Mandated, Ignored, and Now Reclaimed

Six Years of Silence, Sidestepping, and the Systematic Collapse of RIOC’s Oversight

For six years, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation's (RIOC) Governance Committee was effectively nonexistent. This absence wasn't due to oversight or administrative backlog—it was a blatant dereliction of duty by those entrusted with the island's stewardship.

Governance isn’t a ribbon-cutting exercise;
it’s state law.

New York Public Authorities Law § 2824(7) orders every state or local authority—RIOC included—to keep a standing Governance Committee that “examines ethical and conflict-of-interest issues” and polices board appointments, compensation policy, and by-laws. The Authorities Budget Office calls the committee “the firewall against cronyism,” the body that’s supposed to catch self-dealing before it metastasizes.

When that firewall is switched off, everything downstream—budgets, contracts, public confidence—goes dark. And that’s exactly what happened on Roosevelt Island. From December 19 2018 to January 24 2024 the Governance Committee never met. During that span RIOC approved hundreds of contracts and millions in spending with no formal board-level ethics screen.

The cost of that silence is no longer hypothetical. An Inspector General report released April 3 2025 found that RIOC executives carved out a $168,680 contract for Texas-based Status Labs—just under the dollar limit that would have compelled committee and full-board review—to bury negative press about themselves. With the Governance Committee in hibernation, no one questioned the conflict of interest or the procurement dodge, and taxpayers footed the bill for a private reputation scrub.

That scandal is the most glaring proof of what happens when governance is treated as optional paperwork: oversight gaps become pipelines for self-interest, and public money walks out the door unchallenged.

Leadership's Complicity

The inaction of the Governance Committee did not occur in a vacuum. Key figures within RIOC's leadership allowed this lapse to persist:

• RuthAnne Visnauskas, as Commissioner of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), serves as the Chair of RIOC's Board of Directors.

• Howard Polivy, appointed by the Governor, is an independent consulting actuary and has chaired both the Audit and Real Estate Development Advisory Committee (REDAC), two of RIOC's most critical committees.

• David Kraut, during the committee's dormancy, was its sole member and, in a public meeting, expressed surprise at his position, stating multiple times his reluctance to serve on the committee.

Their collective inaction facilitated an environment where governance oversight was effectively sidelined.

Resistance to Reform

In early 2024, newly appointed board members, including Professor Lydia Tang, recognized the severity of the situation and advocated for the reactivation of the Governance Committee. Despite resistance from entrenched leadership, the committee was reconvened, with Professor Tang appointed as its chair. She initiated a comprehensive review and update of RIOC's bylaws to address longstanding issues and align with best practices.

Obstruction from Within

However, efforts to revitalize governance have been met with internal resistance. The same individuals who previously opposed seating new board members now participate in the committee, seemingly to obstruct progress. Meetings are frequently bogged down by procedural objections and delays, undermining the committee's work.

Marginalization of Advisors

To bolster the committee's efforts, Professor Tang invited respected figures such as Margie Smith, former RIOC Board Member and past Chair of the Governance Committee, and Audrey Berman Tannen, District Office Director for State Senator Liz Krueger, to serve as unpaid, non-voting advisors. Despite their valuable insights, multiple board members objected to their involvement. Reports indicate that Smith and Tannen have since been cut off from information and deliberately sidelined, highlighting a troubling pattern of silencing knowledgeable voices.

Public Apathy: The Silent Enabler

Governance only works when people are paying attention.

It’s easy to focus on the noisy stuff—the delayed tram, the overcrowded buses, the crumbling pier. But those are symptoms. The real cause often lies in what isn’t seen: the broken processes, the inactive committees, the absence of oversight that lets dysfunction become the norm.

The Governance Committee isn’t abstract. It touches everything: how much executives get paid, how priorities are set, how public money gets spent. When that committee sits idle—or is quietly sidelined—RIOC is not just failing to do its job. It’s handicapping itself. And by extension, it’s failing you.

RIOC deserves scrutiny. But scrutiny only works when the public is engaged. That means showing up to meetings. Reading the agenda. Asking questions. Demanding better.

Governance matters. But it only matters if you understand it—and act on it.