Shelton Haynes is the CEO of Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation. He has also been the CEO of eight smaller companies, including the New York Harbor Development Company, which he started at law school. Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation manages and operates the Roosevelt Island Tramway and Roosevelt Island Ferries. For the last two years, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation has been doing substantial construction projects on Roosevelt Island.
He attended Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. After graduating from Hampton University with a B.S. in business administration, Shelton Haynes attended Brooklyn Law School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and received his J.D.
Shelton has been in the real estate development business for a while. During this time, he has worked for several different companies and participated on the staff of New York City Council member Eva Moskowitz while attending law school at night.
Shelton was the director of development for Ernie Davis Enterprises and architect for TF Cornerstone. He also worked as an associate for Beyer Blinder Belle, a construction company that works with the New York City Government. These firms have all been involved in the development of several buildings in New York City. The projects that Shelton Haynes has participated in have created over 4,000 units and over 8 million square feet.
Within the last two years, while serving as CEO of RIOC, Shelton led his company in accomplishing many things on Roosevelt Island. They replaced the original elevated tramway with a new state-of-the-art tramway. The company also constructed an 850-foot-long pedestrian bridge. Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is building a new ferry dock and several new high-rise buildings on Roosevelt Island, including the Bloomberg Tower, the tallest building on Roosevelt Island. In 2021, he was appointed as President and CEO of RIOC, leading the effort to develop Roosevelt Island into a mixed-use community with diverse housing, schools, retail shops, and open space.
The Bridge Stabilization Program was a New York City Department of Transportation project. This project was part of their bridge stabilization program, which had a budget of $1 million on Roosevelt Island.