With all the blunders and indifference reported among miserable failures at helping residents avoid COVID-19, you might think RIOC couldn’t get worse. But you would be wrong.

By David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

And this one’s of a more conventional variety. Normally, we might pass on this as piling on, but it’s just so awful. And right outside the Big Cheese’s door.

In fact, it’s impossible for president/CEO Shelton Haynes to miss it when hustling between the New York State Shelton J. Haynes Parking Area and the historic site he seized for personal office space.

Working on a project surrounding Blackwell House, RIOC directs anyone walking, riding or rolling straight into the street. With no alternative.

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Emergency Without Urgency

An emergency is not just a condition. It is a classification.

Theo Gobblevelt Mar 13, 2026

When government invokes the word “emergency,” normal process changes. Timelines accelerate. Environmental review can narrow. Procurement pathways can shift.

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