RIOC Believe It or Not: The Shelton J. Haynes YouTube Channel

RIOC Believe It or Not: The Shelton J. Haynes YouTube Channel

About the Shelton J. Haynes YouTube Channel, a reader said this, “It seems as though the more things spiral out of control the more this idiot goes on a self-promotion binge, applauding himself on others’ accomplishments.”

And that’s giving it an unearned positive spin because it’s not quite up to speed with your average high school project. And there’s a dirty little secret in the mix.

by David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

As self-promotion at the expense of others goes, topping something like this is hard. And you don’t know whether to laugh at the ineptitude or drop your jaw at the arrogance. But if you have the stomach for it, you can see for yourself.

The Shelton J. Haynes YouTube Channel

A RIOC executive put it best, “OMG…..you can only laugh.”

The channel launched in January around the time Haynes and his partner, AVP Akem Jamal, plunked down several incoherent, illiterate press releases. The intent’s the same; the results, equally ludicrous.

“High comedy,” another chimed in, “but I suppose you have to justify that expensive PR (in-house and outside advisors) bill somehow.”

With only a few exceptions, the four entries in the collection are simply montages of still photos, none new, aimed at taking credit for projects with which Haynes had little involvement. The most recent is sort of an all-time laugher.

Posted to the Shelton J. Haynes YouTube Channel yesterday, its title is Southpoint Park Shoreline Restoration $11m. Like the others, no sound accompanies the display of 13 photographs.

The question is, why would anyone brag about shepherding a disaster?

Here’s what Haynes is bragging about:

The project denuded the shorelines of all natural vegetation and chased the wildlife away forever. As a replacement, we got the weedy Shelton J. Haynes Rock Farm.

As for the price tags added to the titles, we appreciate the illustration of much was wasted. With the Blackwell House Interior Restoration $2.9M – That’s $1.2 million over budget.

The Lighthouse Tower restoration and the Youth Center Renovation round out the Haynes YouTube collection. Each entry has one thing in common: Shelton Haynes did not lead any of them, except Blackwell House, which ran so far over budget, it had to be rebid.

The Dirty Little Secret…?

It’s so obvious, it’s easy to miss. In this goofy attempt at claiming undeserved credit, the President and CEO miss one important contributor – RIOC, the state agency he allegedly leads. Just like the others who, in reality, led the project, the entity paying his bloated salary never gets a nod.

That’s not just inappropriate, it may be worse because the photos used do not belong to RIOC but are in the collection of LiRo, its contractor. Pulling them for self-promotion with no mention of RIOC or LiRo is profoundly unethical.

So, why is he still here?


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