Are You Interested In Serving On The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Board Of Directors To Help Set Budget, Land Use Priorities And Oversee RIOC? NY Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright Seeking Roosevelt Island Residents To Recommend For RIOC Board To Governor Kathy Hochul

Are you interested in serving on the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board of Directors? 

NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright has been talking with NY State Governor Kathy Hochul 

(Ms Seawright seen below talking with Governor Hochul at the November 9 Women In Service Veterans Day Tribute in Central Park)

about selecting new RIOC Board members and is seeking Roosevelt Island residents to recommend to Governor Hochul for nomination.

During the December 10 ribbon cutting and grand opening of the Girl Puzzle Nelly Bly monument at Lighthouse Park, Ms Seawright asked if there were any Roosevelt Island residents interested in serving on the RIOC Board Of Directors.

RIOC Directors are volunteers, receive no pay and must go through a NY State vetting process. 

In 2017, former RIOC Director Margie Smith (who was an excellent RIOC Director) explains what a RIOC Director does and why it's important that RIOC Directors are Roosevelt Island residents, namely in terms of setting budget and land use priorities. In theory, RIOC Directors are supposed to provide oversight and set policy for the RIOC staff.

There are currently 2 vacant RIOC Board seats and 1 board seat held by a former resident who moved away yet refuses to resign from the RIOC Board.

As far as I know, there are no plans to hold a Roosevelt Island community election for nominee recommendations for the RIOC Board.

Roosevelt Island's NY State Senator Jose Serrano spoke recently about the importance of future appointments to the RIOC Board at a September 30 Four Freedoms Democratic Club meeting.

If you're interested in serving on the RIOC Board, or not sure and want more info,  please contact Rebecca Seawright.

RIOC Board Director Margie Smith's Statement On Roosevelt Island Public Safety Accountability And Brutality Demonstration - Update, Director Howard Polivy Comments Too

Images From 2/16 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Accountability and Brutality Demonstration

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board Director Margie Smith comments on February 16 Public Safety Accountability and Brutality Demonstration:

It’s close to impossible to write anything about this past Saturday’s demonstration in the church plaza that will be acceptable to all parties, but as a Board member I felt I needed to acknowledge it in some way. The thoughts expressed here are mine alone, but I know several other board members share my sentiments. I was away this past weekend so I didn’t attend the demonstration, which was triggered by an incident that occurred a few weeks ago between a resident and the Public Safety Department. Unfortunately, because RIOC has been served with a notice of possible litigation, I can’t comment on that specific incident.

I can, however, say that from what I’ve been told by residents, the reason for the demonstration went beyond that one incident. That tells me that the community is concerned about Public Safety’s role on RI and its actions in the performance of that role.

First, as for the incident that sparked the demonstration - RIOC has referred it to the Inspector General of the State of NY for review. Once we receive the results of that review we’ll take whatever action is deemed appropriate. In the meantime, I can tell you what measures RIOC takes to monitor all departments, including Public Safety, within the corporation.

I want the residents to know that we’re very much aware of, and very concerned about, the relationship between Public Safety and the community. The goal of the Public Safety Department is to make all residents feel safe in their homes and on the street. If, for whatever reason, there are residents who don’t feel that way, then we have to fix that.

We’ve taken some steps toward that goal, but we know there’s lots more to be done. There’s been a longstanding request by the community to establish a Civilian Review Board. This is not something that we can do alone since it must include independent members, not just RIOC staff, and it must have some kind of authority sanctioned by either the City or the State in order to be effective. We’ve been supporting Assemblymember Micah Kellner for over a year in his effort to get a law passed establishing just that kind of board. We’re doing everything possible on our end, and I’m asking all residents to contact Assemblymember Steve Englebright at 518-455-4804 and the Speaker of the Assembly, Assemblymember Sheldon Silver at 518-455-3791 to express support for the bill.

As I write this letter, RIOC is preparing an RFP (Request for Proposal) to hire a firm to do an independent audit of procedures, policies, and overall performance of the Public Safety Department. We’ve done this in the past in other departments, like Transportation, Finance, etc. and the results highlight deficiencies, identify Best Practices, and make recommendations that can be implemented to improve the performance of that specific department. We should have a firm selected shortly and we’ll speed the process along as best we can without sacrificing quality.

