Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) March 2016 Common Council Meeting Tonight, You're Invited To Attend And Raise Issues Of Concern - Cherry Blossom Festival, Easter Egg Hunt And Ethics Review Among Items On Agenda

 Image Of September 2015 RIRA Common Council Meeting

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council will meet this evening, March 2, at 8:00 PM in the Good Shepherd Community Center (543 Main Street).

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.

Here's the Agenda.

If at all possible, please arrive a half-hour early to help set up tables and chairs

Date: Wednesday, February 2nd, 2016

Time & Place: 8:00 pm, Church of Good Shepard, Basement

1. Public Session (please sign-in to be placed on the Public Session Speaking List)

2. Roll Call of Common Council Members

3. Adoption of Agenda

4. Approval of Minutes

a. February 3, 2016 Common Council Session

5. Committee Reports

a. SC&E Committee

i. SC&E Committee Report

ii. “On Roosevelt Island We ...” Sub-Committee Report

iii. Motion to Allocate up to $900 for 2016 RIRA Annual Egg Hunt on March 26, 2016
Movants: Lynne Strong-Shinozaki, SC&E Chair and Shauna Howard, Egg Hunt Sub-Committee Chair

iv. Motion to Allocate up to $3000 for 2016 RIRA Cherry Blossom Festival on April 30, 2016
Movants: Lynne Strong-Shinozaki, SC&E Chair and Lydia Tang, Cherry Blossom Sub-Committee Chair

v. Resolution to Allow Use of PayPal for Receipt of Payment for SC&E Committee Events
Movant: Lynne Strong-Shinozaki, SC&E Chair

b. Ethics Ad Hoc Committee

i. Ethics Committee Report

ii. Resolution to Retain Lawyer’s Alliance for New York and Payment of Retainer Fee for Legal Review of Ethics and By-Laws for Compliance with New York State Laws Movant: Mickey Rindler, Ethics Ad Hoc Committee Chair

iii. Motion to Reimburse Mickey Rindler New York State Fee for Obtaining Certified Copy of RIRA Certificate of Incorporation Movant: Mickey Rindler, Ethics Ad Hoc Committee Chair

6. Old Business

a. Tabled Resolution to Increase RIOC’s Public Purpose Funds Movant: Aaron Hamburger, as Southtown Representative

7. New Business

You can still fill out the RIRA Community Polling Survey Initiative
 

 Image From RIRA 2016 Community Polling Survey

to tell RIRA about your Roosevelt Island community concerns.

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) February 2015 Common Council Monthly Meeting Tonight, You're Invited To Attend And Raise Issues Of Concern

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council will be meeting this evening at 8:00 PM in the Good Shepherd Community Center (543 Main Street).

 Image Of December 2014 RIRA Common Council Meeting

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.

All residents are encouraged to attend RIRA meetings.

Below is the full Agenda for tonight's RIRA Common Council meeting. 

Report From Roosevelt Island Residents Association President Jeff Escobar - You're Invited To Join RIRA Planning, Communications, Services, Housing, Governance & Other Committees, Happy Thanksgiving Too

  Image Of 2014-16 RIRA Common Council (RIRA President Jeff Escobar Kneeling Wearing Suit)

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

Friends and Neighbors,

At the December 3, 2014 Common Council meeting, the Common Council will be reconstituting its committees, as well as electing and seating each committee’s chairs. The bulk of the work that the new Common Council will do this term will be completed in these committees. As has been reported in the past, any member of RIRA – and by virtue of one’s residency on the Island, every resident is automatically a member of RIRA – can serve on a committee. Here is a quick glimpse of some of what the committees currently have on this term’s agenda:

The Communications Committee is undertaking an overhaul of the website www.RIRAonline.com. The goal is to transform it to a useful resource for residents seeking current information about activities and groups on Roosevelt Island, and to serve as an electronic repository for official documents. The committee will also be undertaking an initiative to use social media and other forms of electronic publication to keep Island Residents apprised in “real-time” of the ongoing activities of the Island. Residents who are skilled in web development and writing are invited to contact the current Communications Committee chair Janet Falk at janetlfalk@yahoo.com for more details.

The Planning Committee this near term will be largely focused on infrastructure and transportation safety. With the advent of the Cornell campus coming online to full construction-mode in 2015, coupled with the tragic accident involving one of our neighbors who collided with a Red Bus, infrastructure and transportation safety will be the focus as RIRA works to find real solutions for the Island. Recently, the group reported its thorough discussion of the lighting and roadways where bicycle traffic proceeds; bicycle and pedestrian use of the promenades vs. Main Street; and the role of Public Safety in issuing violations for failure to yield and observe stop signs. During just that short discussion, there was general agreement that a traffic light should be installed at the base of the helix; “sharrows” or shared roadway arrows should be painted in the promenade roads; and lighting must be improved at all crosswalks. Pending further research and study, a resolution(s) prepared by this Committee will be submitted to the Common Council to be recommended to RIOC and all City public agencies.

