To the Editor:

On Saturday afternoon, August 5, while taking my usual bike ride around the Island, I was stopped from entering Lighthouse Park by a Public Safety Officer stationed at the western entrance of the park.  I was told that the park in its entirety was closed from noon to 9:00 p.m. because a private party, a wedding, was taking place in the park.  Yellow police "tape" was preventing entrance into the park from the property abutting Coler Hospital, and two additional Public Safety officers were guarding the eastern entrance to the park.

This is an inexcusable and most likely illegal action on RIOC's part.  Lighthouse Park is heavily used by both residents and off-Islanders alike.  Even when private events may close some part of a public park, no public park is totally closed for private usage.  RIOC ostensibly did this to increase income to the Island.  What will they think of next – charge a fee to those who fish off the Island?  Why not charge tolls on the Roosevelt Island bridge?  What's most important about this action and others taken by RIOC is the undemocratic way the Island is run.  Residents have no say in the operating, planning and development of the Island.  It is exempt from local zoning laws, not subject to the review procedures applicable to the rest of the City, and the RIOC Board is not elected.  In essence, this Island is run more like the feudal manors of the middle ages.  One would suspect that there is something unconstitional about how this Island is run.  Even Judge Harold Tompkins recognized this in his decision on the Southtown law suits.

Our local elected representatives claim that there is little or nothing they can do because of Roosevelt Island's special status.  They also can't agree on what type of legislation is needed to change the status quo and give residents more of an input.  There is one clear solution.  It's time for the City to take the Island back from the State, make it subject to the normal review procedures and building and zoning codes and develop a real master plan for this community.  The sooner the State ends its control of the Island, the better.

Larry Parnes

To the Editor:

I have heard complaints that Lighthouse Park was closed for a private event on Saturday, August 5th.

In the tradition of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, no public notification was made in the community (in a conspicuous place such as the Public Safety office window) that the park would be closed.

Personally, I feel all parklands are public areas and should never be closed for private parties.  RIOC must adopt the rules of the State Parks and New York City Parks Departments.  Even though they are eager for money, denying the community their parklands is not right.  The few dollars made from the event is easily lost in bad will created.

One can rent the Manhattan Park Theater Club and use the adjoining terrace.  If one wants to use the Lighthouse Park, what difference does it make if some non-invited persons are also in the park?

Organizations I am affiliated with have used Blackwell House, Lighthouse Park, the Coler Tent, Senior Center Terrace, Manhattan Park and other Island venues.  We have never closed them off and prohibited others from these areas.

Being good renters is better than paying for security services to keep Islanders away.

Where did our community feelings go?

Judith Berdy

To the Editor:

I am writing out of concern for the manner by which the president of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is fulfilling his stewardship of the Island and of his misuse of the security force.

A few Saturdays ago, George Pataki's appointed RIOC president saw fit to close public access to the tip of the Island and used the Island's security to do so.  Was it legal to close access to public property?  It is my understanding that the Security is paid for out of residents' rents and presumably have specific responsibilities.  If they were on duty, was this a misuse of the security and even theft of services by RIOC?  If they were off duty, what authority did they have for preventing a citizen from walking or bicycling on public lands?  It is my hope that The WIRE can ask these questions of state officials and find out if Governor Pataki is satisfied with the current state of affairs.

Ronald Meltzer

To the Editor:

In response to articles in The WIRE about public-purpose funds, I wonder if some money could be used to give Main Street a facelift.  RIOC does a fine job of picking up the garbage in and near the trash cans.  Trellis scrubs the sidewalk where the outdoor cafe is set up.  I appreciate the one day my neighbors paint benches and do general cleaning each year.  However, no amount of soap or elbow grease can remove 20-plus years of chewing gum ground into the pavement.

As I walked to the tennis courts a couple of weeks ago, a man was power-washing sidewalks in Manhattan Park.  I mused how nice it would be if he could keep going south with his machine, but he assured me he would not.  It would go a long way toward helping our community pride if Northtown did not look neglected.