In addition, we understand that RIRA may be proposing that we all work together with a facilitator whose expertise is in working with community groups to have better working relationships. We intend to work collaboratively with RIRA in whatever they ask of our organization in this regard.

What I ask of the community is that they use the avenues already in place and available to them to let us know of any issues that we need to focus on, and to keep themselves informed on what’s being done to address their concerns.

• If there’s an individual complaint about the Public Safety Department, please file a formal complaint. If you don’t want to go to the Public Safety office to do this, use one of the other avenues described below.
• Write to the RIOC Board of Directors at directors@rioc.ny.gov
• Speak to the RIOC Board at the public session held before every board meeting. The schedule of board meetings can be found on the web at http://www.rioc.com/meeting.htm A notice of every meeting is also sent to the public as a RIOC Advisory. If you’re not signed up to receive the advisories, please sign up at subscribe@rioc.ny.gov.
• Attend any of the RIOC Operations Committee meetings. All of them are open to the public. Notices of these meetings are posted on the RIOC website and Advisories are also sent to the public.
• If you can’t attend the Board meetings, or the committee meetings, they can be viewed by webcast on the RIOC website www.rioc.com I urge you to watch those videos so you get a firsthand understanding of how and why decisions are made, and so you’ll know what actions are being taken on multiple issues.
• While you can go to the RIOC office (591 Main Street) any time you want to speak with a representative of the corporation, specific hours are set aside for the public on Mondays between 3 and 5 pm.

As stated on the RIOC website, the mission of the Public Safety Department is “to provide a safe and secure environment for the residents, employees, business owners, community and visitors of Roosevelt Island, and to protect the property and interests of RIOC and the Housing Companies.” RIOC takes this mission very seriously and we want the residents of the Island to know that the board is listening to them and wants to have an effective working relationship between the residents and every department in RIOC. I believe we all have the same objectives, and I’m confident that if we work together we’ll be able to provide the best possible quality of life for all Islanders.

UPDATE 2/24: RIOC Director Howard Polivy adds:

I am writing from out of town. I missed the demonstration on Saturday February 16, but have seen pictures of the crowd assembled outside and inside Good Shepherd and have seen and heard the videos posted on the Rooseveltislander blog.

I am sorry that the accumulated grievances of years could not find better, earlier, resolutions. I was a member of RIRA’s Public Safety Committee before Keith Guerra was hired and have attended most meetings until just recently. I have heard the testimony brought to the committee and I ended many meetings asking that the complaints be made official, using the existing forms in Public Safety, and that I be advised that a complaint had been filed.

I believed that complaints had to be filed using the existing official forms so that they could have the necessary standing to be actionable under the PSD’s union contract if confirmed by investigation. Also, I felt the Directors could make substantive changes quickly when armed with substantial claims. I asked to be made aware of the complaint so I could observe procedures and be able to give assurance that the simple act of filing a complaint did not cause problems for the claimant and also that there would be a thorough investigation. To my surprise not one person followed through on this. I did not appreciate the fear of retribution that must have been felt for people to take so long to stand up for their rights.

There was testimony for incidents that arose during the Shane, Torres, and Lewis administrations but with so few actionable complaints it is hard to discover objective pattens and make corrections. I hope those willing to speak out last Saturday will also use the complaint system already in place, too, with forms that remain available in Public Safety and will soon also be available in the RIOC office, 591 Main Street. I directly receive emails sent to directors@rioc.gov, so tell me that you’ve filed a complaint.

The Public Safety Department’s published statistics show a trend towards fewer incidents. Perhaps this indicates a lighter hand on enforcement and a more responsive department. But these conclusions also need to be examined. For this reason RIOC is moving forward, quickly, on an operational audit of PSD. The investigation will be independent and objective. All those with complaints will be solicited. The result of the investigation will be an accurate picture of the department’s weaknesses and strengths. Most importantly it will provide a blueprint for building am exemplary department, suggesting all necessary changes, with public accountability. I hope that this fast-track engagement is approved at the February 28th Board of Directors meeting.

