There is a fairly good chance, if you are reading these words while the Halloween parade goes by your window, that I am marching up Main Street in Dracula's black cape and fangs as well as Frankenstein's neck bolts. I am a hybrid, equal-opportunity ghoul.

Your RIRA nominations committee has completed its job and the results are in: most buildings will be represented by the requisite number of delegates to the Common Council after the RIRA elections on November 2. The candidates' names are listed in this issue of The WIRE. In some building complexes, there will actually be contested races! The exceptions include Eastwood, which will seat only two of its seven potential representatives. This is a shame, especially after all the anxiety about fair representation in the new constitution. Also, the two new buildings at Southtown were enfranchised and given the opportunity to fill three seats on the Council. They failed to put up a single candidate but will be able to vote for President and Vice President in the Island-wide elections. I'm neither surprised nor disappointed; remember, Manhattan Park started out the same way and now will fill seven of its Council seats. As the residents learn of the benefits of having a voice on Island issues, I'm sure they will opt to participate.

I am proud and happy to endorse the candidacies of Steve Marcus for President and Margie Smith for Vice President. As First Vice President, Steve's capacity for finding clear language to encompass complicated material and for seeking and finding consensus made the writing and passing of the new constitution and bylaws possible. Also, his efforts brought both Mike Bloomberg and Alan Hevesi to Island Town Meetings during the Mayoral elections of 2001. Government Relations Vice President Margie Smith has been the force behind many of the programs and events that RIRA has produced over the past four years. Her energy and imagination have made life on Roosevelt Island more fulfilling and more fun. In my building, Westview, I support my wife, Sherie Helstien, and Erin Feely-Nahem, both Council veterans with years of service to the community behind them. Also, Natalia Chin has been an active member of the Westview Task Force and can bring her real-estate expertise to the Council.

The RIOC Board of Directors has endorsed the Public Purpose Fund Committee's recommendation to provide RIRA with funds to hire an election machine company for our elections. The check is deposited and you will encounter a professionally run process when you enter PS/IS 217 on Election Day. Committee Chair David Kraut has made it clear that his committee won't recommend Public Purpose funds for future RIRA elections, and RIRA must factor this into its fund-raising plans for the next two years. The good news is that State Senator Olga Mendez has responded to my request for support, made last February, with a promise of $5,000. These funds must pass through a State-agency contracting process, and so we won't see a check in time for this election or any time soon. However, should this money materialize, it will take the pressure off the next Council to raise funds for this purpose. That means RIRA fund-raising efforts can be focused on supporting events that will directly enhance the quality of Roosevelt Island life.

By the way, Margie and the Government Relations Committee tried to arrange a debate between Senator Mendez, who is running as a Republican, and her Democratic challenger, José Serrano. This was not to be, however, as the Mendez camp hasn't responded to the dates we offered, or suggested others. Too bad.

I'll bring you up to speed on some of the meetings I mentioned in my last column: I attended the second in a series of contingency planning meetings under the auspices of SEMO (State Emergency Management Office) and held in the RIOC offices with Operations Vice President Sari Halpern Dickson presiding. You will recall that the first of these meetings took place in July prior to the Roosevelt Island Bridge failures in August. Representatives from Keyspan were the keynote guests, including April Dubison, Community Development Director, and Dom DiGiorgio, who is onsite at the Ravenswood control room.

Several things were made clear: the peak units near our bridge that are used during summer heat waves will continue to supplement the new Keyspan II plant. They can burn either natural gas or the kerosene with whose fragrant and visible emissions we are all too familiar. Mr. DiGiorgio said that Keyspan would prefer to use the less polluting natural gas but that they would use the cheaper fuel. He said that photographing the plant was a no-no for security reasons and just last weekend I saw a Public Safety officer questioning a camera-toting visitor on the Roosevelt Island Bridge. So be on your guard.

SEMO representative Ted Fisch noted that standard operating procedure for New York City is to "shelter in place" in time of emergency. However, should some or all of our population need to be moved, the Metropolitan Transit Authority will provide extra buses, with our Red Bus fleet as a distinct second choice, according to Ms. Dickson. She noted that our bridge might be made permanently static should the Coast Guard determine that our West Channel is safe for marine traffic under all circumstances. The good news is that the next meeting has been scheduled for December 1 and will include the MTA. Also, and most important, we've been assured that this course of meetings will result in a document, a Standard Operating Guide for Roosevelt Island, that will provide several pages of instructions for Roosevelt Islanders in a time of crisis. Since the Blackout of August 2003, I've felt that such a written contingency plan was needed and that these meetings should result in such a record of our discussions.

Briefly, the Trust for Public Land met earlier this week with its advisory group to consider the preferred conceptual plan, presented to the community as "Wild Garden/Green Rooms." Based on the questionnaire responses requested at last month's Town Meetings, we Islanders are in favor of more greenery and opposed to a massive FDR Memorial or a commercial crescent. However, the advisory committee members felt that some appropriate homage to Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt should be included. You will have a chance to respond to our work at another Town Meeting to be scheduled toward the end of November. Please attend if you can.

And finally, I haven't received an answer from the MTA regarding the disruption to our F-train service when Phase I of the Second Avenue subway reaches the 63rd Street connection. I was unable to attend the Community Board 8 Transportation Committee meeting on Thursday as it conflicted with our Candidates' Night, and I hope someone from the CB8 Roosevelt Island Committee was able to attend and will bring all of us up to speed.