Greg Camp

 

Roosevelt Islanders know their home is a special, unique place. And they know – because the Island is governed to a large extent by a New York State agency, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) – they will need an elected representative in the Assembly who understands the issues and concerns facing them as the Island moves forward into the 21st century, and an Assemblyman who will be ready to hit the ground running fighting for them and their homes.

I’ve spent several years working with and serving public officials whom Roosevelt Islanders trust, like Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin. That is why I am so gratified to have earned their endorsements and the support of so many Roosevelt Island community leaders in the Special Election to represent Roosevelt Island in the Assembly that is taking place on Tuesday, June 5. And it is one of the reasons that I ask all Roosevelt Islanders for their support and their votes on Tuesday.

This is a critical crossroads in Roosevelt Island’s history, and an important election for the Island. As Islanders know, it was developed as a planned community to provide affordable homes for middle-class New Yorkers. Operated by RIOC, a State public benefit corporation, Roosevelt Island has a Master Lease and a General Development Plan (GDP) stipulating that a certain percentage of housing in the Island’s Northtown and Southtown sections must be affordable. Only the Mayor and the RIOC Board together can amend the Master Lease and GDP.

Unfortunately, Republican mismanagement in Albany over the previous 12 years perverted RIOC’s purpose. Former Governor Pataki turned RIOC into a dumping ground for political cronies, with one GOP RIOC presidential appointee ultimately suspended and removed from his position of public trust under a cloud. During that dark time in Roosevelt Island’s history, the GDP’s original spirit was basically invalidated through repeated Master Lease amendments.

Republican policies, until recently guiding RIOC, jeopardized Roosevelt Island’s affordable housing stock. In Pataki’s last two years, homes in original Northtown developments like Eastwood left the Mitchell-Lama program to become so-called "market-rate" housing. This may have violated Master Lease provisions intended to preserve affordability – but the Republican administration ignored the festering crisis and allowed these ill-conceived plans to proceed.

As the Assemblyman for Roosevelt Island, I will never stop fighting to ensure Roosevelt Island is maintained as an affordable home for the working New Yorkers who built it. First, we must obtain a greater measure of self-rule for Roosevelt Islanders. That’s why I will work to make sure that the RIOC Board’s direct election by vote of Island residents goes forward successfully.

We also must ensure a greater degree of accountability and transparency in the Island’s governance. To facilitate this, I will work with Governor Spitzer and his appointees Deborah Van Amerongen and Steve Shane, the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal Commissioner and RIOC President, respectively, to convene a comprehensive policy summit to determine RIOC’s role and relevance in the Island’s future. All relevant parties with a financial or communal stake or regulatory role in the future of Roosevelt Island should be invited to participate. Preserving affordable-housing stock and maintaining the best possible quality of life for residents must drive policy solutions for Roosevelt Island’s future.

I am the candidate for Assembly who knows the issues confronting Roosevelt Island best, and I will be an Assemblyman who will offer Roosevelt Islanders a powerful and effective voice as a member of the Democratic majority in the Legislature. That’s why on Tuesday, I ask all Roosevelt Islanders to vote in the Special Election for New York State Assembly.

Dear Roosevelt Island Neighbors–

Assemblyman Pete Grannis has ably represented Roosevelt Island in the New York State Assembly for 33 years. His office services to constituents have been among the best in the State. We wish him well in his important new role as New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner and thank him for his extraordinary devotion to the people of this district.

Next Tuesday, June 5th, there will be a special election on Roosevelt Island to select Mr. Grannis’s successor. I am a candidate for that office, and I ask for your support.

I am running for this seat because public service is my calling. If elected, I promise to expand on Assemblyman Grannis’s legacy of responsive constituent services on this Island, particularly for senior citizens and those with special needs. Constituent services will be my office’s number one priority and I will hold weekly office hours on the Island for anyone in need of help with tenant, transportation, prescription drug, or other service issues.

A little background on me: I am 45-years-old and I am raising my two children, Christopher and Catherine, here in the district. I grew up in a rent stabilized apartment in Stuyvesant Town, where my parents have lived for 50 years, so I understand the critical necessity of tenant protections for families in this city, and I will fight for them in Albany every day with all my heart and legal skills.

I had the opportunity to receive three degrees from Yale University (BA, MBA, and JD), and I have an extensive background in finance and criminal justice.

Eight years ago, after an eleven-year career in the banking world, I joined Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau’s office, where, for seven years, I was a top prosecutor of organized crime, domestic violence cases, and other serious felonies. Most recently, I served as Deputy Director of Criminal Justice for New York State, where I oversaw the prosecution of tax fraud statewide.

I am pro-choice, and a strong advocate of stem cell research. I believe that New York City should become the world leader in this important medical research. My father suffers from Parkinson’s-related symptoms and I want to see a cure for it – and for so many other devastating afflictions.

I support gay marriage, and I oppose the death penalty.

In the Assembly, I will fight to simplify New York’s arcane and unnecessarily complex tax code, which I believe has chased away business, costing the people of this State tens of thousands of jobs over the past two decades. In this increasingly competitive global economy, New York must maintain its competitive edge so that it can continue to provide necessary services to New Yorkers in need.

Like most New Yorkers, I am tired of watching excessive partisanship in Albany stand in the way of progress. I believe in common sense, nonpartisan government solutions, and I will work with legislators of either party to achieve them. I supported Mike Bloomberg for mayor and Eliot Spitzer for governor.

My independence, I am proud to report, just earned me the endorsement of the non-partisan Citizens Union, New York City’s oldest, largest, and most influential good-government organization. I wear that endorsement as a badge of honor.

I believe that my background has prepared me exceptionally well to serve you, and all the people of Roosevelt Island, in the New York State Assembly. My expertise in finance and the law will be invaluable tools in fighting for this district’s fair share of services. My experience growing up in a rent-regulated apartment, where my parents still live, has prepared me to fight passionately for key tenant protections. My time prosecuting domestic violence in the District Attorney’s office taught me just how important human interaction is – we are people, not numbers, in a government ledger. And my experience as a father of two children has taught me, more than anything else, just how important education and safety are. Without them, we have nothing.

Roosevelt Island is a truly special place – a sanctuary for almost 10,000 New Yorkers. It would be a privilege and an honor to represent the Island in the New York State Assembly.

I ask for your support in the special election next Tuesday, June 5th. I will work every day that I am in office to earn it.

Thank you.