I am unable to comment on any particular incident, partially because RIOC has been served notice of claim, but also because I don’t have objective details. RIOC has referred recent incidents to the Inspector General of the State of NY for review. Once we receive the results of that review we’ll take such actions as we find necessary. From the Inspector General’s website, www.ig.ny.gov:

“The Inspector General's Office is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that State government, its employees and those who work with the state meet the highest standards of honesty, accountability, and efficiency.

You can file a complaint in any of the following ways:

• You may call the Inspector General’s 24-hour, toll-free Hot Line at 1-800-DO RIGHT (1- 800-367-4448). This will put you in contact with trained staff who can discuss with you the specifics of your complaint.
• You can use http://ig.ny.gov/content/on-ine-complaint-form
• You also can write to us at:Office of the State Inspector General
  Empire State Plaza, Agency Building 2 16th Floor
  Albany, New York 12223”

The stated mission of the Public Safety Department is to provide a safe and secure environment for the residents, employees, business owners, community and visitors of Roosevelt Island. and to protect the property and interests of RIOC and the Housing Companies. Success in achieving this mission depends on all stakeholder’s satisfaction. I support Micah Kellner’s refiled legislation to create an independent state review board. If that legislation fails to be enacted, I will suggest an ombudsman.

The better public camera system soon to be deployed will provide objective insight into PSD/public interactions. I hope we may balance the need for public autonomy and anonymity with the common need to secure shared community space for everyone in the community.

I regret the pain that has brought us to where we now stand. I am working to support processes that have begun that will refresh the Public Safety Department’s role in the community.

Howard Polivy
Member, Roosevelt Island Board of Directors

Leslie Torres Appointed As New RIOC President/CEO - Roosevelt Island Selection Process Flawed But Improving

Image of August 2010 RIOC Board Of Directors Meeting Held At Manhattan Park Community Center

As reported last night, Ms. Leslie Torres, currently DHCR Deputy Commissioner for Rent Administration, was appointed RIOC President/CEO

Image of New RIOC President Leslie Torres After Being Appointed By RIOC Board of Directors

at last evening's Special Roosevelt Island Board of Directors Meeting. ( A web cast of the meeting will soon be available here). Ms. Torres was the only candidate considered for the position at the Board meeting.

Before the meeting, questions had been asked

Image of those attending August 2010 RIOC Board Meeting

as to why other candidates were not being sought out for the position and interviewed by the RIOC Board as envisioned by legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Micah Kellner which may be signed by the Governor shortly. As stated by this reader's comment yesterday's post:

Never knew that the hiring of a RIOC president is a first-come, first-serve process. Hired on the spot w/o evaluating other potential candidates. Nice.

Former Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President and current Planning Committee Chairperson Mathew Katz spoke at the RIOC Board meeting to oppose Ms. Torres appointment as RIOC President/CEO. I asked him if he would share his reasons with those members of the community who were not able to attend the RIOC Board Meeting. Mr. Katz agreed and below are his personal comments:

This evening, the RIOC Board of Directors voted to appoint Leslie Torres as the next RIOC President and CEO. She is an excellent choice and I wish her much success in her new capacity. However, I spoke against her appointment, not because she is unqualified or because there was another candidate better suited for the job. There is legislation, passed by both houses of the State Legislature and awaiting the Governor’s signature to become law that would require this Board to interview for and to hire a new President, not just endorse the Governor’s choice. They would be obliged to interview at least three candidates and to present them to the community prior to offering employment. I urged the Board to postpone their vote until the Governor had acted on the bill, expected by the end of the month, possibly by invoking Roberts Rules of Order and tabling the motion.

I understand that the Board had a hard choice; take the path of least resistance and hire Ms. Torres, a qualified aspirant, or honor the spirit of a bill that may or may not be signed into law in the next few weeks. RIOC is likely to remain the administrator of this community for the next 58 years, until the Master Lease expires. While Ms. Torres may prove to be an excellent choice, there is no guarantee that future Governors will offer excellent future RIOC Presidents. In the 26 years RIOC has existed, the Board could have hired Presidents through their own efforts, but in fact, they never have. This legislation requires them to do so.

