The Kessel NYPA Watch, February 28, 2010 – By George J. Marlin
Richie dines on Long Island while NYPA customers shiver in the dark.
Street Corner Conservative doesn’t make a habit of attending any of the hundreds of “gala” breakfasts, lunches and dinners that have proliferated on Long Island. Last Friday, however, Street Corner made an exception for the Long Island Association’s (LIA) Gala Annual Lunch at which President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush appeared at Matt Crosson’s last event as LIA President before his retirement.
Since there was a major snowstorm in the region Thursday and Friday, Street Corner was shocked to see Richie Kessel at the LIA Luncheon, hobnobbing with the political and business elite of Long Island as they were served by liveried wait staff, and standing and vigorously applauding Presidents 41 and 43. Since the event started at 11:30 am or so, Richie apparently spent the whole day on Long Island despite record snowfall in the Hudson Valley and tens of thousands of outages. Now, Street Corner anticipates the outraged defense of NYPA’s highly-paid army of flacks that NYPA is a generation company and doesn’t directly supply retail customers but on a day when tens of thousands of upstate New Yorkers sat in the dark, Richie should have been in the command post upstate. Instead of dining in luxury with Long Island swells at an event honoring Republican former Presidents, he should have been on the job.
We await the inevitable investigations of Accidental Governor Paterson’s highest profile appointment by Senators Maziarz and Aubertine. Long-time LIPA observers are reminded of LILCO Chairman Dr. William Catacosinos ill-fated trip from Hicksville to Italy during Hurricane Gloria. Long Islanders who remember Kessel’s outrage at that PR blunder may wonder whether Richie’s journey from self-appointed consumer gadfly to cynical insider has now come full circle since Kessel now fiddles with his dessert on Long Island while Rome (NY) burns.
Street Corner notes with relief Governor Paterson’s unsurprising announcement on Friday that he is ending his “campaign” for Governor. (Street Corner was the first to call for Paterson not to run for election many months ago.)
The clock is ticking on Richie Kessel.
Finally, Street Corner Conservative notes that Kessel’s latest cynical plan to have upstate small businesses sign up for NYPA’s Great Lakes Offshore Wind project is nothing more than a transparent attempt by Kessel to build a case to convince our next Governor to keep him on the job. Since the Great Lakes project will never be built because it would drive already high electric rates into the stratosphere, this is Richie’s latest callous manipulation of upstate.
streetcornerconservative.com 
March 21, 2010 at 9:39 pm
$1.5 million does not even come close. Off hand, I could add 6 more people to that list and their salaries are way much more than what the people in similar positions make. Obviously these LIPA folks and pols are exempt from the fabricated and inconsistently applied 95% rule. BUT we shouldn’t even dare think about raises until 2011 or 2012. We should forgo them since we are so honored to be working with the bobbleheads without experience in fictitious positions.
March 21, 2010 at 12:55 pm
It’s not hard to put together the list of names that Kessel has brought in.
just look at anyone at Director to VP level and above hired in the past year:
Victoria Simon
Fran Evans
Terryl Brown
Rocco Ianarelli
Libby someone or other (the new CFO)
Frances somebody- VP of Disaster Management or something like that (a made up job)
There’s more but I don’t know their names. Legal people, HR people, Financial people, oh yeah, the head of Marketing etc .
the only places they haven’t managed to invade (so far) are I.T. and actual engineering jobs that require a degree and some competency.
The salaries alone add up to more than $1.5 million.
I tried to look at the salaries on seethroughny.net but there are no NYPA salaries on there any more. What happened there then????
March 21, 2010 at 8:04 am
Can anyone from the WPO list the names of the “buddies” that have been hired since Kessel took over? What are their titles? Let’s not get discourage with the fight. I know that if we get this information in the right hands, it will make the top dogs squirm. They hate it when anything is in the paper or the media. We can use this blog to get the word out.
March 21, 2010 at 4:07 am
Time to turn the keys to this asylum over to the inmates. All salaried personnel should walk out. Pick a day. At least it will make the newspapers and shine some light on the situation. This forum is nice to vent on but nobody reads it but us. I’m very surprised that none of these comments or articles has made it to Newsday, The Post or Daily News. Let’s let Richie, his “experienced and essential” hand picked staff and of course his union bedfellows run the show a few days.
March 20, 2010 at 10:25 am
We weren’t at the meeting but we received a copy of the memo distributed by Kessel. I wonder if his buddies like Rocco will fall under the 95 % rule? By the way if Richie or his spies are reading this, tell Rocco to take down his Receiver of Taxes campaign website. Its kind of tacky.
