The two lawmakers who represent the Island remained at loggerheads, with no agreement on a bill but plenty of antagonistic rhetoric.

There may be a silver lining, though, as Governor George Pataki has promised a personal meeting on the issue with State Senator Olga Mendez (D-Manhattan).

Two previous Pataki-Mendez meetings had to be cancelled recently because of last-minute commitments by the governor.

But Pataki indicated he's committed to meet with Mendez to discuss Roosevelt Island and other issues at her request, according to Michael McKeon, Pataki's director of communications and one of his top aides.

And Mendez, who was unavailable for comment this week because of the death of her mother-in-law, said in a letter to Island residents she fully expects to meet with Pataki and top administration officials on Island self-governance in the near future.

Although residents generally support a bill sponsored by Assemblymember Alexander "Pete" Grannis (D-Manhattan), they're acutely aware it won't go anywhere without compromises with Mendez, Pataki and the State Senate's Republican majority, which controls legislation in the house.

"We're concerned the bill be passed this year, because (further) development (on the Island) is all coming upon us now and we have no power to actually influence the process," said Matthew Katz, president of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association.  "Any conclusion that enfranchises this Island is one we can live with."

But he, like others, remains skeptical.

"June comes and session ends and we're left holding the bag," Katz said.  "The last two years we were told pretty much the same thing and nothing happened, because the players don't talk with one another."

Even if the meeting comes off, there's no evidence Pataki or Mendez is reaching out to Grannis.  And Grannis said it isn't up to him to reach out to either of them.  "I'm not going to do Olga's job for her," he said.  "She's crowed about her relationship with the adminstration."  Mendez has endorsed Pataki, a Republican, and she traveled with him to the Puerto Rican island of Vieques this year to urge an end to U.S. Navy practice-bombing there.

Grannis is a major critic of the Governor, and his East Side Manhattan political club fielded a primary opponent against Mendez last year largely because of her decision to endorse Pataki.  She won by about 2-1.

Grannis did say he tried to arrange a meeting on Island self-governance matters earlier this year and earlier this month with Pataki's Commissioner of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, Joseph Lynch.

"It never happened," Grannis said.  No representative of Lynch, who has now retired, could be reached for comment (related story, page 11).

"The bill I have is supported by the Island," Grannis said.  "Our bill includes most of the protections thinking people on the Island know need to be addressed."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) expects the Assembly to pass the Grannis bill sometime after members return to Albany next month, said spokesman Paul Webster.

Nonetheless, such a "one-house" bill doesn't mean much, and even Grannis himself said the Assembly leadership is "not crazy about the precedent of turning over control of a public benefit corporation."

In her letter, Mendez told residents she's waiting to introduce legislation until all sides agree on a bill.

Grannis reiterated his doubts.

"My guess is they truly don't accept the concept of self-governance," Grannis said of the Pataki administration and the Senate majority.  "I haven't gotten a clue anybody's willing to do this.

"Olga hasn't lifted a finger on this.  I don't think Olga can deliver this.  I hope it doesn't take" a disaster or crisis to spur movement, he said.

Last year, the Pataki administration and the Senate majority indicated they could support an alternative bill Mendez sponsored.

But Grannis said Mendez's bill "didn't protect employees, left residents exposed.  The only way they could raise money is through fees and rents.  Her bill had no protections for picking up the tab for the (Island's) seawall."

He noted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has estimated repairs to the seawall will cost $6 million to $7 million.

Grannis noted he has already helped Island residents through pork-barrel grants, known in Albany as "member items," that are doled out to lawmakers for projects in their districts.

He got $400,000 for rebuilding the Chapel of the Good Shepherd and $150,000 for the Island's Youth Center, among other things.

And the Assembly this week passed a Grannis-Mendez bill to prohibit development on open spaces in the Island's master development plan.  The Senate has not passed the bill.

Mendez's supporters acknowledge she's not in a rush but say she is serious about making progress on the issue of self-governance.  They maintain that Secretary to the Governor Bradford Race Jr. and Senior Policy Advisor John Cahill, the two most influential members of Pataki's inner circle, were supposed to be with him at the meeting with Mendez.

A source close to Mendez also said that when Pataki called to offer his condolences to the senator on the death of her mother-in-law this week, he – not she – requested a rescheduling of the meeting.  The source also said there's an understanding that a follow-up meeting would include Island residents.

Katz said residents consider the meetings key because they expect to have an audience with the Governor himself for the first time.

Pataki was unavailable for comment and McKeon said he was unable to confirm that the Governor was the one who pushed for a rescheduling of the meeting.  McKeon also said Race and Cahill typically would not attend a meeting with Pataki requested by a lawmaker.

Mendez sympathizers say Grannis has included measures in his bill no Governor would accept, such as a requirement that the Governor request from the Legislature appropriations for any capital spending sought by an independently-elected Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation board.

McKeon would not comment on the Governor's position about self-governance, but he said, "The bottom line is Roosevelt Island is a success story" that is now self-sufficient.