This summer, we learned that this Board, two-thirds of whom were chosen by election within this community, could fire a President. It is unclear whether they have the intestinal fortitude to hire one. With Ms. Torres’ appointment, we are unlikely to have another chance to empower the RIOC Board for years to come, regardless of whether Gov. Paterson signs the bill into law. As one of those who created the election process that created an elected Board, I have to wonder why we bothered.

These Board seats have finite terms and will come up for re-ratification at some point. Like any other elected official seeking reëlection, you must judge them based on their voting record. Here’s how this Board voted on this appointment: the ex officio members, Brian Lawlor, Chair and MaryBeth Labate, representing the Division of the Budget voted in favor, as did resident members Faye Christian, Kathie Grimm, Jon Kalkin, David Kraut, and Howard Polivy. Margie Smith, like me, an activist who has worked on writing the legislation and creating the RIOC Board elections, abstained, and Michael Shinozaki was not present.

Much effort has gone into the slow, incremental improvements in the long slog toward a democratic administration of Roosevelt Island. We have taken advantage of every opportunity that has come our way, even when the outcome was in question. A case in point: we were given no guarantees that the Governor would appoint a single winner in our Island-wide RIOC Board plebiscites, but we created and mounted the elections nonetheless. Currently, six of the nine members were chosen by you, the residents, through two referendums. The Board must take on the tasks, accept the additional power, make the tough decisions. This is what we expect of them. I am disappointed that they didn’t see the long-term ramifications of their hasty appointment. It would have meant so much more had they waited to act within a law that will empower them and enfranchise us.

I also spoke with RIOC resident Board Director David Kraut who voted in favor of Ms. Torres appointment and asked him for his thoughts on the process. Mr. Kraut agreed to do so as well and commented to this post:

Please, let no one doubt for a minute what huge progress was made tonight. It was gratifying beyond my ability to say, that we were in a position of entirely rejecting Ms. Torres' candidacy if she had proved or shown incompetent. Of course we did not reject her: her experience and her resumé made clear that we would be hard-pressed to find a better candidate. But if there had been the slightest indication that Ms. Torres was being "foisted" on us in any way shape or form, I hope it is clear that this RIOC Board would have vetoed her in a New York minute. And that is a huge step forward.

I spoke with Ms. Torres after the Board Meeting. She is certainly an intelligent and thoughtful person, with experience in affordable housing issues, who may very well turn out to be an excellent RIOC President/CEO but Mr. Katz is correct - the selection process the Board chose to follow was flawed. Mr. Kraut is also correct that despite the flaws in the process huge progress was made if, as he says, the Board was empowered to reject the candidacy of Ms. Torres had it chose to do so.

Image Of Ms. Torres Mingling With Residents and RIOC VP Martinez After Meeting

Ms. Torres will start her new Roosevelt Island career this Monday.

Good Luck!!!

UPDATE 3:50 PM - RIOC Director Margie Smith adds:

A couple of people have asked me to give a little more detail about why I abstained from the vote for RIOC President last night. I’m happy to do that, but I want to preface it by saying that I think Leslie Torres will make a terrific President. That’s what made abstaining more difficult than I had expected.

There are a couple of things that come into play in this. I don’t want to speak for the other board members, but I believe they all sincerely felt that we had found the right person and continuing the search would have been more for form than substance. Recognizing the important issues currently on the table at RIOC, the desire to get operations back to normal as quickly as possible, and believing they had found the right person for the position, the board members approved her appointment last night. I completely understand that decision and applaud them for doing what they believe was the right thing.

I’m coming from a different perspective and felt that I had to follow my conscience on the vote. I’ve been a member of the group that’s been fighting for 12+ years to get elected representation on the Board. The logical extension of that is for an elected board to hire a President for RIOC whom they believe is the best qualified candidate, rather than just rubber stamping a bureaucrat who is forced on them by the Governor. We accomplished that last night, but I felt we didn’t go far enough. Our new president was a recommendation from DHCR, but there was absolutely no pressure, spoken or implied, to approve that recommendation. We had complete freedom to support her nomination or turn it down. That’s a huge difference, and a giant step forward in our process. My only concern is that we didn’t go far enough with the selection process. I felt we should have opened it up to a larger population before we made a final decision.

