Here’s what a one-time insider said about the Shelton Haynes chaos at RIOC: “When you are on the inside, you see some of it, at least the part that they let you see or they are unable to hide from you.” But the inflicted pain, incompetence and expense that goes with it makes it worse.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Last week, former Associate General Counsel, Arthur Eliav, filed a rebuttal against RIOC’s efforts to sweep his complaints under the rug. Eliav’s state lawsuit is one of numerous alive in various courts involving CEO Shelton J. Haynes and his administration.
His cross-motion (see below) lays bare alleged misconduct and abuse RIOC hid and still hides. A lawsuit filed by former employees Erica Spencer-EL, Amy Smith and Jessica Cerone exposed more and was recently settled in their favor. General Counsel Gretchen Robinson and Vice-President Tajuna Sharpe joined Haynes as defendants in that case. Eliav targets the same trio.
The Haynes Chaos
Although some facts remain obscured by RIOC’s interim leadership, required fiscal reports show millions spent on outside legal counsel. The hired guns defend the various lawsuits plus a dozen or more investigations into RIOC under Haynes. Nothing could be more suggestive of the price of tolerating years of painful chaos.
Needless to say, all those millions come out of Roosevelt Island, not the state that introduced it. Critical projects await funds while the lawyers get paid. And if that’s not enough, Haynes who granted himself a salary higher than any mayor in the United States – for our little Island – still collects of $20K per month, plus generous benefits – while suspended for over eight months now. The causes for his suspension match up with Eliav’s accusations.
Allegations
“…under Haynes, Robinson, and Sharpe, there was a pattern of removing high level, long-tenured Caucasian employees, often leaving their positions vacant for long periods of time, then filling them with non-Caucasian or lower level employees – all of whom were more controllable and beholden to Haynes, Robinson, and Sharpe.” – Arthur Eliav lawsuit.
An unofficial policy of preferences favoring persons of color goes back to the Susan Rosenthal administration. It is a fact she likely regrets. Three of her most favored hires – Haynes, Robinson and Sharpe – were critical to her unjust firing in 2020.
The mischief and Haynes chaos played directly into it.
Eliav’s Case
Eliav accuses Haynes, Robinson and Sharpe of prolonging a case of religious bias against his Orthodox Jewish faith. The discrimination was amplified, he says, by his honest testimony in a lawsuit filed by one-time Chief Counsel Don Lewis. Lewis won, and Eliav alleges that fact stayed hot over time.
Adding on to that were two incidents just before his dismissal. In a situation involving The
Daily, Eliav insisted that the defendants obey Freedom of Information laws in responding to an inquiry about salary information. The results showed Haynes paying himself more than the governor receives. This disclosure pissed him off.
In the same concurrent sequence of events, Eliav alleges that Haynes, Robinson and Sharpe conspired to block a promotion due him by inventing an all-new requirement for the job of Deputy Chief Counsel. The new description demanded extensive courtroom experience, which neither Eliav nor anyone else on the staff had. Moreover, RIOC – then and now – always hires outside counsel for handling lawsuits, making the requirement irrelevant.
When Eliav protested directly to Haynes, in a professional manner, Haynes reacted by immediately firing Eliav. He was so eager, he sent his dismissal notice directly to Eliav’s residence where he was home on a sick day.
In 17 years with RIOC, Eliav had never before been disciplined nor had he ever received a critical evaluation.
Making His Case Against Haynes Chaos
In his lawsuit and cross-motion, Eliav bolstered his arguments. He cited a long list of employees fired or edged out of their jobs under questionable circumstances.
- Jonna Carmona Graff – Assistant Vice President of Capital Planning and Projects
- Stephen Noone – Assistant Vice President of Capital Planning and Projects
- Tamara Andreatta – Director of Asset Management
- John O’Reilly – Chief Financial Officer
- Terrance McCauley – Public Information Officer
- Andrew Berko -Conptroller
- Debra Kustka – Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
- Robert Henry – Assistant Comptroller
All were Caucasian, replaced by lesser lights or no one.
When Haynes cleaned house, the most frequent results were empty rooms and brooms where sophisticated tools were needed. This led to chaos. Nothing got done while salaries of the faithful ballooned. It also opened up a bountiful harvest of fees for outside counsel defending all the lawsuits and investigations.
Better Late Than Never. Maybe.
Finally, buttressing his case, Eliav cites a damning declaration by RIOC board member Howard Polivy. In it, he details six months of complaints brought to him by six RIOC employees. Why it took so long before Polivy acted is a puzzle, especially after he described an overriding element within RIOC.
“in speaking with these six employees,” Polivy states, “I detected an important, predominant element intrinsic to all the conversations in which I participated: fear.”
Scrape off the excess verbal adornments. This says much of the staff was fearful of not just losing their jobs. They were also afraid of being complicit in the actions of Haynes and Robinson.
A hostile, intimidating environment was fertile grounds that healthy employees rejected getting rooted in.
Finally
The Haynes chaos that thrived for several years can’t be pinned entirely on Haynes himself of his inner circle. As a start, Governors Cuomo and Hochul lent a lot of support and little oversight, even though Albany meddles in RIOC constantly. They knew or should have known what was going on and let it be anyway.
Similarly, RIOC’s board, made up mostly of Roosevelt Islanders, did more than tolerate the chaos. Some cheered it on, overlooking misconduct and blasting media for calling it out. This should be enough for a thorough revamp that sends the worst of the bunch packing.
Let’s hope our vigilant elected officials keep their focus. Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright can bring better resources to the board. To be clear, Governor Hochul must appoint new board members. She must get them past Krueger, who has legislative power over RIOC appointees, first.
AVAC: Where the Pipe Curves
This is the final installment in my notes from the December 2nd, Operations Advisory Committee meeting, following “An Emergency, Apparently” and “Rust Is Funny Until It Isn’t”.
