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November 18, 2006 |
| By a 95.5% Margin, Voters Ask For Election of the RIOC Board Matt Katz Takes Residents Association Presidency |
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Residents want more say in the running of Roosevelt Island, the November 7 election showed.
They elected Matthew Katz as Residents Association President to be point man in demanding and articulating that greater voice.
In particular, election results show Islanders want something done about transportation and emergency planning. Giving careful consideration to co-generation proposals for the Steam Plant also showed strong among resident concerns.
An elected RIOC Board of Directors scored high – 95.5 percent – as Islanders responded to referendum questions on the Residents Association ballot. That number bested the highest previous figure, 92% in the 1998 election, asking for more resident input, through the ballot box, in Island operations.
Results were in line with the wishes of the Common Council of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association, which had put the questions on the ballot. (The WIRE also editorialized in favor of a yes vote on all six questions in the November 4 issue.)
Transportation
The highest peak of dissatisfaction was on the transportation issue. "There are serious transportation needs on the Island such as subway overcrowding, Red Bus scheduling, and school-bus and rush-hour traffic jams," the referendum question posited, then asked, "Do you support an expert review of current transportation options and a plan for the future that includes resident input?" On this issue, 1,126 voters expressed themselves and of those, 97 percent voted yes.
Emergency Planning
A public review of emergency planning scored almost as high, with 96.5 percent (1089 to 39). "Residents have not been permitted to see the emergency contingency plans that City and State entities claim exist for our community. Do you support a public review of, and input on, existing emergency evacuation plans?" asked the referendum question.
Whether the transportation and emergency planning votes will have any effect remains to be seen. None of the referendum votes are controlling. The RIRA Council sought a unified voice to back up future work with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, the MTA, emergency planners, and politicians.
Steam Plant
Voters also asked for a serious study of options for making use of the Steam Plant to lower energy costs, possibly through co-generation. The vote was, in part, a reaction to a RIOC real-estate proposal that envisioned possile demolition of the Steam Plant, which currently provides steam for the two hospital campuses on the Island. The contract of the real-estate consultant who put that proposal forward expires this month, its renewal to be considered by the RIOC Board. (The proposal would also have offered the land under the Sportspark and the tennis bubbles for possible development, and a "big-box retailer" was mentioned as a possible tenant.)
Only two referendum questions scored yes votes below 90 percent. Voters were least sure on keeping local control of Northtown’s retail storefronts and Motorgate, which RIOC had proposed, in a Request for Initial Proposals, to put in private hands. Even so, 82.5% weighed in as RIRA Council Councilors hoped they would, voting yes. The vote was 927 to 196.
On preserving parkland, the yes vote reached the 87.6 percent level (976 to 138), responding to a question that noted RIOC "is considering using one-sixth of Southpoint Park for commercial or residential development." The question: "Should all remaining parkland and uncommitted open space be used solely for parks and park-related amentities?"
Tallies in the RIRA election appear on this page.