IT’S TIME TO FORM A MANAGEMENT UNION. It was attempted a few times in the past but people became scared and didn’t think it was good idea. WHAT DO THEY THINK NOW!!
March 20, 2010 at 9:01 am
Let’s not forget the new HR guy – Rocco- whose ONLY aim is to bring jobs in for “the boys” in Albany. Every job is to be reviewed by Evans and Kessel (the dynamic duo haha), and if they can’t find a LIPA Loser to take it then Albany gets a shot.
I can’t wait until the Feds fine them for not being adequately protected under the various Critical Infrastructure and Safety laws. Then maybe the powers that be (i.e. the Federal Government) will wake up and realize what a mess we are in.
Until then folks – retire if you can, leave if you can. If you can’t then don’t work more than 8 hours a day. No point in doing extra for a bunch of morons who could care less.
12 months and counting until retirement date….
March 19, 2010 at 9:37 pm
We’ve been invaded by mindless empty suits. You know what dissapoints me more than the invasion of inexperienced political hacks (LIPA is a shell of a mini-organization incomparable to NYPA on scale, responsibilities, and mission)? Long-time NYPA employees who show no loyalty. We know that there are very few of these turn-coats, but they exist nonetheless. Yet, those folks don’t seem to realize that their sudden glory will go out the door when these incompetant tools get fired and we’ll remember those who stood for nothing.
March 19, 2010 at 10:59 am
Well does this really surprise anyone. I think many of us got the msg when our former chief risk guy, doing the job he was paid and hired to do, stood up and spoke out and he was one of the first Richie and Gil threw under the bus. Two whose only skill( if you call it that) is to be polically connected. Both are incompetents who threw out and continue to throw out good people who care/cared……and surprise surprise knew how to do their job. Something neither of them do. Gil was forced down PASNY’s throat by NYC pols (where he never delivered anything) and Richie by Patterson to appease the upstate group. Until a “group” of someones finds a pair and goes to the AG and files a complaint PASNY is stuck. I’ve never seen job graft like this before.
March 20, 2010 at 10:59 am
We need to form a management union. This is as bad as the FOCUS mess back in the 90’s.
March 18, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Didn’t go today, but heard the news. No salary adjustments until at least 2012 and now a very strict hiring/salary policy administered directly by Emperor Dick…er, I mean Richie himself. Funny how these policies are implemented only after he’s added $1 million+ to the payroll by hiring his thoroughly unqualified and/or unneccessary political cronies. Just more of the “do as I say, not as I do” “leadership” that’s far too prevalent nowadays.
Anybody with under 10 years should leave ASAP as there is no future here. All those near retirement age will be heading for the exits sooner than later.
March 18, 2010 at 9:56 pm
This jerk gave another typical, all hands meeting. Blah Blah Blah all about him and his travels and how he is not giving his NON union workers anything until after 2011!!!!. In fact all his cronies are in place now he has stopped all promotions until he reviews them. This joker needs to get fired ASAP he is destroying the company single handedly…He has brought in 20-30 people over 150k, morale is at an all time low…he told us in so many words if you dont like it hit the road.
March 17, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Tomorrow is Kessel’s “all mouth” meeting at noon in White Plains. I’m busy, doing real work for PASNY at that time. How about you? Got any errands to run? A sick dog to take care of? Anything?
Remember – you will never get back the 60+ minutes of your precious time that he will waste….
March 12, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Richie was on Long Island all day yesterday and gave more upstate money away to Nassau County and will be on Long Island all day today giving speeches and giving upstate money away. I’ m sending this on my lunch period. Be careful dont email from the office. Richie and Gill are watching. what a sad state of affairs
March 10, 2010 at 4:55 am
News flash!! Richie must be losing his touch. Jefferson county just threw him and his wind farm out on his rotund butt. I hope politicians realize the public’s trust in NYPA has been severely damaged by Kessel’s baloney. You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time. Is time catching up to Richie?
March 9, 2010 at 11:18 pm
Forget about the first two atomic bombs, we have our own Fat Man (Kessel) and Little Boy (GQ).
I hope everybody sends Kessel a message and stays away from his “all hands” meeting tomorrow. If I want to watch two hours of self-promotion and b.s., I’ll tune into Vince McMahon and his pro wrestlers.
