lack of contribution to the community including no financial backing for school programming even though they claim to have "adopted" our school. (You actually need to feed the children you adopt.)
• Failure of Cornell to address the pressure on public services such as Public Safety and use of recreational fields that will result from their increased population
• Failure of NYC to address the pressure on public services such as Public Safety and use of recreational fields that will result from Cornell's increased population
• Greatly increased revenues to NYC as a result of the creation of Cornell-Tech with absolutely NO contribution pay-back to the community, by the City.
• The State of NY floated a bond issue to develop Roosevelt Island as a low and middle income community. But the conversion of the last two Mitchel Lama properties eliminates all subsidized housing stock in the community. What can your office do to insure that the residents receive the best protections for affordability?
• Roosevelt Island is a community in excess of 14,000 people who are governed by a Public Benefit Corporaton, not by elected government. RIOC is comprised of board members who are appointed by the Governor. Even though we have nominated people to serve on the board, Governor Cuomo has ignored those recommendations and has allowed the seats to expire. Just as all residents are entitled to democracy throughout our country, we residents of Roosevelt Island are entitled to democracy here on Roosevelt Island. What can you do to bring a democratic process of government to Roosevelt Island?

I would add having the NYC Department of Transportation improve bike safety on the Roosevelt Island Bridge by covering over the metal grated bike lane

 Image of Roosevelt Island Bridge Metal Grill Bike Path and Roadway

which is very slippery when wet. This issue has been known by DOT since at least 2011.

Ms. James was the guest on July 2 episode of CB 8 Speaks discussing issues concerning the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island. Here's what she had to say.



What would you like to ask Ms. James?

Report From RIRA President Ellen Polivy - Roosevelt Island Hugs For Ben, Good Bye To Former CFO Steve Chironis, Ferry Service, Public Advocate Runoff Questions, Land Use Deliberations & More

East River Ferry Trip From Long Island City To Greenpoint

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Ellen Polivy sends the following Report To The Community:

Roosevelt Islanders are hugging

Something wonderful is happening on our island. A hugging project has been started by friends of Benjamin Imbrogno who passed away this summer. He was only 21. Lynne Shinozaki writes “In memory of Ben we are collecting BEN-HUGS. Ben was a young man who was always generous with his hugs, something we all loved about him.” For his memorial on Saturday October 5, we are asking everyone to honor this young man whose life ended too soon. Please start HUGGING. Count the hugs and let Lynne know the number by October 4. You can contact her through the RIRAonline.com website. Click on the “RIRA” button and then click on “Council”. You will see the list of all council members. You can then send a note to Lynne with your hug count.

I wasn’t lucky enough to know Ben, but I wish I had. I was moved to ask people about him. Friends and family described him as a loving and generous young man who really cared about people. His happy greetings made friends and strangers feel important and acknowledged - a young man who made a difference to everyone around him.

So Roosevelt Islanders, start hugging today. We are hoping that hugging becomes a habit.

Another loss to the Island.

Steve Chironis, RIOC’s Chief Financial Officer resigned last month. His departure is a big loss to the residents. Steve helped us in so many ways. He went beyond his strict job description and became a part of the community helping with youth and sports and supporting RIRA functions. Since he was here six years, he had the institutional memory that none of the present leadership has, knows what was tried and what worked and what didn’t. He will be missed.

Your vote counts for the Public Advocate runoff

October 1 is the runoffs for Public Advocate between Letitia James and Daniel Squadron. The turnout is expected to be sparse. Each and every vote really counts! If you are a Democrat, do Roosevelt Island a favor and vote. Elected officials pay attention to the locations that get out the votes. The people who vote are considered the base and treated very respectfully.

RIRA’s government relations committee has tried unsuccessfully to get the two candidates to have a debate on Roosevelt Island. But apparently Roosevelt Island is considered small. Can you imagine that? We need to change that perception. We may be small, but we vote.

On August 27, RIRA held a candidates night in which we asked candidates a set of questions that were intended to help each candidate understand and consider answers to our unique challenges. I have sent both Letitia James and Daniel Squadron’s campaigns the questions and asked for a written response. I will post the responses on the RIRAonline.com website. So far, no responses.

Questions to candidates

Affordable Housing - The new Roosevelt Island residential developments are all luxury rentals or condos. Even the "affordable housing" component of these buildings are made up of apartments only for hospital personnel at Cornell Weill and Memorial Sloan Kettering and not available to the general public. Within a few years Roosevelt Island’s earliest buildings will all have left the Mitchell Lama program. What will the candidates do to preserve affordable housing on Roosevelt Island?

