Roosevelt Island's Leaders Must Live There, Under New State Bill

ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NY — The state legislature has approved a law requiring most of the people who govern Roosevelt Island to actually live there, handing a victory to the local lawmaker who has pushed for the change.

The bill by Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright requires at least five members of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation to live on the island. A state-run public benefit corporation, the RIOC is responsible for development, transportation and public safety on the 12,000-person island.

Seawright introduced the bill amid scrutiny over the board's composition, following a 2021 report by Roosevelt Islander that one of the board's public members was continuing to serve despite having moved away months earlier.

"The Founding Fathers’ cry of 'no taxation without representation' has somehow eluded the Board of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation," Seawright said in a statement. "This long overdue reform will finally give residents a majority on the governing board to fight for a better Roosevelt Island."

If signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, five of the board's nine members will be required to live on the island — and resign from the board if they move away. In the event of a vacancy, the open job must be posted publicly on the RIOC's website and filled within 60 days.

Jose Serrano, who represents Roosevelt Island in the State Senate, introduced a companion bill in that body, and both bills passed their respective houses unanimously this month.

A separate Seawright-Serrano bill requiring the RIOC's CEO to either live on Roosevelt Island or move there within a year of taking the job also passed both houses this month.

Both bills now await a signature from Gov. Kathy Hochul to become law.