Image of December 2010 RIRA Meeting The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) will be holding it’s January 2011 Monthly meeting Wednesday night starting at 8 PM. The monthly meeting will take place at Sportspark (250 Main Street, next to the tram station and tennis bubble) and not at the Good Shepherd Community Center. As always, prior to the start of each meeting there is a public session in which any resident can come and address the Common Council Delegates on any issue of concern. Below is the Agenda for the January 2011 RIRA meeting, which includes the creation of the Public Purpose Funds Committee , as well as Public Safety, Communications, Housing and Island Services Committee Reports. Rather than me highlighting selected items from these reports, I recommend you read through all of the reports. They are very interesting and in some cases quite controversial in the context of how Roosevelt Island works. Rira January Agenda RIRA PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 13, 2010 Attendees: Peter Digilio Joyce Mincheff Matthew Katz Howard Polivy Romano Reid Ellen Polivy Minutes taken by: Erin Feely-Nahem Following introductions the committee reviewed the Mission Statement that was adopted by the Public Safety Committee last year and presented to the Common Council. Members present agreed that the Mission Statement still seemed to fit the committees mission. Chair will send the Mission statement out to all committee members via email for review and comments. Mission Statement: To provide support to the Public Safety Department in an effort to assure that community needs are being met. To act as a liaison between the community and the Public Safety department, and to be available as an ombudsman to facilitate resolution as needed. Committee reviewed and discussed the goals that had been adopted by Public Safety Committee last year. Listed are the goals and the discussion that followed. 1) Wheelchair accessibility to the Public Safety office and the Cultural centers elevator. Committee determined goal was accomplished. 2) Traffic Enforcement: Committee members express concern at the dangerous areas of crossing ie: bottom of the ramp. Members recommend that Officer posted in front of 2 River Road conduct traffic, not just stand in front of car. The possibility of a 3 Way Stop sign was raised. Members complained that Access a ride and the RIOC buses ignore the traffic signage, and are not ticketed when they do not yield to pedestrians, or go through stop signs without coming to a complete stop. Committee members felt that the practice of waving the traffic through the stop signs in front of the school, even when there are no children in the crossing, encouraged drivers to disregard the Stop signs at other times. The Committee agreed to discuss these concerns with Chief Guerra. 3) Youth Tribunal: Chair explained to members the prior discussions with Chief Guerra on this topic. Discussion about the use of Community Service for youthful offenders, at the Islands hospitals, in certain cases instead of arrest, was visited. The Committee will revisit this topic this term and will discuss with Chief Guerra. 4) Parking Priorities: Committee discussed the fair and universal enforcement of existing parking rules. A member addressed favoritism being given to individuals, (seen around South Town) who had an expired Placards from the NYPD 2008, as well as placards from the MTA Police, Board of Education, Japanese Restaurant menus on the dash board etc. All of the above were seen parked illegally in metered areas, all without being given tickets. It was also mentioned that individuals with Wheelchair placards are still required to pay to park in metered spots and should be ticketed, like any other vehicle, if they havent. Members agreed that individuals should be reminded of the specific areas designated for long term parking, and Island business owners should be encouraged to utilize the courtesy rate offered at Motorgate. Those business owners who choose not to utilize this option should be ticketed, as residents are, when they park longer then allowed. Mentioned again was Kais black corvette, which now displays a wheelchair medallion hanging from the mirror. Members noted that there is an increasing amount of illegal parking happening around the Tram area, the Tennis Courts and around South Town. Committee will request that cars are uniformly ticketed, without exception when meeting with Chief Guerra. Photographs will be taken if issue is not resolved. 5) Traffic Design: Committee members still question the logic and safety of the traffic signage design. Howard Polivy will f/u with RIOC to discuss if a consultant was hired this past year to review this problem and if so, if they completed an assessment which is currently being utilized. If the consultant was not hired, or was not from DOT, or a reputable agency, the Committee will explore obtaining an assessment of the Islands traffic signage design by DOT. A letter will be drafted then submitted to the Common Council for review, then sent to CB8s Roosevelt Island Committee requesting assistance in obtaining the assessment. 