Image From Manhattan District Attorney’s Community Affairs Unit The Manhattan District Attorney’s office and Roosevelt Island Operating Corp ( RIOC ) will be conducting a joint informational meeting Wednesday November 9 on the:

Criminal Justice System & Arrest To Sentencing Process

RIOC President Leslie Torres described the event in her last Report to the Community:

…New York County District Attorney’s Office Community Meeting

The New York County District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department, will be hosting an informative community meeting on the Criminal Justice System and Arrest to Sentencing Process at the Good Shepherd Community Center (546 Main Street) on Wednesday, November 9th from 7pm to 9pm. Attendees will get information on the following:
The PSD’s role in the community and their initiatives
Why the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has the authority to prosecute and
investigate crimes on Roosevelt Island
An explanation of the criminal justice process in New York County
The differences between a violation, misdemeanor and felony
What is the arrest to sentencing process for adult offenders
The role of Family Court in the criminal justice system
The Manhattan District Attorney’s new re-entry and juvenile justice initiatives

I encourage you all to come out. Light refreshments will be served….

The meeting will be at the Good Shepherd Community Center from 7-9 PM at 543 Main Street (not 546 Main Street). Among the items on the Agenda is:

The PSD’s role in the community and their initiatives

The Public Safety Department’s role in the community, particularly RIOC’s method of distributing information regarding their actions is very topical at the moment. For the past several years, beginning with the approval of former RIOC President Steve Shane, the Public Safety Department would include the Roosevelt Islander Blog on the email distribution list for the daily Public Safety Incident Report which would then be posted on the Blog for the community to be able to view and be aware of. The practice of including this Blog on the email distribution list stopped soon after Mr. Shane’s departure. Mr. Shane’s successor, RIOC President Leslie Torres, promised that instead of my being on the Daily Public Safety report email distribution list she would send me a copy of the report after it was reviewed that same day. That practice did not last long and stopped too. RIOC does post the daily report on it’s web site, though only for that specific day other than weekend reports which generally appear the following Monday. On occasion there are reports on RIOC’s web site of an assault , robbery , burglary , fight , shooting or other incident impacting the safety or quality of life for Roosevelt Island residents. When I see those types of incidents I ask RIOC for additional information such as the location and time of day of the incident, was anyone injured, what was stolen and whether Roosevelt Island residents were involved. I believe information regarding these type of incidents is news and that the Roosevelt Island community should be made aware of these incidents in a timely and accurate manner. I do not ask for, nor publish, any information that would reveal specific identities of those involved or ongoing investigations. As reported in this October 18 post:

… In the past, I could ask Public Safety Director Keith Guerra about a particular incident and in most cases Mr. Guerra would reply promptly with an explanation as to what occurred. That is no longer the case because Mr. Guerra is not permitted to respond to press/blogger inquires. All inquiries regarding Roosevelt Island issues must be funneled through RIOC’s Community Relations Office. In consultation with the appropriate RIOC staff, the Community Relations Office will determine if and to what extent a response is provided….

During a subsequent meeting with RIOC President Leslie Torres and RIOC’s new lawyer last week, I was advised that from now on neither Mr. Guerra nor the Community Relations Office will respond to press/blogger requests for additional information on Public Safety Report information. Any request from the Roosevelt Island Blog for Public Safety Incident information must be made through a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) filing – a process that could take 2 weeks or longer for RIOC’s legal department to review. Just a ridiculous, cover your ass requirement. The type of information requested is generally available in the Monthly Public Safety Blotter. However, that information is not made public for 6-8 weeks after an incident occurred. Below is the September Roosevelt Island Public Safety Blotter. Here are how some of those incidents are described: There is no valid reason why the type of specificity in the Monthly Blotter cannot be provided in the Daily Public Safety Report. After all, as Ms. Torres reported in her recent Community Report , RIOC recently won an award;

… given by the State Chief Information Officer and Office for Technology (CIO/OFT) in recognition of a state or local government entity that has demonstrated innovative use of web 2.0 technology to advance their organizations core mission, serve citizens and foster open government and civic engagement.

Communicating and exchanging ideas with the Roosevelt Island community is a top priority for us…

Let’s see RIOC’s commitment to open government and communicating to the Roosevelt Island community applied to the Public Safety Reports and not hide behind bureaucratic cover your ass legalisms. I have had several long discussion with senior RIOC staff about this issue. I still hope to resolve this issue so that the Roosevelt Island community is informed about Public Safety Incidents in a timely and accurate manner. RIOC September Public Safety Blotter UPDATE 5:15 PM -Was advised today during a phone conversation with RIOC President Leslie Torres and a subsequent email from a RIOC spokesperson that:

In response to your request for additional Public Safety Report information, RIOC will providethe time, location, and information about whether or not someone was injured.

… RIOC will generally not comment further.

For the most part, I think that is fair. More information is better but let’s see how it works out.