Joan Pape-Uhle

To the Editor:

The following is a list of problems no one seems to care about:

1.  The driveway between the school and 2-4 River Road is pitched the wrong way.  As a result water collects after any rainstorm and is a natural breeding place for mosquitoes.  With all the worries about the West Nile virus, it would be prudent to correct this problem.  Is there anyone who inspects the work here?

2.  Con Edison did some work in the roadway next to 40 River Road.  Now the road is in bad shape and is also a collecting place for rain water.  Must someone get bitten before action is taken?  Doesn't anyone have the responsibility to check their work once Con Ed leaves?  Their work is a disgrace.

3.  As a resident of Westview for over 24 years I have never seen worse security.  While a great deal of money is spent in beautifying the lobby, none is apparently spent on keeping the front door secure.  Last week a sign was posted telling whoever enters to just open the door.  Anyone could have entered.  If this is the new setup, perhaps we should get rid of the doorkeepers.  At least we won't be paying for a service which we do not get!

I could go on and on but I think it is time for an expert to take over and ask similar questions.

Name Withheld

Editor's note: The following letter was received too late for inclusion last issue, but was included among letters on Website NYC10044 www.nyc10044.com.

To the Editor:

Last month, for the first time, I found myself at a Maple Tree Group weekly public meeting.  I had heard that at a previous session there had been some discussion of Rep. Carolyn Maloney's devastating criticism of the attempt to privatize Rivercross by some shareholders.

It was immediately clear that I could not get my concerns on the agenda since it turned out that there was none.  So I decided to wait until the MTG finished its business and come up under the heading of "new business." I was soon aware that the Group prided itself in having no by-laws at all; indeed it doesn't even have voting on crucial issues.  For a group that believes in the process of self-government, the absence of any accepted democratic procedures seemed particularly whimsical.

In fact, the whole scene was weird.  There were six members in the Good Shepherd Chapel which, with so few people, seemed like a cathedral.  The pews stretch deep into the room, but MTG uses folding chairs that creates a semi-circle in front of the first row.

The discussion opened to address the problem occasioned by the recent resignation of its convener, David Bauer (there is no president or chair).  This uncomfortable hurdle was easily cleared when Matthew Katz observed that in accord with Mr.  Bauer's wish, he would fill the post under the title of "interim convener" with the hope of convincing his predecessor to take the helm again.  There were no nominations and no voting.  The advocates of self-government simply disposed of democracy's messiness.

The new "convener" then announced that the State Assembly had passed a revised version of a self-governing charter for the Island.  Dick Lutz then said it had been defeated.  Ron Vass inserted a more tentative opinion suggesting that it had indeed been agreed to.  After a brief discussion, it was determined that the dispute could be easily resolved by "a telephone call." That was the end of the self-government issue for the meeting.

The repair of the Island's sea walls came up next.  The assumption was that it badly needed fixing; the issue was whether the State or Federal government should pay for it.  No cost was mentioned.  The problem goes back to the ambiguous original Congressional legislation in 1945.  After a lively exchange the speakers settled on the expectation that the effort would be a "phased" but "co-ordinated" effort by the two governments.  The role of the MTG in all this escaped me.  It had already said its "research" found the cost would be one million dollars though the State and Federal governments put the tab at six million or more.  However, the Island is not a player anyway.

The interim convener then asked for comments from the "public," three of whom were present.  Patrick Stewart, RIRA's elected president, sought an explanation of why he had been excluded from the previous "public" meeting.  The "convener" responded curtly that MTG was a private group and it could be closed in executive sessions whenever it chose.  Moreover, it need not post such intention in advance.  Thus there is no limit to the number of closed meetings in the Good Shepherd Chapel used by at most a dozen people, despite its promise of weekly public meetings.

Mr. Stewart then raised an awkward question.  MTG also constitutes a formal committee on RIRA's Council which assumes open meetings.  The "convener" replied that MTG was both an independent body and a formal RIRA committee and it would remain that way.  Reeling under this august logic, Mr.  Stewart said he would have to take the matter to the next RIRA session.