Roosevelt Island was designed to be wheelchair accessible. One formerly Mitchell-Lama building, Roosevelt Landings, has a floor of accessible apartments enabling quadriplegic residents to live in the community. Former Goldwater patients have lived in these apartments for years on portable respirators, hospital gurneys and electric wheelchairs. A community doctor and nurse visit them as needed. This concept became a national model for mainstreaming handicapped people back into the community. In this now privatized building, rents are in the process of increasing to market level when existing tenants leave. The result: new handicapped tenants will no longer be able to afford to live in that building, and will have fewer options for living in on Roosevelt Island. What can we do to bring in subsidies so that disabled people can continue to live in our community? Today, when the national focus is on community treatment of very handicapped people, it would be an embarrassment for Roosevelt Island, once a model for mainstreaming, to regress.

Cornell - The Cornell campus is going to have a significant impact on the island, both during construction and once classes begin. Here are some questions we need answered:

-How do you make sure that Cornell will act as a good neighbor, protecting the needs of existing island residents and giving back to the local community? One of the hot button issues for the RI community is barging construction materials. Will you make sure your staff is aware of this issue so you can work with our community.

-How will you help enforce the agreements that are in the lease Cornell NYC Tech has negotiated with New York City?

-Cornell will be using Roosevelt Island resources but has yet to agree to pay any money to help with their share of costs of running the Island. What ideas do you have for ensuring that either Cornell pays or New York City returns to the Island enough resources from the PILOTs of the collocated businesses to pay for their share of the maintenance?

Transportation

Roosevelt Islanders want ferry service. We feel strongly that a stop on the East River Ferry will be good for our community and tourists – who are increasingly discovering the Tram – will love it. Will you support this needed service?

Ben Kallos meet and greet

Ben Kallos candidate for City Council for Jessica Lappin’s seat will be doing a meet-and-greet with donations optional on Tuesday October 15 from 7 to 9 at Riverwalk Café. Come meet him and tell him what is important to you. I am sending him the same set of questions and hope he will answer them in writing.

NEXT RIRA MEETING: Land use deliberations

At our September Common Council meeting we heard three presentations about use of land in the city and on the Island.

Island Shakespeare would like to renovate a pier to bring their creative theater productions to Roosevelt Island

The Korean Association presented a very compelling gazebo design for Southpoint Park with a view of the United Nations.

The United Nations Development Corporation made a presentation on a office building they would like to build next to the United Nations Secretariat building. It requires purchase of a section of a city park but, if deal is approved, will result in among other things, completion of a section of the Greenway along the East River.

To achieve major change in the city takes deals, major cooperation of lots of groups and the inconvenience of many individuals. Sometime in the near or distant future, we will have a Second Avenue Subway, a beautiful Greenway along the river, AND we will have a ferry stop on Roosevelt Island. All good things to look forward to!

Please join us on October 2.

NYC Mayoral Candidate John Liu and NYC Public Advocate Candidate Reshma Saujani Appear At Roosevelt Island Candidate's Forum - Here's What They Had To Say

As previously reported, the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) held a NYC Candidates Forum last August 27.

Current NYC Comptroller John Liu was the only Mayoral Candidate to appear and answer questions from RIRA President Ellen Polivy about about Roosevelt Island affordable housing, the community's relationship with Cornell NYC Tech, improving Roosevelt Island transportation and other important issues. Here's what Mr. Liu had to say.



Reshma Saujani was the only NYC Public Advocate Candidate to appear at the Roosevelt Island Candidate's Forum and answer similar questions from Ms. Polivy. Here's what Ms. Saujani had to say.



Also appearing at the Roosevelt Island Candidate's Forum were Manhattan Borough President Candidate Jessica Lappin and NYC Council 5th District Candidates Ben Kallos and Ed Hartzog.

The Democratic and Republican Party primary elections will take place on Tuesday, September 10.

How Did Roosevelt Island Vote In NYC Democratic Primary Elections For Manhattan DA, NYC Public Advocate and Comptroller?

Public Advocate Candidate Bill deBlasio together with Jessica Lappin and Micah Kellner at Roosevelt Island gathering

Wonder how Roosevelt Island residents cast their ballots in last Tuesday's Democratic Party Primary Election for Manhattan District Attorney, NYC Public Advocate and NYC Comptroller? Below are unofficial numbers based upon the count of a campaign volunteer after the polls closed at PS/IS 217. Again, this is an unofficial Roosevelt Island count of votes cast in the 95, 96, 97 and 98 Election Districts. They do not include those who voted at the Coler Campus (94th ED) or the Goldwater/Southtown site (99 ED).

Manhattan DA
Crocker-Snyder: 206
Vance: 197
Aborn: 80

Public Advocate
DeBlasio: 166
Green: 134
Gioia: 104
Siegel 62

Comptroller
Liu: 202
Yassky: 154
Katz: 109
Weprin: 38

The total number of votes cast on Roosevelt Island based upon this unofficial count was 526.

NY 1 has the complete City wide primary results. There will a runoff election for NYC Public Advocate and City Comptroller on September 29.