Abruptly, RIOC Cancels a Board Meeting;
Residents Counter, Plan a Town Meeting

by Dick Lutz

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) cancelled its Board of Directors meeting Wednesday morning.

Residents met anyway, and made plans for a Town Meeting and to raise money for litigation.

The RIOC Board had been expected to vote on as many as three development projects, and nearly 50 residents showed up to view the proceedings, many with the intention of speaking out on the proposed construction. When they found the cancellation notice on the door of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, they stayed for a meeting conducted by Residents Association President Patrick Stewart.

After listing issues facing Island residents, Stewart said, "We are being hit in just about every way. Every time we turn around, there is something new." He described two overall concerns – proposed development on the Island, and buy-out threats at Mitchell-Lama buildings (separate story, column 1).

The three development projects in prospect are conversion of the Manhattan-side minischools into condominiums, proposed use of designated parkland at Southpoint for a twin-tower hotel and conference center, and Southtown. While Southtown – new apartment buildings on land north of the Tramway and south of Eastwood and Rivercross – is widely accepted as both necessary and likely, the others are controversial and opposed by many residents.

Many had feared the formal step of conditional designation of SSJ Enterprises as developer of Southpoint might be voted at the cancelled Wednesday meeting, or that final approval might be given to the addition of a second floor to the minischools. (Related column and letter, page 2.)

The 16-unit "minicondos" plan has aroused the ire of residents whose river or Manhattan views would be degraded by a second-story addition, and the concern of others who wonder about the impact of half-million-dollar condominium residences on an affordable-housing Island.

The Southpoint hotel plan is opposed by residents who see it as an assault on the General Development Plan for the Island, which specifies that the ten acres of Southpoint are to be developed as open space – a park – to benefit residents of the Island and the City. In addition, Southpoint is seen by many as reserved for a memorial to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Stewart told residents at the meeting, "We have a RIOC that is very unresponsive to us in every way." He said little is returned to residents for the taxes they pay, and said the State administration appears to want Roosevelt Island to become a "profit center" for the State. "So what do we do about that? What is expected of us?"

Byron Gaspard, a member of the Residents Association Common Council representing Eastwood, responded. "There are things we can do to put a big dent in the dirty politics that RIOC is doing." Pointing to the work of the Maple Tree Group on legislation for self-governance, he said, "We have a movement toward self-democracy on this Island. Have we written a letter to the Governor or to our Assemblymembers in support of that? The Maple Tree Group is doing a good job. They are fighting for something we all want. We all should be fighting for that."

Gaspard continued, "We are victims in almost every facet of services on this Island. We have a Public Safety [Department] that is insensitive to the security needs of the Island. We really have to start looking at the facts." He asked residents to attend a meeting of his RIRA Public Safety Committee Wednesday night (April 28, 7:00 p.m.) at PS/IS 217. "They’re getting $1.6 million for a system that doesn’t meet the needs of this Island," he said.

John Weatherhead, who is President of the Rivercross Board of Directors, attended the meeting to voice his own opinion. "The issue, as I see it, comes down to the GDP [the General Development Plan, part of the Lease by which the City has given the State control of Roosevelt Island]. This was supposed to be a planned Island, and that’s what the GDP was all about. The Island was set up to accomplish certain goals, and we’ve lost sight of that. RIOC has declared that [the GDP] is simply a piece of paper and they’ve attempted to build a legal case that they’re not bound by it. I disagree with that. It’s just short-term ad hoc planning for whatever is driving the interests of the moment. It’s not good for this Island."

Weatherhead agreed with others that a litigation fund is needed, and called for a portion of it to be used for professional assistance in working out a strategy for reaching government with Island residents’ message. Citing the large number of concerns facing residents, Weatherhead said, "We need to pick our issues." He recommended drawing a line in the sand over the minicondos matter, calling it "immediate."

Rivercross resident Shirley Margolin read portions of a communication from the School Construction Working Group (SCWG), expressing an interest in exploring use of the minischools as schools. SCWG is attempting to solve the problem of inadequate classroom space in the City. Margolin said that her contact with the group was inspired by a statement several months ago by RIOC President Jerome Blue asking for alternative suggestions on use of the Island’s minischools. She reported that RIOC was not cooperative, however, and she was unable to show the minischools to a representative of SCWG who was to visit the Island Tuesday.

Linda Heimer, RIRA Vice President for Government Relations, addressed the group, calling for a change of tactics in the form of litigation. To get a handle on the Roosevelt Island situation, she said, "We have tried everything. We have had numbers of demonstrations. We have had petitions. We have met with officials. We have had the media come here. We have done everything citizens in a democracy are supposed to do to right an unjust situation. It hasn’t worked." RIOC is still unresponsive, she pointed out. Heimer described a meeting with City Councilmember Gifford Miller about what to do if the RIOC Board attempts to go forward with the SSJ hotel proposal. "He suggests that we set up a litigation fund and take legal action. We must raise money for this fund. When we asked how much might be needed, he said, ‘A few hundred thousand dollars,’ and we laughed, and then we cried. But we have to get started. We need legal help."