The unbearable mindlessness of being RIOC hailed a fresh chapter in its history of unbelievable miscues. Fully visible. Smack dab where the Big Cheese must see and ignore it daily.

By David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

Previously criticized for seizing Blackwell House plus four parking spaces, RIOC president/CEO Shelton J. Haynes outdid himself in recent days.

Setting up an unabashedly ADA noncompliant office wasn’t enough because criticism failed at jiggling any response out of him. Or any change, of course.

But recent developments underscore how being RIOC means finding new avenues for insensitivity.

You may have seen our report from last Friday…

The worst part of that miscue is that Haynes must walk past it at least twice a day as he hustles between his ADA non-compliant office in Blackwell House and his gas guzzler in the New York State Shelton J. Haynes Parking Area.

But being RIOC, the state agency that never makes a mistake not only did not fix it, they added insult to injury.

Being RIOC means never having to say you’re accountable…

In tennis and sometimes in other sports, these are known as “unforced errors.” RIOC’s good at generating them, but maybe changes in Albany will also make them good at faking responsibility and fixing what’s clearly wrong.

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Old RIOC, New Lawyer

Melissa Wade called the General Counsel process “textbook old school RIOC behavior.” President Jones now has to show whether the Board governed or merely approved.

Theo Gobblevelt May 22, 2026

President Jones has become better at saying RIOC cares.

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