Bunker mode fits as well with New York’s Open Meetings Law as a whale on a shrimp boat. They’re antithetical. One reveals things; the other hides them. But controlled by an irresponsible governor and a board of virtual lacky arthropods, it’s what we’re likely to get for the foreseeable future. No one within that framework has any interest in revealing any more information than the legal minimum.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
An Agenda for the RIOC Board Meeting on May 19th at 5:30 Online
Here is what a public agency is supposed to do at such a meeting supposed to do. You decide if this is happening as required.
The Sunshine Law, also known as the Open Meetings Law, is supposed to ensure that the public has access to the decision-making process of governmental bodies.
For the public to have faith in government, they must be able to see how decisions are made and have an opportunity to influence the decision-making process.
The law is designed to allow the public to see and hear what goes on inside the government so that they can hold their officials accountable.
What is RIOC’s agenda for the May 19th meeting?
The agenda for the May 19th meeting of the RIOC Board has been released, and it contains very little in the way of actual business:
- Authorization to Enter into Contract with MKW + Associates, LLC for Design Services in Connection with the Blackwell Park Phase II Project (Board ActionRequired)
- Authorization to Enter into Contract with GRM Information Management Services Inc. for Records Storage and Digital Management (Board Action Required – Materials to Follow)
- President’s Report – Usually hot air with President Haynes assuring an uninquisitive board that everything is just peachy. Snooze alert.
If you’ve managed to stay awake through this soul-crushing romp of irrelevance, what remains challenges your continued consciousness.
Committee Reports that follow will be filled with “Did not meet,” as they have for many moons because they haven’t. No open meetings law announcements were made during this period.
But one report is enlightening…
Committee Reports
- Public Safety Report – Here you find that more than 70% of their attention goes to standing by while EMS workers do their jobs, non-criminal investigations (whatever they are) and running a lost and found.
Roosevelt Islanders are charged $4 million a year for this. The department, made up of a claimed 50 individuals, handled an average of 600 incidents. That’s 12 per person over 30 days. That is, less than one incident every two days.
But then, the fun begins with yet another Executive Session where the public gets kicked out. Given the avalanche of firings and resignations on Haynes’s watch, the board has plenty to discuss.
Chair’s Motion for Executive Session
- Discussion of the medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal or removal of a particular person or corporation.
Overcome Bunker Mode by Having Your Say
As reported before, at the start of every board meeting, ahead of the agenda, RIOC allows anyone wishing to make a statement before the board time to do so. Under normal circumstances, you’d register and be called in turn to make your statement.
But these are not normal times. So, now, you get to write it out in a form on the state’s website, and it will be read by an official at the meeting.
Access this opportunity at Speak Up. Good, bad or indifferent, let the board know what’s on your mind. You must completer your statement before 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18th.
Also by the roosevelt island daily news
- Long Island City Rent Overcharge Lawsuit Seeks $50 Million Against DeveloperA Long Island City rent overcharge lawsuit seeks about $50 million from Rockrose Development, raising questions about billing practices, tenant protections, and legal oversight in NYC’s fast-changing rental market.
- Astoria E-Scooter Rider Dies After Northern Boulevard Crash in Long Island CityA 22-year-old Astoria e-scooter rider died after a Northern Boulevard crash in Long Island City. Details remain under investigation, highlighting micromobility risks on busy city streets.
- Hate Crime Charges Filed After Vandalism at Fresh Meadows Kosher Bagel ShopHate crime charges have been filed after vandalism at a kosher bagel shop in Fresh Meadows, with prosecutors alleging bias-motivated acts. Hearings are set in New York’s legal process.
- Midtown Subway Shooting Leaves 26-Year-Old Dead; Queens Incidents SeparateA shooting inside a Manhattan subway station left a 26-year-old dead. Police investigate the Midtown incident and separate shootings in Queens as commuters seek safety.
- College Point Community Responds After Senior Dog Taken From Front LawnA College Point senior dog was taken from her front lawn, sparking a neighborhood response and NYPD investigation. Learn how the community is working together after a senior dog was taken from front lawn.
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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