Used to be, a resident who was putting time, thought, and energy into Roosevelt Island would be treated with respect at RIRA Common Council meetings. Even the late Jessie Rademaker, whose positions often diverged starkly from those of the Common Council, was afforded a reasonably dignified environment when she appeared before its meetings to speak her piece.

That tradition has now apparently been scrapped, at least by some.

The change of behavior was evident at the last RIRA Common Council meeting when David Bauer spoke. Bauer, who chairs the Maple Tree Group in its quest for resident control of Island management, spoke in the public session portion of the meeting, asking Patrick Stewart to recount an earlier one-on-one conversation in which Stewart (who is President of the Residents Association) had told Bauer he opposes self-governance for Roosevelt Island.

Bauer's question was legitimate. If RIRA President Stewart, recently confirmed to a vote on the Board of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, was recanting his earlier support, "in principle," for self-governance, members of the public and the Common Council deserved to know that and to hear Stewart's explanation.

But a group of four Stewart stalwarts - who will here remain unnamed but not unshamed - apparently decided that it was appropriate to giggle like schoolgirls at Bauer's question. The behavior was repeated later in response to other comments running counter to Stewart's current views. Another Stewart supporter, after later reading the transcript of the Bauer question and Stewart's response, referred to the giggles as "the laugh track."

Indeed, a laugh track. It was clear from the timing that there had been some advance agreement to laugh, on cue, at certain points. The trouble is that only good actors can really manage the appearance of genuine spontaneity - and this particular performance had all the finesse of a kindergarten playlet in need of another rehearsal.

To his credit, Stewart took Bauer's question seriously, and confirmed his opposition to the self-governance legislation being considered at that very RIRA Council meeting. To Stewart's discredit, his gavel remained idle when his supporters misbehaved.

What's so sad about this is that where Stewart's arguments against elected-resident control of RIOC might stand on their own merits, those arguments are cheapened and degraded by supporters who fantasize that derision, rather than reason, will be persuasive to others.

Negative campaigning is abhorrent on the national scene, just as denial of mutual respect and personal dignity used to be abhorrent on Roosevelt Island. No more, unless the schoolgirls involved can grow up quickly, drop such grade-school behavior, and join in the reasoned discourse that is appropriate to deliberations about residents' serious concerns.

DL