Your chance to tell RIOC what you think, what you like and what worries you is here. Put your thoughts together and share them, good, bad or indifferent, with the board.

by David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

Your chance to tell RIOC, directly

Roosevelt Island isn’t much for democracy, having probably the least of that supposed American value in the country. But a few times a year, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation lets you bend its collective ear with your thoughts, ideas and concerns.

That’s the public comments section that takes place before every board meeting. As yet, we don’t know if RIOC will meet in person, but we are probably still in the Zoom era. The process works differently with onsite meetings, and we will update if that changes.

How it works…

RIOC’s next board meeting is on Thursday, March 24th, at 5:30 p.m. A Zoom link as well as an agenda will be posted before the meeting. Watching the business being conducted is welcome, but if you want to contribute your thoughts before it gets underway, here’s how.

The state agency offers a free opportunity for sending in your comments, right here. After filling in your name and email address, you have a 500 word space for sharing whatever you want. It should go without saying that obscenities, abuse or tirades are not appropriate. Praise and constructive criticism are.

We all have feelings about our hometown, more or less, and that makes respecting each other important.

At the beginning of the session, prior to the official meeting, someone will read your submitted comment or comments. Usually it’s Chief Counsel Gretchen Robinson who does a fine job of conveying the message, whether she likes or agrees with it or not.

The board, which includes Albany officials or their representatives, normally listens in silence. But your message is received on multiple levels.

Cautions

The board does not always listen in silence. Sometimes, someone will volunteer an answer to a question. Other times, the board’s unofficial Angry Man, David Kraut, will growl out a response. Once, he volunteered his observation that local journalists – that’s us – were amateurs, assailing local reporting. Other times, he has ripped into defenseless commenters when he doesn’t like what they say. So, if you’re sensitive to destructive criticism, beware.

It’s worth noting that RIOC has, more than once, reminded residents that the comment period is a privilege, not a right. They can yank it at any time and without notice. So, be respective of the privilege, keeping in mind that the current hypersensitive and deeply secretive management team is always capable of the unexpected. And/or unwelcome.

Click here for the chance to speak up. Tell RIOC what you have on your mind.

More from the Roosevelt Island Daily News

• 
  Six-Unit Apartment Building Planned for 10th Street in AstoriaNovember 12, 2026
  Plans for a six-unit apartment building in Astoria call for four stories at 35-25 10th St. See proposed dimensions, apartment sizes and permit status.
• 
  Tuesday’s PSD blotter: noise calls, a harassment reportNovember 11, 2026
  RIOC’s Nov. 10 PSD blotter lists 15 incidents, all on Main Street, including four noise complaints, a harassment report and one hospital transport.
• 
  Queens Public Library Ransomware Attack: Digital Services Still DisruptedNovember 11, 2026
  The Queens Public Library ransomware attack continues to disrupt public computers, digital books and online services, with no confirmed restoration date.
• 
  A new RIOC appeals officer denied records on how its general counsel was hiredNovember 10, 2026
  A different RIOC appeals officer denied records on how RIOC hired general counsel Lance Polivy. RIOC’s internal deliberations on the hire stay withheld.
• 
  Monday’s PSD blotter: two hospital transports, two disputesNovember 10, 2026
  RIOC’s Nov. 9 PSD blotter lists 14 incidents, including four aided calls with two hospital transports and a verbal dispute at 750 Main Street that drew FDNY.

At the Risk of Being Premature

Two women asked RIOC to consider the consequences before it was too late. The board listened, answered and kept moving.

Eleanor Rivers Oct 30, 2026

On September 10, 2026, Roosevelt Island resident Melissa Bray stood before the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Board of Directors and asked them to think fifty years ahead. She had come because RIOC President B.J. Jones invited residents into the conversation about redesigning Blackwell Park. Bray wanted its mature trees protected, including a northern red oak dedicated to the wife of my friend David Kraut, a former board director.

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