RIOC Board member Howard Polivy’s declaration, responding to a motion in the Haynes/Robinson lawsuit, makes stark the sorry state of RIOC. The biggest question remaining: What the hell took so long? People have been hurt, the public trust damaged, resources mismanaged and money wasted.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
In January, RIOC‘s board took the unprecedented step of suspending CEO Shelton Haynes and Chief Counsel Gretchen Robinson with pay. This made possible an investigation into employee allegations without fear of interference or retaliation.
Haynes and Robinson quickly filed a motion asking for a Temporary Restraining Order and injunctive relief that would rescind their suspensions. They accused RIOC of racism and claimed their suspensions were retaliation for a discrimination lawsuit filed in September.
The Southern District of New York Court shot that down, but in the process, Polivy was called on to defend his leadership in investigating Haynes and Robinson.
The details revealed are sordid but also too late in being made public, long after so much damage occurred.
Find the full report attached below.
The Sorry State of RIOC Under Haynes and Robinson
An oddity in Polivy’s statement is his coupling of Haynes and Robinson as a pair, like Dick and Tom, Captain and Tennille, Mutt and Jeff. They share every allegation of the alleged misconduct shared by six current employees.
“Each of these employees confided they were extremely worried about being subjected to retaliation by Mr. Haynes and Ms. Robinson, whom they described as vindictive, in the form of termination of employment, denial of merit increases, and denial of opportunities for compensatory time off and leave time off.”
Polivy explains that all six came forward unsolicited, each with similar stories. But “In or about late December 2023 these complaints increased in frequency and severity or degree.”
Polivy then called for protective action. He asked the board to suspend both Haynes and Robinson.
The stories…
Stories shared by the employees are shocking only in the awareness that the six risked their livelihoods in stepping forward. Neither Polivy nor any other member of the board seems aware of how badly this reflects on the board’s negligence over years.
Other employees – long-term, valued employees – suffered from the Haynes/Robinson Ax: Amy Smith, Jessica Cerone, Karline Jean, Erica Spencer-EL, Arthur Eliav, Robert Henry, John O’Reilly. Some of them insist they reached out to Polivy and other board members but were rebuffed and/or ignored.
Numerous news reports with evidence described Haynes’s and Robinson’s inept management but were similarly ignored. And then, the avalanche of lawsuits and investigations… Still, the board did little or nothing until six brave employees stepped up, leaving them no choice.
While Polivy deserves credit for being the one and only board member taking decisive action, it’s easily seen as far too little and far too late. Careers damaged, resources wasted, community trust squandered… while the board dithered.
Says one disillusioned ex-employee:
“Instead of doing the right thing and meeting with me, they hired some hacks to cover up for these goons. The goons then used that report to go after the board itself. I guess we should be reminded that there is no honor among thieves.”
Public safety’s worrisome involvement…
One whistleblower told Polivy, “RIOC employees avoid certain areas on Roosevelt Island as they might be subject to monitoring through video cameras by Public Safety Officers who could report on their movements to Mr. Haynes or Ms. Robinson.”
Is this what residents pay a staff of 50 for? PSD is RIOC’s most expensive and least visible department.
Now, we may better understand how Haynes and Chief Brown used PSD resources.
Surveillance
Employee after employee reflects on the sorry state of affairs, expressing “…concern that conversations on the employee’s RIOC-issued phone were not private and fear that some members on the executive
staff were listening to Employee conversations on the RIOC-issued phone.”
Polivy says, one “…told me the employee had not taken the employee’s RIOC-issued phone for fear of being geo-located.” Others expressed similar privacy concerns.
Another told Polivy, “…employees continually state they are concerned their whereabouts are being tracked through supplied RIOC phones, their calls on such phones might not be private, and they seem to be experiencing apparent systematic observation (including review of their email communications) which they have noticed and which has caused them to become fearful.”
Several describe conditions under Haynes and Robinson simply as “toxic.”
The Sorry State in Affect
Not all of the whistleblower complaints were about their personal interests. Most worried about how poorly RIOC functioned under Haynes and Robinson.
Tellingly, one whistleblower related, “that staff does not understand how senior leadership could be able to run the business of RIOC while spending an inordinate amount of time in lengthy private meetings together.”
Another summed up, “…it appeared that Mr. Haynes and Ms. Robinson were taking extreme measures to protect their privacy rather than fulfilling their obligations to manage RIOC operations efficiently and effectively.”
Yet another “claimed Mr. Haynes and Ms. Robinson continue to consolidate lines of authority, but there appears to be a clear separation between the direct interests of Mr.Haynes, Ms. Robinson and their supporters and other RIOC employees.”
For more, read the entire document below.
Finally…
“You can let Howard know if you see fit,” he added, but that reveals another story.
Reviewing the document, former CFO John O’Reilly reacted: “I can confirm that all 6 employees are correct in their assessments on the work environment, and I can confirm that they tracked cell phone pings, tracked movement on the island and spied on emails. And we were told not to talk to anyone on the board or anyone in the executive chamber, budget or state legal.”
As with others, Polivy ignored O’Reilly’s calls and emails after Haynes dismissed him based on geo-tracking evidence. Because Haynes was not up to the job, O’Reilly virtually guided RIOC through the pandemic before being deemed of insufficient loyalty.
But neither Polivy nor any other board member gave him the time of day, reflecting their callous treatment of Haynes’s predecessor, Susan Rosenthal.
The telling slant…
“There are a lot of gems there, but in particular, note Howard’s paragraph 134 where he indicates that he hired Greenberg Traurig with a hope that they will clear Shelton and Gretchen, which is exactly what I thought.”
This refers to an earlier investigation prompted by employee complaints.
Howard Polivy:
Sworn Declaration of Howard Polivy
- In fact, I proposed the investigation and audit overseen by the Audit Committee
in the hopes that Greenberg Traurig’s findings would exonerate Mr. Haynes and Ms. Robinson from the allegations in the Open Letter so they could perform their job duties in an atmosphere free from the accusations of wrongdoing that had been made against them.
At no point can you find Polivy or any other board member lamenting the downstream effects on the community or its residents. While bending over backward for years to protect Haynes, it gets completely lost to them that Roosevelt Islanders were also abused and neglected.
The profound result inspires a wishful vision of RIOC’s senior board members – Polivy, Kraut and Christian – marching away together with Haynes and Robinson leading the way.
The Five Amendments That Sold Out Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island did not lose control of its southern waterfront in a single deal. It happened in five quiet steps. Five amendments. Five missed chances to renegotiate.
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