Board tensions at RIOC bubbled to the surface as members tussled over helping The Landings Residents Association deal with the complex’s management. These are Roosevelt Island – as well as RIOC – growing pains, and they are healthy.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Last week, we reported on Joyce Short’s efforts at organizing resident opposition to C&C Management’s expanding submetering within the complex. Instigating that story was an effort by RIOC board member Ben Fhala to get the state agency involved after he attended a rowdy meeting with C&C and residents.
C&C pitched the virtues of submetering residents electrical outlets, arguing that it would save money. Residents weren’t buying – or staying quiet. Fhala was there as a witness. He asked that RIOC’s Real Estate Development Committee chair Howard Polivy bring C&C before the board for a conversation.
Then, existing board tensions activated in what is really a proxy fight over its role in Island governance.
RIOC Board Tensions
It’s no secret to anyone that RIOC is a mess, its executive management out on an endless paid suspension, its board struggling over its own identity. Clashes between newer, progressive board members and a hard right conservative core controlled out of Albany have pitted Fhala against Polivy. It’s no surprise it comes to a head over helping The Landings’s residents in their struggle with C&C Management.
During his less than two year tenure on the board, Fhala has sought and often won changes in how RIOC functions. Along with fellow progressive Lydia Tang, he dragged the reluctant board into establishing a legally required Governance Committee. And he has persistently demanded better oversight on RIOC’s flawed spending practices.
Behind all that lies a power struggle with a relentless Fhala poking holes in hard right firewall resisting change.
The Landings Conflict
As Fhala advocated increased RIOC involvement, Short said in an email that Polivy “…reached out. We had a good discussion and will be following up shortly.”
She added, “We have asked for a meeting with L&M and C&C to see if we can bridge the divide with them. We would like to do so without the rancor you witnessed at the public meeting and will likely transpire at any public meeting on this issue at this point.”
At the same time. Senator Liz Krueger’s chief of staff Audrey Tannen reported a reassuring response from the Public Service Commission – which must approve submetering – after Krueger waded in.
“We are discussing the sub-metering issue internally,” a PSC representative said. “My presumption is that the process will slow down and provide time for us to carefully check the compliance stuff…”
That prompted a thinly veiled rebuke from Fhala to Polivy: “Howard, please be advised that you are only one board member and cannot act on behalf of the full board. Please keep that in mind and keep this board informed of any policy discussions promptly. As you are temporarily part of the leadership team at RIOC, it is even more critical that when a board member reaches out to you, cc’ing the entirety of the board, you respond promptly.”
Polivy reacted: “You admonish me for not sharing with the Board when I, as an individual Board member, have contact with community members and seek to develop information and make representations as an individual…”
Lost Among Board Tensions…?
Fhala agreed, “Board members are encouraged to engage with local leaders, residents, and elected officials to better understand the needs of the communities we serve.”
But there was more.
“Most governing and brainstorming of policy should be done in public, with few exceptions. I appreciate knowing these exceptions, especially in light of your recent actions with legal to block communication between Professor Tang, Dr. Melamed, and myself. I hope your actions stem from a misunderstanding of your role rather than malicious intent.
“While I would ask you to consider stepping down from the board, I do not assume you will. If you continue to operate in the shadows while chairing oversight committees and influencing policies behind the scenes, I will work to bring transparency to your actions for the sake of the communities we serve.”
Finally…
As tensions within RIOC’s board remain unsettled, the best residents can hope for is that they don’t spill over and drown serious issues needing attention.
RIOC’s board was never prepared for Fhala’s insistence on fixing its operations because resident interests had long been lost under Albany’s control. For what it’s worth and whatever the result, it’s a shakeup the state agency needed.
And still does.
As the Dust Settles
The way the wind cuts across the river this time of year. The way older buildings hold heat but never quite hold air. I told myself that was why my chest felt tight again on certain mornings. Age, perhaps.
