NYS Threatens Huge Tax Hike For Island's Mitchell-Lamas

10 • The Main Street WIRE, Sat., Nov. 17, 2007
Letters from page 2
To RIOC Board Members:
I am writing regarding a very serious concern.
The Island has grown so much that it
is imperative that we do more to increase
the ability for residents to recycle and conserve.
I recently attended a course with the Department
of Sanitation. They are very willing
to supply us with signs and other information
to distribute in multiple languages.
The individual buildings would have to purchase
receptacles: one for glass, one for
metal, and one for paper. I realize that space
is sometimes a problem. But this is minor
compared to the benefit this would provide.
I have already met with Doryne Isley. She
was interested but had reservations as to how
to put this into place. She said that sorting
is done in the basement by the porters. However,
I am dubious as to how thoroughly it
is being done. The first line of defense is
the residents who would make this process
so much easier for the porters.
Beyond the crucial sorting that residents
would contribute, I realize that there is also
the issue of hauling recycled material away.
I think that we could work this out as well,
especially with our friends in the political
arena.
Please take this into serious consideration.
I would be happy to do whatever is needed
to facilitate this process. My contact in the
Department of Sanitation is also willing to
help us as much as possible.
Environmental problems are more critical
than ever, and I think that 13,000 people is
not an insignificant number of people to
make a dent in this problem.
Katherine Vithlani
To the Editor:
Island Cats, a community group dedicated
to the neutering of outdoor and abandoned
cats on the Island, conducted a cat-sterilization
program November 2-11, directed by
the ASPCA and the Mayor’s Alliance for
NYC’s Animals. Because of an emergency
last-minute situation with the cold weather,
we asked RIOC if we could use the Montauk
Credit Union space for that number of days.
It was agreed that it would be on a one-time
basis. It has come to our attention that there
were some complaints about an odor in the
Island House lobby, which we fixed immediately.
We very much regret any discomfort
residents of Island House were caused.
But we also regret any problems this may
have caused RIOC. There was no way for
anyone to foresee that this one-time, brief
emergency accomodation would create such
a problem. As many of us on the Island have
reason to know, the new RIOC is working
hard and imaginatively to help groups performing
a community service.
Jennifer Dunning
Island Cats
To the Editor:
I certainly have appreciated all the help
that my fellow Islanders have given me over
the years. Especially, then, do I apologize
for the rude way I treated the gentleman,
with his wife, when they offered to help me
up after I had tripped and fallen by the Deli
on the morning of Sunday, October 25. (I
was the blind man in the orange shirt.)
My reflexes are slowing down, and I am
really becoming a cranky old man, despite
my efforts to mask the fact. I am not used to
unexpected falls. Thank you!
Thank you, everybody, for all your kindness.
Reed Devlin
To the Editor:
Now you get something extra for the price
of admission to the subway station on
Roosevelt Island. They have found a new
way to torture us: Talking escalators that
don’t shut up and can be heard from one end
of the station to the other. And nothing is so
heartfelt as a mechanical voice wishing me,
“Have a good day!” just after it has ordered
me about. It said something about holding
the handrail, but I don’t really recall because
it was so traumatic I blocked most of it out.
Please go tell George Bush to stop torturing
the Arabs and the rest of us commuters.
Neal Weissman
To the Editor, New York Times:
“A Roosevelt for Roosevelt Island?” Absolutely! Just not this three acre anachronism
that was repudiated in a public survey taken in October 2004 by Southpoint Park designer,
The Trust for Public Land. For seven years we Islanders have been a part of the planning
for this thirteen-acre park and there is consensus that it should include an FDR Memorial.
But we endorsed a “Wild Gardens/Green Rooms” design concept and rejected the Kahn
plan as too formal and too sterile. The Kahn plan has hung fire for the last thirty-three
years and now, as the $12.9 million Southpoint Park Phase I approaches the start of construction,
the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute has put all their eggs in the Kahn
basket. If our public officials no longer find the 2004 survey valid, why don’t they commission
another? Parks should be built for the public that will use them not for the architectural
community that will visit once and never return.
Matthew Katz, President
Roosevelt Island Residents Association
New York Times editorial, Monday, November 5
To State Senator Jose Serrano:
During your campaign, you promised Roosevelt Island that you would set up office
hours in the community. Though you’ve been in office for a full year and more, we’ve
seen neither hide nor hair of you or any of your representatives, except at our blood drive
in the June Roosevelt Island Day event. Assemblyman Kellner has office hours every
Thursday, 3-7 p.m., in the RIOC office conference room. You could probably make a
similar arrangement.
You probably are, or certainly should be, aware of the huge debacle that has occurred
with the loss of Eastwood from the affordable housing stock under the RIOC administration
headed by Herbert Berman and under DHCR’s oversight. Perhaps you’ve gotten
wind of the difficulties being experienced by Rivercross, Westview, and Island House
buildings, all in Mitchell-Lama but working to extricate our separate buildings from the
intransigence and ineptitude of DHCR by creating affordable and long-term tenant ownership.
DHCR has recently made it a more difficult task imposing on us their criteria of
“second-generation” to the terms of long-term housing affordability, in order to satisfy the
current DHCR Commissioner VanAmerongen. In spite of this added burden, this criterion
has been met.
