Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Interim Leadership Team Member Gerrald Ellis Announces He Is Leaving RIOC At The End Of June - This Is A Big Loss, In 6 Short Months He Helped Bring Competency And Community Engagement To Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Deputy General Counsel and Interim Leadership Team member Gerrald Ellis

sent the following message to RIOC employees this afternoon.

To my fellow RIOC employees,

It is with mixed emotions that I write to you today to share some personal news. I have accepted a position as in-house counsel at an affordable housing developer here in NYC, and I will be leaving RIOC at the end of the month. My last day will be Friday, June 28th.

It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in the interim leadership role since January and to be at least partially entrusted with the stewardship of the unique gem that is Roosevelt Island. Our work continues, both for this month while it remains ours together, and into the future once I am gone. I leave content, however, knowing that the work lies in good hands with you all, the incredible team who make this island function, who keep it clean and orderly, who come in day in and day out, rain or shine, to do your jobs and to make this island the beautiful, tranquil oasis it is.

I also leave content in the hope that I have left the island and our institution at least slightly better than when I first arrived. But even if that is true, it is you all that I must thank for it. The employees of RIOC are the backbone of this organization—from the Youth Center to PSD to the grounds crew to the maintenance staff to Sportspark, the bus fleet, and then all the administrative staff—it is you all who have kept the RIOC ship steady over these last few months and for that I am forever grateful.

And so, I thank you all for your efforts and I wish you all the best in life and your future endeavors. Roosevelt Island and the community here are better because of you and your work. Always remember that.

My best to you all,

Upon learning Mr Ellis was leaving RIOC, I asked him and the RIOC Board of Directors:

I understand that you are leaving RIOC at the end of the month.

First, thank you very much for your service to Roosevelt Island. I believe that over the last 6 months, you and the RIOC Interim Leadership team have done an outstanding job and you will be missed.

Does your departure have anything to do with the Haynes/Robinson lawsuit? Will either of them be returning to RIOC?

Who will be in charge of RIOC?

Is there any statement from the RIOC Board?

Any statement from Gerrald?

Will update when more information becomes available. 

This morning, Mr Ellis spoke at the raising of the Roosevelt Island Pride Flag.

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This evening Mr Ellis discussed an extension of the Roosevelt Island Master Ground Lease between New York City and State during the Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island committee meeting. 

The departure of Mr Ellis from RIOC is big loss for Roosevelt Island. As part of the Interim Leadership team he has brought competency to RIOC management and real engagement with the Roosevelt Island community. The RIOC Board and NY State should try and persuade him to stay.

Stay tuned for more.

UPDATE 6/4 - RIOC Board Member Ben Fhala replies:

Of course, I will refrain from delving into the details due to the litigation and out of respect for Gerrald to narrate what he wants and can make public.

I was deeply saddened to hear that Gerrald decided to step down from the interim leadership position. Since the junior board members joined, he has been a welcoming figure in an incredibly hostile environment. Throughout our many long talks during this journey of reestablishing governance on this island, he was a voice of calm and reason. He worked behind the scenes to enable, inform, and support this new board's mission to create structures that support the incredibly important work we have been tasked with.

In the very first board meeting, he welcomed the new board members and urged us to reach out to him for any need, reminding us that he has fiduciary duties to us and will always be available. Not long after that meeting, the executive team set a directive to prevent open communications with the board members. Yet, at great personal risk, Gerald kept the dialogue with all board members who wished to remain informed.

He did his best to mediate between the senior board members and the junior board members, between the executive team and the board, and even between NY State Homes & Community Renewal (HCR), the Governor's Executive Chambers, and this board. His dedication and personal sacrifices throughout the last year have made him the most ideal candidate to assume the position of CEO. Unfortunately, due to reasons I cannot elaborate on, his nomination was blocked and delayed. Although he was appointed to the interim leadership team without the support required to operate fully, he helped bridge the gap that had formed between the community and the organization created to serve it. He is still working tirelessly to bridge the facets of this board and its oversight.

Simply put, this community and the resident board members will forever be in his debt for putting the needs of the public and this board ahead of all others. While the upcoming future remains unknown, his leadership and advocacy have left us in a much better place than we would have been. I will miss the topics we agreed on and the ones we had open heated debates over, and I know I made a friend for life.

Thanks,

Ben Fhala*

Junior (Resident) Board Member

*Disclaimer: All statements made by Ben Fhala are made in his capacity as a RIOC Resident Board member. He does not represent the entirety of RIOC or the full board but serves as a Resident Board member, offering information to the community and its stakeholders.

