RIOC Board Meets Monday;
Restoration Hopes Raised
The Board of Directors of the Roosevelt Island Operating
Corporation will meet Monday (November 20) at 10:30 in the Chapel
of the Good Shepherd. Items on the agenda include a report of
the Public Purpose Funds Advisory Committee, which is working out
a mechanism for passing on Island organizations' requests for
some $640,000 in Public Purpose Funds, and a "Discussion by the
Board of Directors to Develop a Policy and Forum for Public
Speakers to Address the RIOC Board of Directors." At recent
Board meetings, residents have complained about management of the
public comment portion of the meetings, unhappy that questions
they raised in their comments were not addressed by the Board or
management.
And Briefly...
- Some non-citizen residents of Roosevelt Island reported
difficulty voting in the Residents Association election November
7, primarily related to providing acceptable proof of residency.
(Letter, page 2.) The problem arose for those who were not on
lists provided by the housing companies. Those lists often carry
only the name of the primary tenant or leaseholder. Audrey
Berman, who was present at the polls throughout the day, told
WIRE reporter Anusha Shrivastava that in those cases poll
workers were asking for some proof of residency - for example, a
bill sent to the person at the Island address, or a license.
- A recent New York Post story quotes RIOC President
Robert H. Ryan as saying that the SSJ plan for a twin-tower hotel
and luxury residences at Southpoint will be dealt with in
January. According to Ryan, there's nothing new in the story.
Developer Steven Jamal will be making a presentation to the RIOC
Board, which will then consider the matter.
- Ryan has suggested that residents put some pressure on Con Ed
for repair of Island lighting (related letter, page 2). He
provides this phone number: 800-752-6633.
- Ryan also reports that RIOC awaits word on grants for
rehabilitation of Blackwell House and the Octagon tower. The
amounts involved, which require RIOC to come up with matching
funds, are $327,000 for Blackwell House and $251,000 for the
Octagon. RIOC is still in discussions with Becker and Becker, a
Connecticut architectural firm, about putting a development at
the Octagon on the approximate footprint of the old City Hospital
- which means two wings that would radiate west and south from
the tower.
- And the Chapel of the Good Shepherd may get some attention
soon. Ryan says RIOC is within a couple of days of signing off
on a rehab project for that structure. Ryan hopes to see money
for this "before the end of the year."
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