Upgrading Good Shepherd Plaza wasn’t easy, and the task is not yet done. But noise, plenty of it, got attention, and RIOC brought in the muscle.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Upgrading Good Shepherd Plaza: Of Noise and Benches and Picnic Tables
Upgrading Good Shepherd Plaza played out over the last week, and the results stood out on Friday.
Community members and this newspaper used photos and a stream of comments aimed at RIOC’s reluctant CEO Shelton J. Haynes. And when she caught him outside his bunker on National Night Out, a determined resident escorted him through the mess.
Haynes reportedly said he was not aware of how bad it was, although his office is only two hundred feet away and RIOC headquarters is across the street.
A member of RIOC’s grounds crew shared with another resident that someone showed them pictures of the mess in the plaza. That prompted action, but should a costly operation like RIOC need scolding to get the basics done?
Optimism rose with stories about how Good Shepherd Plaza got the fix-up it needed. There’s a way to go, for sure, before this potential gem becomes the feature-rich destination it can be.
But for now, it’s one helluva good start.
Now, what about those badly deteriorated tree beds on Main Street? They have the magic of being ugly and hazardous at the same time.
Still Searching: Transparency Delayed at RIOC
New York’s Freedom of Information Law rests on a basic principle: government records belong to the public unless an agency can identify a lawful reason to withhold them. For Roosevelt Island residents, that right matters because RIOC controls public land, infrastructure, transportation, contracts and development without functioning as a locally elected government.
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