March 9, 2010 at 11:49 am
Hmm… vote to keep him and have him give away MY raise and bonus money to the state for 3 years in a row? Nah. Trow da bum out.
But who has the power to be our saviour? The comatose board? GQ hoping to save his b_tt? How many of us slaves have to perish as Richman Kessel builds his monument of greatness? His stranglehold on hiring is affecting NYPA’s ability to hire and keep expertise to keep it from crumbling.
What’s that saying? The floggings will continue until morale improves.
March 6, 2010 at 5:05 pm
I’m not a friend or foe of Gil, but he’s not dumb and if he were in charge I wouldn’t be scared that the lights would go out or that there would be a tragedy. He may have fired the wrong people and promoted the unqualified (Yes, Gil, their minimal achievements don’t equal those salaries or those titles). Nevertheless, I don’t think he is our problem. In fact, he is the least of our problems. He has the sense to delegate what is out of his domain.
March 6, 2010 at 11:38 am
I’ve been waiting all week to vote but didnt want to do it from work. This is all our office is talking about. Kessel has ruined NYPA. he should be fired asap
March 6, 2010 at 7:58 am
“If you’re going to make believe you’re doing the job, make it look like you’re doing the job. He doesn’t seem to understand the real job and the ceremonial aspects of the job,” scoffed Baruch College Prof. Doug Muzzio.
Quote from the Daily News about Paterson’s public appearance last night, but it also reminded me of Richie.
Speaking of Paterson…resign or do the job, but I don’t think he is capable of the latter…nor is Richie.
March 5, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Voting…what a great idea! I vote throw these bums out starting with Richie and Gil followed by all the political hack no talent or skills trash they have hired in. To bad this voting, in this case, isn’t for real….it would be a landslide!
March 5, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Throw the bums out
March 3, 2010 at 7:48 pm
I’m vote him off the NYPA island too! Him and his lackeys. And I would also suggest that we do not attend his “listen to me blow hard about how great I am” meeting. I’m washing my hair that day. How about you?
Oh, and yes – most definitely post from home.
March 2, 2010 at 8:10 pm
Another vote to throw Kessel and all of his lackies out on their rear ends.
On March 10th Kessel has scheduled another one of his “All About Richie” shows. Each one of these “all hands” meetings has seen less attendance than the previous one as the fed up employees stay away. If this fool isn’t ready to talk about what the employees care about, a lousy cost of living increase, then he should just hold the meeting in front of his bathroom mirror. It’s laughable that a 2%-3% increase can’t be extended to the hard working employees, especially when we turn around and see it tied up in yet another $100k-$200k salary for another one of Richie’s talentless politically connected hacks.
March 2, 2010 at 6:51 pm
If Cuomo is elected governor (pray he is not) we will be stuck with Kessel for 4 to 8 more years or until a real state controller calls him out. His pandering, sucking up and throwing NYPA money at every loud mouthed local official, state senator or union official is too valuable. He truly seems to be made of Teflon.
March 2, 2010 at 9:18 am
I vote to THROW the BUM OUT! This vote is a great idea. Thanks
March 1, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Hey PASNY Colleagues–I’ve worked in WPO for many years now and Richie Kessel is the worst I’ve seen. So, how about a contest sending emails from our home computers (to avoid Kessel’s spies) as to whether Governor Andrew Cuomo keeps him on or fires him.
I cast the first vote for HE FIRES HIM.
What do you think? Please tell your friends at PASNY but tell them to vote from home.
PASNY Gal
February 28, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Senator Maziarz will do nothing about Kessel. The sole reason Paterson stuck NYPA with Richie was to kiss western NY’s butt which he has done admirably at the expense of the rest of NY (except LI of course). The entire NY energy cabal from Senators Maziarz & Aubtertine, the NYPA Trustees to Kessel himself should be the target of a federal investigation.
February 28, 2010 at 3:18 pm
One only has to remember that Richie is in anything only for Richie. He doesn’t give a d**n about anybody or anything except himself. He will do anything or say anyhing if it curries favor with those HE THINKS can keep him in his job. He could not possibly get a real job in the private sector….because he doesn’t know how to do anything except blow his own horn. It will take years and years, if it is even possible, to undo the damage he has done to PASNY. He fires or pushed people out of jobs they do well and are well qualified for whenever a political crony or political hack whom he thinks can HELP HIM comes asking for a job. He will always sack or fire someone to make room for these type……nevermind that they are not qualifed like Richie himself and the “unconnected” staff has to do all the work…for NO reward or recognition.