The Roosevelt Island Working Company (RIOC), a state public profit company that runs the island, and Governor Kathy Hochul’s workplace are embroiled in a authorized dispute with two suspended Black RIOC executives: CEO/President Shelton Haynes and Common Counsel/VP Gretchen Robinson. They allege there was racial discrimination, a hostile work surroundings, and quite a few “baseless” investigations into their conduct since assuming their positions in 2020.
Roosevelt Island (RI) is a small island made up of about 12,000 to 14,000 residents; all numerous in backgrounds, ethnicities, and financial standing. The RIOC board and CEO/president run the native authorities much like the way in which a mayor and metropolis council would. The system was created in 1984 and the primary CEO/president was appointed by the governor in 1986. A New York native, 46, Haynes is the second Black particular person to carry the place.
The island has three unions, its personal public security officers, landscaping, upkeep, authorized and finance groups. For transportation, RI has a bus service, a subway cease on the F line that was closed for the final seven months for structural repairs, and a vacationer increase with the island receiving a whole lot of tourists on its well-known purple cable tram.
Robinson, 50, started working at RIOC in January of 2015 and Haynes began in April of 2016, underneath former CEO/President Susan Rosenthal. Rosenthal was investigated in 2020 and subsequently fired by former Governor Andrew Cuomo over utilizing “salacious” and “racially charged language” in the direction of subordinates. In an amended criticism, Haynes detailed no less than one among these encounters with Rosenthal and the “double normal” in remedy she acquired in 2019. Haynes and Robinson mentioned they didn’t provoke Rosenthal’s investigation although, and in addition have been by no means investigated at RIOC themselves earlier than their promotions.
“Since I’ve been at this group it has been a really anxious state of affairs and racially charged as properly,” mentioned Haynes, who has labored in public housing in Georgia and New York Metropolis. “So the stress solely truly elevated, as soon as I used to be elevated to the appearing president after which the presidency.”
Haynes and Robinson are on paid administrative go away amid a present investigation into allegations in opposition to them that’s being performed by Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP on the behest of the state. Amsterdam Information reached out to Carter Ledyard for remark however they declined.
Within the interim, RIOC operations are being overseen by Chief Monetary Officer (CFO) & Vice President Dhruvika Patel Amin and Assistant Vice President & Deputy Common Counsel Gerrald Ellis. RIOC Communications & Group Affairs Director Bryant Daniels mentioned, in a press release, that the RIOC board of administrators acquired discover of a number of worker considerations concerning the RIOC office. The board decided that it was essential to conduct a overview of those considerations with an outdoor skilled, mentioned Daniels.
The primary state investigations ran from March 2021 by March 2022, however didn’t corroborate any allegations in opposition to Haynes and Robinson. Then in 2022, a vicious open letter accused Haynes, Robinson, and others in RIOC management on the time, of a misappropriation of state funds within the metropolis and in Georgia, masking up a negligent loss of life with regard to a swimming pool accident, mismanagement, cronyism, fraud, an abuse of energy, predatory habits, and ethics violations. Round this time, Roosevelt Islanders have been utterly dissatisfied with transportation situations, particularly regarding lengthy tram wait instances and the closed subway. There have been additionally a slew of complaints from former workers, no less than one among which was dismissed, who had been let go due to a restructuring plan.
This prompted the state to contract with an outdoor legislation agency, Greenberg Traurig LLP, for the primary time to analyze. The next Greenberg report launched in 2023 discovered “no proof” to assist the claims within the open letter.
“The Hochul administration is a shining instance of what occurs when African People ascend to positions of energy. They gave no assist, no assist, and in reality are utterly hamstrung and blocked in any effort to create a constructive vitality themselves. After we grew to become CEO and common counsel, they instantly tried taking management,” mentioned Haynes. “It was a backlash in opposition to us from islanders and the press. We complained about discrimination however there have been no investigations. But when everybody else was complaining they opened 11 investigations up in opposition to us. It didn’t cease there. Along with the state investigations, they went to a legislation agency and the federal prosecutor to analyze us. We have been exonerated in a draft report of the investigation and in addition a dialogue about discrimination however that dialogue was eliminated. And sanitized within the following report relatively than assist us deal with the discrimination, they tried to take away us from our positions.”
