Expectations were high that, in the RIOC board’s Executive Session, a resolution for suspended executives Shelton Haynes and Gretchen Robinson would be reached. The Daily has learned that that did not happen. Everyone – Islanders, interim leaders, Haynes and Robinson – were left dangling.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
No Resolution
At the end of 2023, RIOC’s board suspended – with pay – both CEO Shelton J. Haynes and Chief Counsel Gretchen Robinson. In legal filings, both insist they are innocent of any wrongdoing and are victims of a racist administration.
Superficially at least, the case against them is exceptionally weak, which may explain the absence of any resolution. Board member Howard Polivy, in an affidavit, claimed that no fewer than six RIOC staff members came to him with complaints about Haynes.
These complaints took place over at least six months.
Robinson seems like more of a tacked-on piece because little was said about her specifically. She may be guilty of nothing more than a close relationship with Haynes.
The charges…
When employee complaints about a hostile workplace piled up, Polivy persuaded the board to start a third-party investigation. They suspended Haynes and Robinson pending the results but kept them on full pay.
A lawsuit followed quickly from Haynes and Robinson, and it detailed what they insisted is a history of racist harassment and lack of support. In response, the state and RIOC’s board denied those claims.
Full Disclosure: Haynes and Robinson accused me personally of leading the racist conspiracy against them. In their response, the state defended The Daily’s right to free speech.
According to Polivy, employees claimed they were victimized by suffocating oversight, including geo-tracking of their cell phones, camera surveillance and spying on their emails. A series of firings with little verifiable justification heightened tensions.
Without much detail, employees also cited Haynes and Robinson for violating purchasing guidelines.
Is it unfair…?
Haynes and Robinson as well as RIOC’s employees and Roosevelt Islanders whose dollars pay for all this deserve better than this prolonged investigation. The executives’ professional and personal reputations flap in the breeze. A lack of concrete information lets speculation as well as anxiety run high.
So far, the shrouded investigation has taken longer than the period during which six employees intermittently reached out to Polivy. Haynes’s and Robinson’s combined annual salaries total well over $400,000. Generous benefits kick in an estimated 40% on top of that. And then, you’ve got the legal costs for the investigation plus the ensuing lawsuit.
Roosevelt Islanders are on the hook for something north of a quarter-million dollars to date and counting. With nothing but damaged reputations to show for it.
Given that the Hochul administration has slow-walked a dozen or more investigations into RIOC under Haynes, some up to four years old, the state’s commitment to speedy and fair resolutions is nearly nonexistent.
This may take a while. And cost a lot.
A Job With a Predictable Ending
The role looks stable from the outside. A President and CEO is appointed. A contract is approved. A salary is set.
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So they’re on an exorbitantly paid vacation on our dime. Meanwhile, I’m sure we could be using a quarter million dollars on better things that need to be done on the island.
That about sums it up. They could have and probably did reach a conclusion some time ago, but the state is reluctant to find them guilty of while several outstanding lawsuits accuse them of the same and worse. They may fear the affect the findings will have on the lawsuits and the money they will lose. It’s ugly. It’s New York.