Roosevelt Island Revolt, Transparency, Community Engagement And Recent RIOC Management Turnover Received Citywide Attention Today In An Excellent Article By The City - Take A Look

Roosevelt Island revolt, transparency, community engagement and the recent management turnover at the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) received some citywide attention today in an excellent article by The City. The headline read:

Roosevelt Island Revolt: Residents Call for Governance Changes Amid Corporation Chaos

Following the abrupt departures of the last two leaders of the state authority that runs Roosevelt Island, residents are calling for more of a say in what goes on in the quiet, mostly residential strip of land on the East River. https://t.co/WXjk6K0fqv

— THE CITY (@THECITYNY) March 5, 2024

Click here for the full Roosevelt Island article from The City.

Many of the issues reported in The City article involving Roosevelt Island community engagement and RIOC transparency were discussed by residents, RIOC Board Directors and the new interim RIOC leadership of Deputy Counsel Gerrald Ellis, Chief Financial Officer Dhru Amin and Board member Howard Polivy during the February 15 RIOC Real Estate Development Advisory committee meeting.

During the discussion, Roosevelt Island Daily Publisher and frequent RIOC critic David Stone praised the new interim leadership team but noted:

... One of the things that RIOC has to do is ...  we  have to have some say of who the Board Members are. We had elections once with some really good members ... that were participating and had input. The next time it came around no elections and Andrew Cuomo just manipulated things to gain control. 

So what RIOC needs to do is guarantee some amount of power to the residents. You're giving it to us now. It's great of you, but you can go tomorrow and the Governor can just change the whole things....

Roosevelt Island resident Paul Krikler who is the organizer of a petition seeking to directly elect RIOC Board members that has over 1 thousand signatures and is the Chair of Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island committee added:

.. There a lot of people, including those in this room, and other people, numerous on this island who have had and do have some amazing ideas of what we could do with this island... 

... We'd like to have the residents have a much bigger voice in how all that stuff is done.  Another way of doing that is to have the residents have a say on what the direction of RIOC is, therefore have the vote on the Board. That's why the petition was asking for the residents to have the chance to vote in the Directors of RIOC.

I understand it's complicated beyond measure with State law. I understand that the first time all you had to do was throw some tea in the water and we gave you your freedom. So yes, it may be very difficult technically, but magically things have a a great way of actually happening when it's the right thing to do and if people say it loudly enough and together and I think that's what's going to happen here as well, so I'll stop making speeches

Here's the discussion.

  

Mr Stone speaking to the Interim RIOC leadership team also said:

I want to say thank you to you guys and what you're doing especially Howard.... I appreciate very much what you're doing. It is opening things up. I hope you stay forever. Nothing"s perfect but it's like walking into a new found land with you guys. I actually wrote to your Communications Director and got a response, oh my God...

Former RIOC Board member Margie Smith shares this message she sent to RIOC Board member Howard Polivy following the REDAC meeting:

I want to congratulate you on last night's meeting. I'm vocal enough when I don't like the way these things are handled, so I want to be just as vocal when they're handled as well as they were last night.

I sincerely hope it will continue this way, and all indications are that it will.

It is the broad consensus of many Roosevelt Island activists that since RIOC President Shelton Haynes and General Counsel Gretchen Robinson were placed on paid administrative leave last December, pending the latest of many investigations, RIOC has been doing an excellent job under the new interim leadership team of Mr Ellis, Ms Amin and Mr Polivy, together with new RIOC Directors Ben Fhala, Lydia Tang and Dr Michal Melamed.

So far, I agree.

Meet The New Interim RIOC Leadership Team Dhruvika Patel Amin & Gerald Ellis - They're Off To A Good Start Engaging And Listening To The Community, A Big Change From Previous Administration, Watch The Video And See For Yourself

As previously reported, on  January 16 the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) announced:

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) Board of Directors received notice of several employee concerns about the RIOC workplace. The Board has determined that it is necessary to conduct a review of these concerns by way of an outside professional. During this review, Shelton Haynes (RIOC CEO) and Gretchen Robinson (RIOC General Counsel) will be placed on administrative paid leave.

During this period of review, the day-to-day operations of RIOC will be overseen by an interim leadership team that includes Dhruvika Patel Amin (RIOC’s Chief Financial Officer & Vice President) and Gerrald Ellis (RIOC’s Assistant Vice President & Deputy General Counsel). In addition, RIOC Board member and Audit Committee Chair, Howard Polivy, will serve as a dedicated Board member liaison and will provide additional support to the interim leadership. No further comments about this matter will be made by the RIOC Board until the review is completed. We thank all of our RIOC staff for your full cooperation and support during this period of time.

