We Need As Many Voters To Vote As Possible....
This coming Tuesday Roosevelt island residents effectively have to vote in large numbers for the RIOC Board nominees or it is likely Governor Spitzer will not nominate any of the candidates to the Board of Directors. As noted in today’s NY Sun this process is an experiment and if the Governor feels that the elected nominees are not sufficiently representative of the Island he may feel he is not bound to his promise to allow us this self representation.
So effectively it is, pardon my bluntness, time to put up or shut up, or as it is put more eloquently above, VOTE NOW or forever hold your peace as this opportunity may never be granted us again.
Steve Shane, President of RIOC, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, stated in the NY Sun article that advocates of the election had overstated their significance. "The reality of their representation is very different than their public posturing," Mr. Shane said yesterday. "They have a state senator, an assemblyman, a City Council member, and no one else has any more than that."
I am not wholly sure I agree with Mr. Shane’s analysis. Yes, we vote for a City Council Member but her authority over matters affecting Roosevelt Island’s operations are limited, I believe, to that of a visiting dignitary. While yes she is an advocate on our behalf and can work to secure funds through the City for various programs on the Island she again can not change policy set at the State level or decided within the walls of the RIOC offices. As such I believe we have less than the rest of the NYC population and until the Island reverts back to NYC or this election is successful this will not change.
I have great concerns regarding the success of this election as I am unsure if the general population of the Island fully understands the position in history we now stand in. If great numbers of Island residents don’t vote this opportunity, As Matt Katz, RIRA President, states in the NY Sun article it may never come again. So please let your neighbors know this election is of great significance and they should make the effort to vote on February 5th if only for this election if not for the primaries themselves.
So effectively it is, pardon my bluntness, time to put up or shut up, or as it is put more eloquently above, VOTE NOW or forever hold your peace as this opportunity may never be granted us again.
Steve Shane, President of RIOC, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, stated in the NY Sun article that advocates of the election had overstated their significance. "The reality of their representation is very different than their public posturing," Mr. Shane said yesterday. "They have a state senator, an assemblyman, a City Council member, and no one else has any more than that."
I am not wholly sure I agree with Mr. Shane’s analysis. Yes, we vote for a City Council Member but her authority over matters affecting Roosevelt Island’s operations are limited, I believe, to that of a visiting dignitary. While yes she is an advocate on our behalf and can work to secure funds through the City for various programs on the Island she again can not change policy set at the State level or decided within the walls of the RIOC offices. As such I believe we have less than the rest of the NYC population and until the Island reverts back to NYC or this election is successful this will not change.
I have great concerns regarding the success of this election as I am unsure if the general population of the Island fully understands the position in history we now stand in. If great numbers of Island residents don’t vote this opportunity, As Matt Katz, RIRA President, states in the NY Sun article it may never come again. So please let your neighbors know this election is of great significance and they should make the effort to vote on February 5th if only for this election if not for the primaries themselves.
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Our City Council member has no more "authority" over the Manhattan part of her district than she does over Roosevelt Island. The only difference is that City government, being closer, is more responsive than State government. If a neighborhood has an issue they can complain to a City agency or the Mayor's office. It's far better than complaining to someone in Albany. So there's some truth to both Steve Shane's and Matt Katz's positions on representation.
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