Grannis spoke with The WIRE briefly Tuesday night at the election rally held at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. He said RIOC's outside counsel, Steven Kass, had approached him with a draft bill. Grannis said he refused to commit himself. The RIOC Board had, by then, voted to remove "legislative permission" language from its resolutions authorizing the project to go forward.

The revelation suggests at least some doubt at RIOC that the project is certain to survive an expected challenge in court.

The language of the bill reads:

Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, or any other law to the contrary, on or after the effective date of this section, no further development or construction for other than park purposes shall be permitted on any real property which is identified as open space areas in the General Development Plan as amended May 10, 1990 and approved by the Board of Estimate of the City of New York on August 17, 1990 and referred to in the lease defined in subdivision six of section two of this act, and on such real property shall remain open space areas for the duration of the lease unless such development or construction includes the reconstruction, restoration, rehabilitation or preservation of the historic landmarks located in such open space areas and furthers the use of the areas surrounding the historic landmarks as open space areas.

The bill goes on to specify that it applies to Octagon Park. The lease under which the State of New York is developing and managing Roosevelt Island runs out in 2068.

Grannis maintains that the language of the law prohibits construction of the apartment wings planned for the Octagon project. The language was put into the bill by the administration of Governor George Pataki, in amending a Grannis bill that provided for a RIOC Board elected by residents. (Pataki changes also removed the provision for Board election, leaving the Board an all-Governor-appointed body, though specifying that a Board majority must be residents. However, over two years later, Pataki has not yet put residents into the seats of expired appointees on the Board.)

RIOC has taken the position that the law's language does not prohibit construction of the apartment wings outside the boundaries of the landmarked Octagon tower itself. Presumably, the question would remain open were there no legal challenge to the planned residential construction.

As reported in The WIRE October 16, RIOC Board member Leo Kayser has urged residents to refrain from taking the matter to court, citing RIOC's need for the $11 million income expected from the project and the cost of litigation. During the last RIOC Board session, Board chair Mary Beth Labate went so far as to say, "Every dollar we spend on litigation is a dollar taken out of the pockets of Roosevelt Island residents." Actually, residents would not be required to pay litigation costs; RIOC would. Labate apparently meant to suggest that funds spent in court actions would reduce amounts RIOC might spend on other items to which residents would give a higher priority.

The Octagon Apartments are the subject of an advisory referendum question on Tuesday's RIRA ballot, giving residents over 18 an opportunity to express themselves on the subject. The question (see article, this page) is phrased so that a "yes" vote is effectively a vote against the Octagon Apartments project, urging the Legislature not to amend the 2002 law. A "no" vote effectively favors amendment of the law and construction of the project.