More Voices, More Power

That language is part of the act that established the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC). It’s an opportunity.

For a decade or more, The WIRE has lamented the lack of elected representation on the RIOC Board. President Steve Shane has begun to redress that by inviting RIRA to work out a system of pre-election of resident Board members.

When that’s in place, it will give residents the ballot-box power to keep those Board members focused on resident needs rather than the kind of RIOC ambitions than ran wild for a dozen years under the last Governor. We look forward to the Fall elections that will provide that voice.

But there’s another way residents can have elected voices speaking for them when the RIOC Board meets – having our elected officials attend Board meetings and participate, issue by issue, and – we might hope – influence policy by virtue of their understanding of what’s important to residents.

There’s an example right now of why such participation is needed.

In the eyes of Westview residents – and possibly residents at Island House and Rivercross, as well – RIOC is in the process of an apparent turnabout, a reversal of what residents have "known" for years about their affordable housing here. For well over a decade, people at all three buildings have been working diligently toward something erroneously called "privatization." What that really means is resident ownership free of the Mitchell-Lama restrictions that hobble the buildings as they encounter a need for repairs, renovation, and capital investment. It means home ownership for renters, and equity for owners.

It is, in short, something that many of us came to Roosevelt Island for – the opportunity to invest and wait, with the understanding that one day, those living in cooperatives would be in a position to renovate their apartments, knowing they would be able to recover the invested value at time of sale. For renters, it would mean being in place when a time came that they could become owners, fulfilling the Great American Dream of having a place of one’s own.

It is possible that those dreams are threatened now.

We haven’t had adequate time to fully evaluate the RIOC strategy that has emerged from Steve Shane’s consultations with real-estate advisor Paul Mas. And we’re still getting a sense of what Deborah VanAmerongen has in mind from her perspective at the top of DHCR. But the sense of unease visited upon residents of the three buildings over the past week is palpable, and it’s not altogether clear that the strategy Steve Shane is pursuing will work to the advantage of today’s residents or future residents. It’s almost experimental in nature, and residents are understandably concerned about being in the test tube.

That’s where our elected officials come in. They should all make it a point to attend RIOC Board meetings, and participate actively. For those with Washington or Albany commitments, perhaps some system of appointed substitute would be welcome. But we need their attention now, and the wisdom that comes from facing the electorate regularly and thereby coming to understand the needs of the common folk – all of us.

The WIRE urges those political personalities to get involved here, express their views, and – when necessary – rise to the defense of residents who feel, at times, far too defenseless.

DL