“Did you hear that she (Tajuna Sharpe) is no longer with RIOC?” a reader asked. “‘Resigned’ for unknown reasons.” We did know but waited for the news to be made public. Now, it is.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Cover Photo: Tajuna Sharpe, seen in the upper right in blue, attended the ribbon-cutting for Sportspark’s reopening in May.
Employees come and go, but Sharpe’s abrupt resignation is memorable because of her role in the Shelton Haynes administration at RIOC. She had been on sick leave.
Although she has been accused in several lawsuits as being a key operative under Haynes and Chief Counsel Gretchen Robinson, Sharpe does not participate in the discrimination lawsuit the pair filed against the state, multiple managers and a board member.
Tajuna Sharpe at RIOC
Director of Human Resources under former RIOC/President CEO Susan Rosenthal, Sharpe had a meteoric rise in position as well as salary under Haynes. She was recently recognized as a top-ranking member of the Constituent Services Department.
While Sharpe has never been accused of illegal conduct, she’s been cited in several lawsuits as Haynes’s willing accomplice in firing employees deemed disloyal.
“I’m sure she’s gonna find another job for $200,000 where she will have no qualifications other than firing good people at the whim and capris of her maniacal bosses,” one RIOC insider sniped. “Hopefully, there, she will also be allowed to have random mental breakdowns, yelling and screaming at visitors and other employees.”
“Huge loss since she was the chair of the geo-tracking task force,” another said. “Known to be Haynes’s henchman, wielded influence over hiring and firing, even unfairly altering criteria for summer internships, leaving the island’s youth overlooked.”
RIOC had no comment. Communications and Community Relations Director Bryant Daniels confirmed that the state agency does not comment on personnel matters.
Howard Polivy, the Man Who Never Left
There is a particular rhythm to board meetings. Once you have sat through enough of them, they begin to blend together. The agenda appears. The minutes are approved.