The following pause allowed me to ask about the purported attack on Rep. Carolyn Maloney, whose press release opposing the privatization of Rivercross had circulated widely on the Island.  I was assured the topic of privatization and Rep. Maloney not only never took place but never could because MTG's only interest was the issue of self-governance for the Island.  I tried hard to reconcile that assertion with the long discussion of the sea wall which is the business of other governments, not ours.  But by this time all rationality had evaporated.

I left the session not knowing the difference between a "public meeting" and a seance.  And concluded that an empty chapel is a proper setting.

The procedures of the Maple Tree Group are not self-government, but government by whim.  Dr. Blue finally gets his revenge.

Richard Wade

To the Editor:

This letter is in response to Dick Wade's letter to The WIRE, included on Website NYC10044.

Three years after creation of the Maple Tree Group (MTG) and two years after the Island's creator (the late Ed Logue) urged local democratically-elected self-governance in The WIRE's pages, Dr. Wade condescended to attend his first MTG meeting, and has come away consumed with criticism.  Unfortunately, the only fact Wade got right is that he was, in fact, at an MTG meeting.

For three years, MTG has worked on a single goal: local popular election of the RIOC Board of Directors to replace absentee political appointees and politically-appointed RIOC staff.  Dr. Wade says he attended the MTG meeting in question to talk about his bete noir, Rivercross privatization.  That's simply not on our agenda, and we choose not to be distracted.  As pressing as the Mitchell-Lama issues may be, they are most appropriately addressed by the residents of the affected buildings and their task forces.

MTG's tradition of free-form discussion has worked well for us, whatever disappointment it may hold for a one-time visitor expecting some rigid structure.  Our choice of meeting place is governed by availability, and while large, the Good Shepherd sanctuary happens to fit the historic mold of citizens seeking redress of mismanaged government.  When we met for the first time three years ago under a maple tree behind Blackwell House, we resolved to meet weekly wherever we might be accommodated and, until this summer, we've gathered virtually every Monday night since.  About 200 Islanders have participated from time to time, offering their thoughts and encouragement to a continuing core group of 15 to 20 residents.

One of our traditions has been an end-of-meeting round-the-circle final comment from each participant.  But we've chosen to exclude from this round-robin those who exclude themselves by sitting outside the circle as observers (Patrick Stewart is one).  This policy is based on our repeated observation that those who so exclude themselves seem intent on hindering, not helping, MTG's efforts to gain democracy for Roosevelt Island.

Another of our traditions is that we have no president or chair.  We are a gathering of equals, one of whom serves as "convener." When the group's founder, David Bauer, stepped down a few weeks ago after serving as convener for three years, we agreed to appoint an "interim convener." To satisfy those who require more structure than we do, we held an election for convener on July 31 (Matthew Katz was elected).

Dr. Wade makes much of the fact that we discussed seawall legislation (while refusing to be drawn into his personal crusade against Rivercross privatization).  The seawall's role in democracy for Roosevelt Island stems from its importance to the Island's physical integrity, and the cost of keeping it in good shape.  At the time Wade visited the MTG meeting (and even now), little hard information was available about the real effects of the seawall bill.  Meanwhile, those who oppose self-governance are fond of predicting disaster should New York State back away from responsibility for the seawall.  Quite the opposite, of course: The bill goes some distance toward putting the State on the line for the seawall, with or without a democratically elected RIOC Board of Directors.

Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers report spelling out the needs for seawall maintenance has been kept from the public by RIOC's delays in responding to it so that it might be released.

MTG welcomes participation in the quest for democracy by all members of the Roosevelt Island community.  It's unfortunate that Dr. Wade attended his first meeting under the impression that we would take up his favorite cause.  Sorry, Dick, but we can't be sidetracked whenever chance visitors, adversaries or one-issue ideologues wander into our meetings.  We have a democracy to win.

The Maple Tree Group
Matthew M.  Katz, Convener