Bottom line, enormous progress has been made in the last few years. We have elected representation on the RIOC Board, a board that’s involved and willing to take stands on issues, and a process for selecting a RIOC President in which the Board played an integral part, and which in the end, made them the final decision-makers. Is it perfect? In my opinion, not yet, but close.

I’m looking forward to working with Ms. Torres, and having lived on RI for more than 30 years, I know this community will step up as it always does and welcome her to our Island.

Message To Roosevelt Island Community From RIOC Board Director Margie Smith

Image Of June 2010 RIOC Board Of Directors Meeting

I have offered the opportunity to members of the Roosevelt Island Board of Directors to use this blog as a vehicle to communicate to Roosevelt Island residents regarding issues of concern to the community in an unedited format and taking as much space as they wish. I am very happy that the newest Board Member, Margie Smith, decided to do so and hope that other Board Members follow her lead.

I have also offered the same to Steve Chironis, the interim President/CEO of RIOC and he has agreed to do so. If former RIOC President Steve Shane wishes to share his views with the community on his departure, the blog is open for him as well.

I have asked RIOC Board Chairperson and DHCR Commissioner Brian Lawlor to comment on the reasons for Mr. Shane's departure and to date have received no reply.

From Ms. Smith:

I’ve been on the RIOC Board now for several months and as one of the newest members I thought I’d take this opportunity to say where I think we are right now and to look toward the future and what I hope we’ll be able to accomplish in the upcoming year(s).

The current board is composed primarily of residents elected by each of you. We recognize our responsibility to you and our responsibility to New York State. Those responsibilities, fortunately, are in perfect synchronization. The objectives of this community are still very much the objectives of this board. We want to continue the original plan for this Island, a community with mixed ethnicities, incomes and age groups.

We’re working to revitalize Main Street. We’ve put forward a plan to get a Master Leaseholder to take over the storefronts. We believe this will provide a long-term solution to an ongoing problem. While it takes longer upfront to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Master Leaseholder than it would to issue an RFP for an individual store, once it’s done, it’s done forever. That means that in the future if a store becomes vacant, it can be filled instantly with whatever type of shop or service is needed, without RIOC having to issue an RFP, with its inherent delays, every time that happens. It also means closer management of the storefronts by people who know retail. I, personally, feel this approach will be a plus for the residents as well as the merchants. We appreciate your patience and completely understand the frustration felt by all of you. We feel it too and I want to assure you we’re doing everything in our power to breathe life into Main Street as quickly as we possibly can.

At the same time we’re putting a high priority effort on finalizing the affordability plans outlined by the Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). Those plans will insure that affordable housing will continue for the residents of Island House, Rivercross and Westview. We’ve been very fortunate to have the expertise of the DHCR staff in developing these plans and our objective now is to get them implemented as quickly as possible.

Then there’s the tram. By now you’ve all read that we’re behind schedule by about a month. We recognize the importance of getting the tram back as quickly as possible and we’re doing everything we can to make up the time. You’ve probably seen the after-hours work that’s being done to speed up the job, with safety always being our primary concern. I personally walk from my job on the West side to the tram every evening after work rather than going down into the subway. I miss that and want to get back to doing it while the weather is still nice. I also recognize the huge inconvenience this is to the disabled and senior population who can’t always depend on the elevator in the subway working. Bottom line, we understand the importance of getting the tram back in service as fast as is safely possible. We’re trying to do just that.

While there are a myriad of other projects going on right now, we’re also looking well into the future of the Island. Our first concern is to be sure that the Island will be financially stable in the years to come. That will be a challenge, but we believe we’re on the right road to making that happen. As a board member and Island resident I want tosee Roosevelt Island be in the forefront of innovation. That’s what we’ve always been about. We had the first commuter tramway in the United States; we have the only Automated Vacuum Collection (AVAC) system serving a residential complex in the United States; we had electric buses back in the ‘70’s. This board wants the Island to continue to innovate. We’re focusing on the areas of technology, energy, and communications. I’m looking forward to more community involvement in each of these areas to make the next decade one that’s marked with creativity and progress that will make us all proud.