AmNews reached out to Greenberg Traurig to verify the existence of an aforementioned drafted report that talked about discrimination. The legislation agency mentioned that an investigation into harassment and remedy of Haynes and Robinson was outdoors of the scope of what they have been employed to do. Within the Greenberg report, the writer famous that “non-specific complaints merely consisting of pejoratives directed at RIOC administration have been excluded.”
Robinson was quietly provided a brand new place upstate or elsewhere, which she seen as a demotion, simply earlier than the Greenberg report got here out.
“I’ve labored very arduous to get so far in my profession, I’ve had no handouts. It’s all been on advantage and my very own pushed self to get so far. It was very disconcerting to learn all these items being mentioned about me, the allegations of misconduct, unethical habits, and so forth,” mentioned Robinson concerning the stress of the state of affairs. She thought-about leaving in the course of the course of the investigations and interviewed at two different potential positions, she mentioned, however was handed over.
One more investigation was undertaken by the New York State Comptroller in April 2023, which once more discovered no wrongdoing. In the meantime, Haynes and Robinson mentioned that the state didn’t permit them to defend themselves, counter sue, or rent a media firm to deal with unfavourable press. And “hostile” board members have been appointed with out following typical process or approval from Haynes.
“Then we sued and all of it ratcheted up,” mentioned Haynes. “As soon as we named the Chamber [State] and RIOC within the amended criticism lower than a month after we sued, we have been positioned on administrative go away.”
Their lawyer, Milton Williams, a accomplice at Walden Macht & Haran LLP, filed the lawsuit with the US District Courtroom Southern District of New York in search of a short lived restraining order and an order restoring Haynes and Robinson to their workplaces from short-term go away. They have been denied. “Shelton Haynes and Gretchen Robinson have been subjected to the type of vile racist discrimination that the federal government needs to be preventing, not actively collaborating in,” mentioned Williams in a press release.
A number of folks have been named within the lawsuit both straight or not directly.
Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright have been referred to as out within the amended criticism for allegedly supporting “racist” weblog posts about Haynes and Robinson particularly from David Stone, who’s the editor and writer for the Roosevelt Island Each day.
“Whereas I decline to touch upon the pending litigation, the residents of Roosevelt Island are entitled to a full and well timed unbiased overview of RIOC office and personnel practices,” mentioned Seawright in response to an AmNews inquiry. “This needs to be aimed toward impacting on service supply and program effectiveness in addition to accountability for the work surroundings. The response from previous and current RIOC administrations has been disappointing on a number of points of important significance.”
AmNews additionally reached out to Stone for remark: “Shelton is a younger man with appreciable presents, and it’s unlucky that issues devolved as they did at RIOC. With out getting too far into the weeds, I can let you know that Shelton gave me and others a very totally different purpose for stonewalling me once I confronted him. Racism looks as if a kind of ludicrous final resort for a person who discovered himself in far over his head and unable to deal with criticism. He even went as far as to say that, with my very restricted, small city on-line newspaper, I truly drew two revered legislators right into a racist scheme in assist, he and Gretchen say, of his predecessor and as soon as expensive pal Susan Rosenthal.”
The lawsuit alleged that fellow writer Rick O’Conor, who runs the hyperlocal digital outlet Roosevelt Islander On-line, exchanged emails and communications with new RIOC board member Ben Fhala that led to a collection of pretty unfavourable and important articles about Haynes and Robinson that “raised quite a few authorized and moral considerations.”
Deputy Communications Director Justin Henry out of Hochul’s workplace declined to remark “because of the pending litigation.”
The RIOC mentioned there will probably be “no additional feedback” till the overview is accomplished.
[updated Fri, April 5]
Ariama C. Lengthy is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam Information. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps hold her writing tales like this one; please contemplate making a tax-deductible present of any quantity in the present day by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