As Hudson Related finishes work on its seventh tower, with the eight and ninth towers waiting in the wings, in 2015 the Planning Committee, Island Services Committee and the RIRA President will be calling for a number of Town Hall meetings and hearings with Hudson Related, RIOC, the City and Island Residents and Stakeholders to study the impacts – including environmental, social and economic impacts – that the construction of the seventh and remaining towers will have on the Island as it struggles with the construction of the Cornell Campus. Similarly, the Main Street Retail Advisory Committee will be pushing for the planning and completion of the lease-up of the remaining retail spaces on Main Street in 2015, setting forth their recommendations for the currently empty storefronts.

The above is just a glimpse of the work and initiatives that the RIRA Common Council Committees will be undertaking this new term. From Government Relations and Housing, to SC&E (Social, Cultural and Education) and Public Safety, there exists a committee which is calling for you, as an Island Resident, to come and serve. Interested in joining a committee or finding out more information? Attend the next RIRA Common Council meeting on Wednesday, December 3rd at 8:00pm in the Good Shepherd Center, or reach out and contact RIRA President Jeff Escobar at jeffrey.escobar@gmail.com.

Turning from service on RIRA Committees to service on the Common Council, an Orientation for New Representatives was held on Thursday, November 20. Topics included procedures of working within committees and bringing motions to the Common Council for discussion, as well as answering questions of new members. In addition, a presentation was made by Mickey Rindler, Chair of the Ethics Committee, on the recent requirements of New York State regarding disclosure of potential conflicts of interest, as well as a presentation by Lynne Shinozaki, a past SC&E Committee Chair, and Sherie Helstien, RIRA Vice-President, on what it means to serve on the Common Council and work being completed by committees.

If you are interested in serving on the RIRA Common Council, which meets monthly, there are still a few seats on the Octagon, Manhattan Park, Southtown and Roosevelt Landings delegations. Take the opportunity to perform direct advocacy by representing your building neighbors on the Common Council. Please reach out to either RIRA President Jeff Escobar at jeffrey.escobar@gmail.com or Aaron Hamburger, Chair of the Nominations Committee, at ashamburger33@gmail.com for more information. 



Lastly, as we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday, the RIRA Common Council wishes to extend a joyous Happy Thanksgiving from our families to yours. Please take a moment to look back and reflect on the blessings of this past year, as well as remember those in our community who are less fortunate and in need. Whether through a donation to a local food pantry, handing out food at our City’s overburdened shelters, or pitching in at the dinner at the Senior Center, hopefully each of us will find a way to help everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Your RIRA Common Council

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Monthly Meeting Tonight, You're Invited To Attend

Image Of February 2014 RIRA Meeting

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) will be meeting tonight, 8 PM, at the Good Shepherd Community Center (543 Main Street).

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.

All residents are encouraged to attend RIRA meetings.

Here's the Agenda.

Conflict Of Interest Policy Being Developed By Roosevelt Island Residents Association Ethics Committee - Public Meeting Tonight

Image From Enago

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Ethics Committee Chair Mickey Rindler submitted the report below to the March RIRA Common Council. The RIRA Ethics Committee is meeting tonight 8:15 PM at 425 Main Street Party Room. The public is invited to attend.

From Mr. Rindler:

Report of the Meeting of the RIRA Ethics Committee, Feb. 20, 2014, in the Roof Party room, 425 Main St, 7:30 pm

• Mickey gave a brief history of the committee’s work on a Code of Ethical Conduct (COE) since December. The CC voted in a five member committee at the February meeting but Nicole Walden will need to be replaced as she has not responded and did resign from the CC.
• The consensus was to begin working first on a Conflict of Interest policy as this was straightforward and required to be in place by July due to a new state law requiring nonprofit corporations to have one that includes several specific components. The Code of Ethical Conduct will also need to be finished by June as well if it is to be implemented in the next term. Also, there was discussion of the need to inform the public and to train council members concerning to a the new policies.
• The committee discussed a draft proposal written by Mickey base on a version he obtained that met the new state law. Some minor changes were recommended (these will be in the next draft).
• There was extensive disagreement about Article II, in particular the paragraph concerning potential conflict of interest with CC members who have relationships with government entities, RIOC in particular. A spectrum of views was expressed on this issue. While most seemed to agree that we need to have something in the code, there was no a consensus on the language. It may need to be settled by the CC itself at the next meeting.

There was general agreement that the requirement that those with a conflict, especially if it involves RIOC, be asked to leave the room, as is required by the new law is unreasonable for us. Ultimately, several attendees agreed to look into the possibility of consulting an attorney about this point through any of the following: Ben Kallos, Micah Keller, the CB8 attorney, or the state ethics board to see whether how strictly this requirement would apply in our specific case.

The committee agreed that secretary will keep the forms (not the ethics committee) and it was agreed that for voting purposes, an individual who was not voting due to a COI would be recorded in the minutes as such but would count towards a meeting quorum.

• Other general issues that arose were whether the first part of article II should include a statement to the effect that CC members are to be encouraged to recuse themselves if a potential conflict exists and whether passage of a COI will require a 2/3 vote of the council. These issues were not settled at the meeting.
• Article V on Violations was problematic as well. How does it work practically? There was general agreement that this article needs substantial revision to be workable for the CC. Mickey and Frank agreed to work on correcting it.
• The group went over the two COI forms that each member will be required to sign – one stating that they received the policy and the other a disclosure form. There was agreement that the disclosure document should include relationships with all business entities on the Island and not just Cornell Tech.

The Ethics Committee will schedule another meeting for mid-March.