When we learned, in early October, that board members Dave Kapell and Jeffrey Escobar no longer lived on Roosevelt Island, The Daily asked both to resign. Their appointments were based on their residency. Escobar, always an ethical Island volunteer in multiple projects, complied right away. Kapell, an Andrew Cuomo pal, did not – until yesterday.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
In resigning, Kapell did not acknowledge widespread demands that he go. Instead, in a tweet by RIOC, he blamed new business obligations. RIOC did not otherwise make any sort of official announcement.
Opposition to Kapell’s refusal to go, an anti-community stance supported by RIOC and Governor Kathy Hochul, grew so fierce that State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright and Senator José Serrano proposed legislation that would require it.
The irony is that Kapell was the rare board member taking an active interest in community improvements. He pushed hard for upgrading the neglected Motorgate Atrium, among other projects, and was slowed only by the coronavirus.
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The Well-Funded Vision and the Silent Landlord
RIOC’s Real Estate Development Advisory Committee met last night. The Renwick Ruin was not on the agenda. A nonprofit that has spent eight years developing detailed plans for the site, raised more than a million dollars, and assembled a board with serious finance and legal credentials continues its work.
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