RIOC Screw-Up #1038 – Pickleball Now Exposes Their Elites List

While an Oops-style advisory hit inboxes around 1:30 p.m., a clownish RIOC screw-up reached a unique crowd of “valued representatives” earlier. The list of recipients is shocking for several reasons.

But the fun started early: “We are pleased to announce the Grand Re-Opening of the renovated Sportspark here in Roosevelt Island!” Apparently, RIOC’s crack Communications Team copied and pasted last week’s announcement and failed to edit it.

by David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

RIOC Screw-Up #1038

Here’s the original invitation in full:

“Good afternoon valued representatives of our community,

“Hope this email finds you well.

“We are pleased to announce the Grand Re-Opening of the renovated Sportspark here in* Roosevelt Island!

“We invite you and/or a representative to attend this highly anticipated event. Please join us on Friday, May 12th at 11 am for announcements, ribbon cutting, and pickleball fun! The location will be behind the Sportspark facility at 250 Main Street New York, NY 10044.

“Please send us an RSVP to attend at events@rioc.ny.gov.

“We look forward to seeing you then!

“Akeem H. Jamal
“Assistant Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs

“Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC)
“500 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, NY 10044
“212-832-4540 (o)| Akeem.Jamal@rioc.ny.gov”

On a sad note, amid the blunder, RIOC now calls Blackwell House – 500 Main Street – their primary office. It’s a bunker, and it is not ADA-compliant. That’s where the elitism starts.

The Ugly Part

*Could someone please alert Mr. Jamal that Sporispark is “on,” not “in” Roosevelt Island?

Not only did Jamal fail to edit the body of the invitation, but he also failed to blind copy the recipients. That would disguise their identity and email addresses. Instead, he simply copied them, exposing the full list, including email addresses.

We will not include any email addresses here, protecting identities in a way RIOC didn’t.

The “valued representatives of our community” list contains a few Roosevelt Islanders, maybe a dozen, almost all of whom depend on RIOC for vital operating support.

Numerous community leaders aren’t there, but more telling is the list of outsiders who are.

Valued Representatives

• First are Jamal and his better-qualified assistant Bryant Daniels. (Didn’t they write it?)
• We know multiple people whose emails are wrong because they don’t work on the Island anymore.
• A ton of real estate people, especially from Related, so many in fact that if they all accept, their offices would have to close for the day.
• Representatives from Bike.NYC, the city Department of Sanitation, the Carroll Street Collective, and Green Neighbors.

No elected officials or media appear on the “valued” list. Not even the Roosevelt Islanders who pushed for the courts…

Scrambling to Recover

Fairly soon, someone on RIOC’s crack Communications Team discovered the blunder. RIOC Screw-up #1038 exposed some smelly misconduct.

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• Cuomo to sit for deposition on harassment allegations, according to reports
• What Are Taxpayers Spending for Those ‘Free’ Covid Tests? The Government Won’t Say.

Their solution? Now, invite everyone as if that was the intention all along. (Hint: It wasn’t.)

Now, the You Are Not Invited list flipped, but the advisory blast wasn’t as warm and cozy as the elites list:

“Roosevelt Island Community:” It began in a cool, perfunctory fashion. No “Dear…” No “Good afternoon,” like the elites got?

“We are pleased to announce the Grand Opening of the new Pickleball Courts here on Roosevelt Island!

“Please join us on Friday, May 12th at 11 am for announcements, a ribbon cutting, and pickleball fun! The location will be behind the Sportspark facility at 250 Main Street New York, NY 10044.

“We look forward to seeing you then!

“-Team RIOC”

A little less warm and personal, don’t you think?