6) Opening of Sports Park for Teens: There was discussion about the continuing need for a place where the older youth can congregate and not be a quality of life issue. The idea was raised that Sports Park could be utilized as a community center as well as a place for the Teens. One member was afraid that this would not work because the teens on the Island now were just bad. A suggestion voiced was that the City, and State funding designated for the Youth Center could be utilized, if the majority of the residents feel that the Youth Center is not meeting the needs of the Residents. If the community feels that the Youth Center should oversee this project, then it was suggested that a new Executive Director be hired, and the Youth Center change the hours they are open. It was decided to discuss this idea with other Common Council Committees, such as the Social, Educational and Cultural, the Services Committee, or possibly see if a work group could be formed. It was decided that when we decide to move ahead that Donna Masly, from RIOC should be contacted. This idea will also be discussed with Chief Guerra as a solution to the quality of life issue, as the place where the needs of this population can be met. A suggestion to complete a survey and send it out to ascertain residents satisfaction with the Youth Centers services was discussed, although no member has agreed to draft it to date. An audit of the utilization of the Youth Center services was suggested which Howard Polivy, RIOC Board Member stated that he would request from Steve Kaufman. 7) Motorgate crime: Members discussed whether the crime had decreased or escalated over the past year. Several members felt that it was still problematic, especially in the lower area where the disable park was reported as being increasingly problematic. Discussion around Public Safety patrols, cameras, new lighting, etc were covered. It was determined that the Committee will discuss with Chief Guerra whether the crime rate had increased or decreased and request and review any data available. NEW BUSINESS: Vertical Patrols in WIRE buildings There was concern expressed by members that the Vertical Patrols, conducted by Public Safety, were not happening on a regular basis and if they were, were not effective. This complaint led to a discussion of youth hanging out in hallways, and concern that when tenants reported this problem to Public Safety their identity was being divulged to the individuals they were complaining about. This concern will be explored with Chief Guerra. Public Safety Incident report documentation: There was concern voiced that incident reports, completed by Public safety were not being properly documented. Complaints made by phone were not always being recorded either. Member felt that sometimes a copy of the complaint was unable to be found, and the name and badge number of the officer who took the complaint were not provided when requested. This concern will be brought up in a meeting with Chief Guerra. Transparency: Committee member felt that to assist with this problem there should be a Roster of the Officers on duty, hanging up in the Public Safety for each shift. This issue will be discussed with Chief Guerra, and suggestions made. Community Police Officer: Members expressed dissatisfaction with the job Police Officer (UPDATE 1/5 from Roosevelt Islander Blog – the officer’s name has been redacted) from the 114th Precinct was doing on Roosevelt Island. There were complaints that he was abusing his power, was bias since his days as a Public Safety Officer, and more recently had been reported by residents to be stopping and frisking individuals unnecessarily. Many committee members felt that it was time for a change and wanted to request that we be sent fresh blood from the precinct. There was disagreement on how to go about this, which the committee members still need to determine. One member suggested that we speak to Keith first, to see if he could request a change, another felt we should go to the Sergeant at the 114th responsible for Community Affairs and ask for his reassignment, and others felt that the Common Council should be involved, to reflect transparency and community support, suggesting that a resolution is drafted, submitted to the Common Council for approval, then brought to the attention of CB8. The committee still needs to come to an agreement on how to proceed. Issues on Main Street: Committee was informed by a member that there has been an increase in the number of Residents cars being vandalized on Main Street, although residents are not contacting Public Safety, instead calling the police. Complaints were heard about the tickets being given out to take out delivery cars. Committee members voiced their concerns that Public Safety Officers often do not see infractions of the law, although they are standing right there. ie: cars running Stop signs, cars refusing to Yield to pedestrians, etc. Civilian Complaint Review Board: This is still an issue of concern to this committee. Discussion of the recent bill that Micah Kellner introduced was discussed. The development of a State Review Board, as proposed by Assembly member Kellner has not been adopted yet. Being able to hold Public Safety accountable for their actions is still an issue this committee is concerned with. The committee will continue to research and determine if a Civilian Complaint Review Board can be created on Roosevelt Island for this purpose. R.I. Cert Team recruitment: Howard Polivy spoke to the committee requesting support of the RI Cert Teams recruitment efforts. Committee members offered their support. Click here for more