Under pressure, RIOC, late yesterday afternoon, email blasted a defensive, barely literate dodge over criticism after a child was stuck by a car on Main Street. It dismissed any responsibility, offered neither remorse not empathy and, worst of all, blamed residents for “misinformation.”
By David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Under pressure?
Topped by a title, Statement from Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) President and CEO, Shelton J. Haynes, the state agency that never makes a mistake lead with what one resident called the “…worst written sentence in RIOC history.”
It told a story in itself.
“I am extremely saddened and concerned by the escalating incidents that further highlight a need for reexamination of Main Street and island promenades as it pertains to safely traversing this progressive island.”
RIOC Advisory, October 16th, 2021
If Haynes actually wrote this – it’s unlikely – he wasn’t concerned enough to read it himself. In the telephone version of this advisory, someone else reads it. The voice, listeners say, is not Haynes’s; it’s an unidentified woman.
Note: See a full copy of the advisory at the end of this post.
How we know, this was not written by Haynes…
“You are absolutely correct it should not have taken this long and I will take responsibility for any past delays.”
That was July, 2020, Haynes responding to a community complaint. It’s typical, it’s literate, it’s responsible, but the October 16th advisory is neither. Author suspicions fell on chief counsel Gretchen Robinson because of the abundance of lawerly dodges.
But Robinson is a trained lawyer, and capable writing is a professional requirement. Although she may have advised, the more likely author is a member of RIOC’s alleged Communications Team lead by Erica Spencer-EL. If so, it wasn’t public information officer Amy Smith, a professional writer with stilted but efficient skills.
The densely overwritten dodge, written under pressure, came from the computer of someone barely influenced by high school English.
Flourishing dodges and a bow to politicians
Take a gander at that first sentence again.
The ghost writer says Haynes is “extremely saddened and concerned by the escalating incidents that further highlight a need for reexamination of Main Street and island promenades as it pertains to safely traversing this progressive island.”
But the email never identifies a single incident. And while a series of incidents might escalate, a single incident does not. But that’s a quibble relative to the closing phrase. First of all, we walk, ride or roll; we don’t traverse. That’s ridiculous, but again, it’s relative…
…to the hopelessly butt-kissing “this progressive island.” “Progressive” is a political hot button and probably a shout out to state assembly member Rebecca Seawright, who fancies herself a progressive.
While Seawright may or may not be progressive, there’s nothing progressive about Roosevelt Island. The community’s progressive origins, trampled over time, are long gone. And if anything, under the boot of Andrew Cuomo, governance here is as regressive as any in America.
Roosevelt Islanders are taxed without consent for the cost of RIOC’s operations. Although local residents pour an estimated $80 million annually into Albany’s pockets, not a dime comes back in support of the state agency mismanaging the place. Moreover, residents are never consulted on how their money is spent nor are they allowed a vote on board membership.
That’s not progressive, but neither Seawright nor state senator José Serrano nor city council member Ben Kallos are on record with any objections. This may explain why the ghost author of Haynes’s message makes a point about kissing their… uhm, unjustified credentials.
Solutions without identifying the causes
Under pressure from unidentified overseers, RIOC claims a commitment to restoring “…the feeling of safety to all.” The feeling of safety. Really? How about just plain safety?
But neither Haynes nor RIOC can do that because the issues are never identified. Is it reckless biking everywhere? Illegal electric skateboards? Unicycles? Cars ignoring crosswalks and stop signs? The invisibility of the pricey – $4 million per year charged to residents – Public Safety Department?
Because this is all reactive lip service forced by outside politicians, we don’t know what pseudo-Haynes is talking about. And honestly, we can’t be sure he does either.
By the time the advisory stumbles to an end, it’s clear that the primary motive is defending a rudderless, unaccountable Public Safety Department, not protecting residents. And mock-Haynes is willing to diss Roosevelt Islanders in getting there.
Under pressure, pseudo-Haynes slaps worried residents out of the way
After a pair of lists palming off previously tried tactics that failed and a few already in place as solutions, mock-Haynes takes a shot at residents.
In the most recent incident and to dispel misinformation, Public Safety Department (PSD) officers were in the vicinity of the event when the incident occurred. As another point of clarification, the Public Safety Department is not short-staffed as we have only one vacant position at this time.
RIOC Advisory, October 16th, 2021
The “misinformation?” In emails and Facebook posts, residents criticized Public Safety for refusing requests for help, claiming understaffing, shortly before a child was struck by a car in a crosswalk near PS/IS 217. (To be fair, RIOC never identifies the “most recent incident.)
But the understaffing excuse is common and familiar. PSD assistant chief Anthony Amorosa, in fact, recently used it as the reason why the promenades could not be patrolled after a dog was killed there by a car.
Because pseudo-Haynes never identifies the “most recent incident,” we can’t disagree that “officers were in the vicinity.” What difference does it make, though, if they can’t or won’t protect vulnerable residents?
And as one Roosevelt Islander noted, if officers were “in the vicinity,” whatever that means in real time, “they were probably looking at their phones.”
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What the Promenade Remembers
The light on the East River in the early morning is different from the light anywhere else on the Island. It comes in low and sideways, catching the water in long, uneven flashes. On certain days it makes the promenade feel less like a walkway and more like a corridor someone once meant to finish but never quite did. When I was younger I found the suggestion to stop and look at it faintly ridiculous.
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