The RIOC interim leadership team of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dhruvika Patel Amin and Assistant Vice President (AVP) & Deputy General Counsel Gerrald Ellis, together with Communications Director Bryant Daniels, participated in the January 18 Community Board 8 (CB8) Roosevelt Island Committee meeting last evening chaired by Roosevelt Island resident Paul Krikler.

Ms Amin  and Mr Ellis introduced themselves and provided some personal background information during the meeting. According to Ms Amin:

I am the CFO and VP of RIOC. I joined in September 2023...

... My background is in financial and operational management. I've been responsible for accounting, tax, audit, human resources administration, investment reporting matters and charitable philanthropic affairs.

I grew up in Queens and always thought of Roosevelt Island as a green space surrounded by water that provides peace and tranquility and beautiful views. I chose to work at RIOC for these reasons in addition to giving back to the community, to work with the public and be a part of the corporation's mission. I hope to bridge the gap between RIOC and the public. 

I hope to learn a lot from this meeting. Just know that RIOC is under new leadership and we're more solutions oriented. If you reach out to us, you will definetely receive a response. I hope to work with you very closely to meet our objectives.

According to Mr Ellis:

I am the Deputy General Counsel of RIOC.

... I live in Astoria, right over the Bridge. It's a half hour walk over the Bridge. I have a background in affordable housing.... 

The things that drew me to Roosevelt Island? 

I have a long connection professionally with Roosevelt Island. I worked on the financing of Riverwalk 8. I used to work with Related Management Company and briefly worked on the lease of Riverwalk 7.

I would come to Roosevelt Island a lot to ride a bike. It's a great place to ride a bike. There's not a lot of cars and it's beautiful.

I honestly believe in good government... and believe in the mission of it. That's what attracted me to Roosevelt Island...

The onus is on RIOC to be out there and to be available.  I understand that. There's been many years of tension building up. I understand we need to be the party to break the ice and to be out there and be available to you all. You'll see us on the Island, out and about. Please stop me and tell me your thoughts about everything

I'm genuinely curious to hear people's opinions, complaints and suggestions. I really am....

Meet the new interim RIOC leadership team of Ms Amin and Mr Ellis.

 

Click on the beginning of the video to watch the Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee full discussion of a variety of local issues including the Tram and Red Bus.

CB 8 Chair Paul Krikler remarked today:

Yesterday we had a very positive meeting with RIOC leadership. I think it's fair to say that this marked the start of a reset of the relationship between residents and RIOC.

Mr Krikler is also the organizer of the petition drive started last October under the prior RIOC administration that called for the election of RIOC Directors and:

... We Need A Functioning And Competent RIOC...

which gathered 1034 signatures to date.

Roosevelt Island Historical Society President Judy Berdy also attended the CB8 Roosevelt Island Committee meeting and asked:

Can we handle this openness?

Based upon the last few days, it appears Mr Krikler's petition request for a functioning and competent RIOC is off to a good start.  

Ms Amin and Mr Ellis also participated in a frank and open discussion with Roosevelt Island residents, Board Directors and local media during an informal meeting organized by RIOC Director Ben Fhala which took place immediately after a contentious RIOC Operations Committee meeting on January 17. 

It was a very productive meeting and an example of positive community engagement by RIOC, a welcome change from the previous administration under Shelton Haynes.

Watch what happened.

Immediately before this informal meeting, the RIOC Board Of Directors Operations Advisory Committee (OAC) met for the first time since Jun 2021. OAC Chair Fay Christian immediately made it clear at the beginning of the meeting that no questions would be taken from RIOC Directors who were not members of the Operations Committee nor from any residents attending the meeting. Ms Christian emphasized that only OAC committee members could ask questions during presentations by RIOC department staffers.

RIOC Board Director Ben Fhala, who is not a member of the OAC, tried several times to ask questions and participate in the meeting but was refused participation by Ms Christian. 

I asked Ms Christian why she was not allowing questions from anyone other than the Committee members pointing out to her that in the past it was a common practice for anyone attending RIOC Committee meetings to ask questions or comment. Ms Christian responded that was true if the Committee chose to do so but for today she chooses not to.

Watch what happened.

At the end of the Operations Committee meeting, Ms Christian and Mr Ellis appeared to suggest the next meeting would return to the practice of allowing questions and comments from non committee members.

It's a good start for the new interim RIOC leadership.