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Some nights, most nights, it seems to take forever. Some
nights I've noticed a tear in the eye of the recording secretary
while she rubs her wrist. Some nights, I must admit, my
fingers itch for the handle of the gavel, and I've been known to
wander off in my mind's eye to the long distant past when those
past Stewarts (undoubtedly those other Stewarts) were Kings of the
realm, and had only to say, "Now, this is the way it's going to
be."
And then I remember that the last one to wear that crown was
beheaded for saying just that.
The problem is that nothing else but democracy ever really works in
the long run, no matter how hard you try to get around it.
Here in America, we're too used to the luxury of government with
the consent of the governed to stand for anything else for
long. On Roosevelt Island we can watch that working, not only
ward to ward, as is done in the rest of the country, but literally
building by building, neighbor electing neighbor to a Common
Council that then commits to finding common solutions to our common
problems.
Very seldom can RIRA declare a unanimous conclusion at the outset
on any given matter. But even more seldom do we fail to reach
a conclusion that all agree is the best solution given all the
evidence we've heard. And never have we said, "Well it's
clear we'll never reach an agreement, so let's all go home and let
someone else worry about it."
Without question, my job is the easiest. It's always the
Council members themselves who have done the time-consuming,
yeoman-like work of gathering the facts, researching new material
and old, chasing down City and State officials, meeting in
committees, and then turning that work into a coherent presentation
to convince their fellow Council members of the soundness of their
conclusions.
Not one of them takes the job lightly. Not one of them says,
"Let the other guy do it." And, most importantly, not one of
them refuses out of hand to listen to an opposite point of view, no
matter who is expressing it. Which is why it works, and how
it works.
Come to think of it, it may also be exactly the reason why the
current management of RIOC is not working. No matter how
often we make it patently clear to RIOC that the residents of
Roosevelt Island will not simply sit back while some self-appointed
royalist decides what he'd like to do with and to our community,
RIOC still remains convinced they do not have to listen.
RIOC's three-year stymie is beginning to draw some attention,
however. That very real stymie has cost the State of New York
some very important revenue, and will cost it a great deal more
before we've done. And there are people on the State level
who are very much aware of that, simply because they are
listening. In the end, I predict, the community's voice will
be heeded, as it has with each and every prior management of
RIOC.
RIOC likes to hand-pik five or six people, hold a meeting in their
offices, and then claim they've had the input of the
community. Well, it's just not that easy, as anyone who has
ever participated in any public service will understand.
Whether it's RIRA or the PTA or the Seniors Association, or the
State Assembly, or the US Congress, consensus is not so easily
reached, unless you're willing to live in a vacuum, or sacrifice
the equal rights of your neighbors.
By the way, I've taken some heat lately because I was not willing
to get behind the fund-raising campaign for a very necessary Legal
Defense Fund for our upcoming battles, particularly over
Southpoint. I simply do not believe it is right that RIRA ask
you to part with your hard-earned money for this fund until the
Common Council is ready to tell you exactly what we can do with
this fund, what we plan to do with it and exactly why. And
because democracy is messy, and sometimes slower than we all would
like, the committees of the Common Council who are involved in this
project have not yet finished the necessary extensive groundwork,
legal and otherwise, that would allow us yet to spell out each of
those details for you.
Because I am not a King, I cannot forbid others outside of RIRA to
continue to solicit or collect contributions to this fund.
They are being collected by well-meaning people with the best of
intentions, who each have agreed that the fund will be solely in
RIRA's control, and who sincerely believe that I am being
over-scrupulous. Well, perhaps I am. Meanwhile, be
assured that all money that has been collected to date is being
held by RIRA in a secured account, and that it will not be spent
until we have the community's agreement to do so.
Because that's the way it works, and that's what you put each of us
onto the Common Council to do, and that's what we intend to
do. RIRA's job is to work for the good of the community, the
entire community, and, thanks to the dedication of the remarkable
people you have sent to the Common Council, that job is being done
tirelessly and thoroughly and with a commitment that will not rest
until the job is done.
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