The RIOC bromance between President/CEO Seldom Seen Shelton J. Haynes and Akeem Jamal first blossomed as Haynes’s longtime friend, Altheria Jackson, was shown the door. Haynes was so taken with Jamal, he hired him at an inflated salary, even though he wasn’t qualified for the job. As spring approaches, the Communications AVP and CEO are singing the same tune.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
While some still wondered, if Jamal’s claims of success in Yonkers were true, why was he migrating south to seek his fortune at tiny Roosevelt Island, the first hint of the RIOC bromance surfaced in the fall?
Jamal authored a press release that credited his admired boss with all sorts of things he never did. Whether claiming projects set up by Susan Rosenthal was Haynes’s idea or Jamal’s is anyone’s guess.
What Bromance Means Now As Barriers Come Down
Rosenthal served as RIOC CEO and as Haynes’s mentor before he played a role in her racially-charged dismissal.
A RIOC Bromance Deepens
But the relationship came full circle yesterday when Jamal published Shelton Haynes and Akeem Jamal Are Bringing Pickleball to Roosevelt Island in 2023. That’s right. Jamal and Haynes now get equal billing.
Bromance really is in the air.
In fairness, we acknowledge that the article itself does not track with that headline. It’s really more of the amateurish productions that reflect Jamal’s work in general.
“The Shelton J. Haynes administration has been quietly transforming Roosevelt Island with huge investments in infrastructure, erecting awe-inspiring art installations, improving public parks and overall spaces, and providing meaningful programs for the Roosevelt Island community” is how it begins.
That’s not true, of course, except perhaps in the smitten eyes of Akeem Jamal.
“A missing component…”
But then, he makes a sweeping verbal gesture that puts in right in the game with Dear Leader Haynes. Excuse the crippled grammar. The AVP doesn’t know how to write:
“Now that the foundation was laid, a missing component was elevating Roosevelt Island’s public profile for New York City residents and tourists alike,” says Jamal.
“Akeem H. Jamal,” Akeem H. Jamal continues, “who took office in late 2022 as the Assistant Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs at RIOC, shares in Haynes’ goal of putting Roosevelt island on the map and together they are taking big steps toward realizing that goal by breaking ground on a new pickleball court that will be located behind the island’s existing Sportspark complex.”
Yes, that’s all within a single, run-on sentence.
We can’t wait for Chapter Two in the RIOC bromance. Especially for Roosevelt Islanders because they’re paying for this RIOC Bromance and all its promotions.
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