David Stone
Founder & Euro Editor
Navigating Apps with Changes in Memory: Join Our Study
December 2, 2025
Weill Cornell Medicine seeks older adults with mild memory loss for a study on improving navigation apps. Participation is valuable,...
Fay Christian’s Inner Control Freak Buries RIOC Board Ops Meeting
Residents wondered if change was possible at RIOC, starting with an Operations Committee meeting last night. Committee chair Fay Christian proved it might not be while she and fellow dinosaur, David Kraut, disgraced the board as never before. Newly appointed…
Haynes, Robinson Now on Administrative Leave as RIOC Board Investigates
Late yesterday, RIOC said in a press release that President/CEO Shelton J. Haynes and Chief Counsel Gretchen Robinson had been placed on “paid administrative leave.” While the charges are vague, they provoked reactions from anger to gobsmacked. by David Stones…
Something Happened at the Special RIOC Board Meeting. We Don’t Know What.
We know that something happened, probably something big, at the mystery meeting held last evening in the Good Shepherd Community Center. But, cloaked in secrecy, the specific topic – or topics – remain a secret. by David Stone The Roosevelt…
Another Mystery Meeting Amid Turmoil – What’s Up With RIOC Now?
About the mystery meeting: “PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a special meeting of the RIOC Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.” The advisory landed just after 7:00 p.m. on Monday, less than 48…
Ben Fhala – Game Changer or Spinning His Wheels?
Whether RIOC Board Member Ben Fhala is a game changer for Roosevelt Island or not is still unknown, but the stage is set. After standing tall against winds of resistance, Fhala has opened a campaign, joined by at least two…
RIOC’s December Board Meeting, the 3 Stinkers and Now 1 More
Things are so strange within RIOC’s orbit these days, predicting anything about the December board meeting was a lot of guesswork. But happily, with a short agenda, strangeness did not scatter into chaos. But one startling disclosure made it memorable….
RIOC Board Agenda December 2023 – Three Big Stinkers
Already shaky, RIOC posted a board agenda for December that’s loaded with stinkers without a hint of optimism anywhere. After approving an unworthy promotion and a deeply flawed budget, the board recedes into a secretive executive session where they can…
Haynes and Robinson Expand Their Lawsuit with One Big Surprise
While continuing a familiar theme, RIOC President/CEO Shelton J. Haynes and Chief Counsel Gretchen Robinson, amended their pending lawsuit with a startling surprise. They’ve added the Governor’s office as well as RIOC itself, as expected, but have also added board…
Shuffling Schedules, RIOC Creates a Greater Gap with the Community
A greater gap between RIOC and Roosevelt Islanders is not what elected officials expected when they grilled board chair RuthAnne Visnauskas earlier this year. Visnauskas assured Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright that she’d increase community engagement. But…
Some Change and More of the Same at RIOC’s Board
As the powers streaming out of Team Hochul in Albany fought hard to hold the failing status quo, local newcomers fought back. They may have won a little, if not enough, at this board meeting. Yet. by David Stone The…
David Stone
Founder & Euro Editor