The concern of DHCR is housing, not homes. Stephen Shane, the current President/
CEO of RIOC, has said as much in a face-to-face meeting with the Westview Board of
Directors. He’s not worried if we lose our homes, or residents leave due to their not being
able to wait for serious repairs to be made by owners, but who, during privatization negotiations,
have no intention of doing those necessary repairs. Yet Mr. Shane quite unambiguously
stated to the Westview Board that he wasn’t bothered by our possible loss of
tenants and would have no trouble filling our apartments because there’s a long list of
people needing housing and waiting to take ours!
And now, this serious additional attack on Roosevelt Island housing: Within the last two
weeks, the three remaining Mitchell-Lama buildings’ owners have received news that the
ESDC is beginning to bill our three buildings for full tax-equivalency payments, despite
City Council Resolution 388-A granting real-property tax abatment (PILOTs), for an additional
period of 50 years, to Mitchell-Lama housing companies. Our buildings were included
on the list attached to this resolution. Some questions were raised at the time as to
the applicability of this bill to our buildings, but we were assured by our political representatives
(were you included?) that our tax abatement would continue as long as we were in
the M-L program.
This news means that an increase to Mitchell-Lama owners’ tax bills creates a situation
whereby the owners will be required to pay a PILOT increase between 75% and possibly
up to 100% in Westview and Island House of what is currently being paid, even while in
the Mitchell-Lama program! In other words, ESDC (the State) does not recognize these
Roosevelt Island Mitchell-Lamas as part of the City Council resolution. ESDC has found
itself an easy and lucrative funding source! This enormous increase could force owners to
pull out of the program faster and sell off their buildings, ricocheting into enormous rent
hikes by new owners, and forcing current residents out. Or the current owners may try to
pass on this tax hike to tenants while still in the program. Of course, while in Mitchell-
Lama they’d need the authorization from DHCR to raise the rents. But from Westview’s
point of view this is an agency that has never seen a rent hike it didn’t like, no matter the
“affordability” issue. Higher rents, one way or the other, would be required to pay this bill
because, as we all know, the owners are not expected to pay it out of their own pockets. If
our rents were raised by 100%, what does that say about DHCR’s mantra of affordable
housing?
We are hoping for a political solution to this problem and hope that you will be part of it.
Will you make it a point to come to this community with your colleagues and with some
real information, and more importantly, with real solutions for us vis-à-vis this craziness
from ESDC? This community is constantly under attack from either unfettered development,
DHCR’s mismanagement, or RIOC. And now we’ve got ESDC on our backs. So
much for paradise.
Have you and Assemblyman Kellner spoken about this issue? Have you been in touch
with Roosevelt Island’s City Council Representative, Jessica Lappin? What are you going
to do to help remedy this situation?
Roosevelt Islanders, a prime key to your election to the State Senate hope to see you
again soon. We hope we don’t have to wait until next June.
Sherie L. Helstien
Secretary, Roosevelt Island Residents Association
Member, Westview Taskforce Board of Directors
To RIOC President Steve Shane:
This is belated, but I want to thank you
for clearing the street of many of the perpetual
parkers. There seem to be a few left,
like the van with the broken-down driver’s
running board that stays in front of the
school, but at least now there is a 50/50
chance of finding a legal space open.
I hope you will be able to keep the PS
folks from being selective in their enforcement
duties.
By the by, perhaps the Empire State Development
bombshell may help to persuade
the folks to look with a wider scope at the
effort toward privatization. Your efforts on
that have been in the right direction, too.
David J. Bauer
offers many
opportunities for
volunteer
involvement in
gathering and getting
out the news. To
learn more, call
Dick Lutz at
212-826-9055, or
Sherie Helstien at
212-935-7534.
Be a part of it!
RIRA Column from page 3
present current Directors to the candidates
and to offer pointers on how best to reach
the Island-wide electorate. Only two RIOC
Board Members, Charlee Miller and Mark
Ponton, responded to our invitation to attend.
They offered candid descriptions of
what is expected from the Board, what the
time requirements are, and how the resident
Board Members might be more proactive
and exert more influence over RIOC.
Thanks, Charlee and Mark.
I hogged much of the second part of the
program, having had the experience of three
Island-wide campaigns for the RIRA Presidency.
In a nutshell, my advice was: Start
campaigning early. Take every opportunity
to speak to voters – in every building complex,
at the Farmer’s Market, at the Tram
and subway – everywhere Islanders congregate.
Cover the Main Street kiosks, building
bulletin boards, storefront windows, with
eye-catching campaign posters. And when
they’re torn down (and they will be!), put
up more. Prepare for the candidate events
by becoming familiar with Island issues, and
take advantage of the offer of free space in
The Main Street WIRE to do the best writing
of your life. The bottom line for candidates,
both declared and potential, is: if you
don’t take this opportunity seriously, why
should anyone else? Unlike the RIRA Common
Council, where volunteers can opt out
despite a written commitment not to, the
Governor’s appointees will need to bring a
more serious approach to their voluntarism.
Finally...
As I write, there is disturbing information
coming from the Empire State Development
Corporation (ESDC) involving tax-equivalency
(PILOT) payments that could radically
change the nature of the privatization efforts
of Rivercross, Island House, and Westview.
At this point, I haven’t enough information
to do more than pass along rumor, something
that Roosevelt Island always has too
much of. I suspect there will be concrete
information available in the news pages of
this newspaper and we shall read it together.
Sometimes, there seems to be a conspiracy
among those sworn to protect affordable
housing here to do just the opposite. I will
hold my peace until, hopefully, my fears
prove to be unfounded or, tragically, they
turn out to be true. Those of us under the
guns of this potential calamity are holding
our breaths.
TM