While continuing a familiar theme, RIOC President/CEO Shelton J. Haynes and Chief Counsel Gretchen Robinson, amended their pending lawsuit with a startling surprise. They’ve added the Governor’s office as well as RIOC itself, as expected, but have also added board member Ben Fhala as a defendant.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Haynes and Robinson Lawsuit Now
The gist of the complaint, amended on Friday, is that state officials with oversight over RIOC failed to protect Haynes and Robinson from an onslaught of racist criticism. They suggest, as well, that some state officials, including electeds, aided and abetted the racism.
Note: A full copy of Haynes and Robinson’s amended lawsuit is attached below.
Alas, this writer, they claim, is the gang leader in the racist attacks. (They can’t bring themselves to mention The Roosevelt Island Daily. I’m just a “local blogger.”)
As evidence, their lawsuit cites my skills at sweeping elected officials into my net and gaining their support.
And the lawsuit again employs preposterous figures about articles criticizing Haynes and Robinson as actual evidence. Coupled with the claim that no other “White” administration suffered such scrutiny, it makes for a pretty leaky floodgate.
Now, for the first time, they produce evidence for what they call “racially charged language.” These, they say, are included in “baseless articles about RIOC’s staff and executives.”
But that don’t hold water.
Charge #1
Haynes and Robinson quote The Daily: “…unfairly firing a Caucasian woman and replacing her with an African-American man. On Juneteenth.” But they fail to note that this criticism targeted Governor Andrew Cuomo, not anyone at RIOC.
The fairness issue involved denying then-President/CEO Susan Rosenthal a chance to rebut the charges against her or otherwise defend herself. Rushing a replacement in on Juneteenth? If that doesn’t raise eyebrows, nothing should.
But as far as we knew at that time, neither Haynes nor Robinson had anything to do with it. Later lawsuits filed by Rosenthal spotlighted their key roles, but that was six months down the road.
Charge #2
“Stone claimed that Haynes and Robinson had been accused of ‘teaming up in a practice or [sic] racial cleansing at RIOC.'”
Reporting a fact is not “racially charged” beyond the fact that it happened, and it would be irresponsible if the report had not been posted. Charges against Haynes and Robinson of racist behavior are in multiple lawsuits as well as a civilian complaint lodged with the Mexican embassy.
The Daily does not know whether these accusations are true or will be sustained in court, but the numbers are there.
Adding Board Member Ben Fhala as a Defendant
The amended Haynes/Robinson lawsuit’s most ambitious addition is an extended attack against Ben Fhala, who was confirmed by the State Senate in June. Confirmed at the same time, Lydia Tang gets a critical mention but was not made a defendant.
From our point of view, Fhala’s violation amounts to his failure to Shut Up and Sit Down as sheepish board members have done previously. Passivity among board members led to countless issues and mismanagement in the past, including multiple administrations.
Fhala’s new and unwilling to rubber stamp whatever comes down the pike through RIOC’s brain trust. His questioning has emboldened Roosevelt Islanders’ hopes for accountability and transparency.
But Haynes and Hochul see his activism as unacceptable as well as racially driven. And in a fresh new twist, they include the other “local blogger” as party to his misconduct. They rail against Fhala’s talking to local media, which neither Robinson nor Haynes have done for years.
This makes Fhala a defendant and adds The Roosevelt Islander as a player criticized for doing his job responsibly.
Quoting Kurt Vonnegut, “And so it goes.”
Finally…
Lost in all this is a key element. That is, by walling himself off from local media, refusing to answer questions for years now, Haynes set himself up for criticism – unbalanced criticism.
On multiple occasions, I’ve personally, face to face, explained to Haynes that bunkering deprives him and RIOC of adding their spin or point of view to events. It’s not my job or any other journalist’s to invent defenses for recalcitrant newsmakers. We should be fair, but when only one side talks, silence earns its place in any report.
That’s not good for RIOC, Haynes, Robinson, Fhala, the Governor nor anyone else. But let’s be clear, no one in the media created this. Lay the blame on New York’s chronically malfunctioning – and costly – governance, top to bottom.
Emergency Without Urgency
When government invokes the word “emergency,” normal process changes. Timelines accelerate. Environmental review can narrow. Procurement pathways can shift.
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