Sen. Barack Obama crossed another threshold last night in his march toward the Democratic presidential nomination, splitting a pair of primaries with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and claiming a majority of the pledged delegates at stake in the long nomination battle. Obama scored an easy victory in Oregon after being trounced by Clinton in Kentucky. The results left him fewer than 100 delegates short of the 2,026 currently required to win the party's nomination in one of the closest contests that Democrats have staged in a generation.
I look forward to casting my vote this November for the next President of the United States, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.
What will America look like at the end of President Obama's second term? Imagine waking up from a 7 year coma in the year 2015 and discovering:
The ghosts and spirits brought back by the Encampment and now inhabiting Roosevelt Island may be fighting against the New York Times for that newspaper's support of the Louis Kahn/FDR memorial at Southpoint Park. How you may ask? By jinxing the New York Times Digital softball team whenever they play on Roosevelt Island. From NYTD Softball:
... the NYTD team was not looking forward to returning to their least favorite softball field – Roosevelt Island's Copobiancco Field. With an all-time record of 1 win and 3 losses on that field, needless to say we were not feeling very confident going into the game either.
The Times softball team lost another game to make their record on Roosevelt Island 1-4 with one more Roosevelt Island game to play. They are looking forward to playing elsewhere:
After another game on a field that makes Mr. Hankey from South Park look good, we will finally have our first of 4 games in Central Park...
All the Times needs to do in order to win their softball games is to turn away from the Dark Force and join the forces of Light and Goodness opposing the Kahn memorial, thereby saving these magnificent waterfront views from destruction and parkland from concrete.
Is it possible that one day soon, Roosevelt Island may challenge Brooklyn neighborhoods as being among the most bloggiest in the United States? Probably not in terms of total number of bloggers but perhaps on a per capita basis now that another new Roosevelt Island blogger has arrived on the scene. Roosevelt Island Dogs - A forum for dog owners living on Roosevelt Island in NY- joins myself, Roosevelt Island 360 and video blogger Press HD in reporting on Island events and brings the number of Roosevelt Island bloggers to 4 from a population of 12,000. Welcome.
According to RI Dogs, the Octagon Dog run has been temporarily closed because a tree fell on it crushing the fencing. The 5/16 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Report advises that:
Hazardous Condition- A tree fell on the Dog Run. No injuries. Area cautioned off. RIOC engineer notified.
... a dog run or dog park is only as good and as nice as the dog owners who use the space. Careless and inconsiderate dog owners can turn a dog park into a poop minefield, grass bare wasteland and pothole filled space that no one wants to use. Careful and considerate dog owners can take a nice or decent space and make it better. One of the features our current dog runs both lack is a poop bag dispenser. It doesn't have to be an "official" poop bag dispenser and it doesn't have to be filled with expensive or special dog waste bags. It can be something as simple as a mailbox or some other type of closeable box filled with used/recycled plastic shopping bags.
And suggests:
...If anyone is crafty and wants to take on the project of making a bag dispenser, we'll happily mount it on the fence at the dog run or if someone wants to purchase a mailbox we'll happily mount that too. Once we have a bag dispenser in place I'll have a bag recycle box put in place by the deli/ATM area of the Octagon. Residents can drop off their used plastic bags and I'll fill the dispenser in the dog run.
Perhaps dog owners should seek the assistance of David and Emilia in obtaining the poop bag dispenser.
There was a time not that long ago when dogs were not allowed on Roosevelt Island. This short 16 minute film explores that time in Roosevelt Island's history:
Roosevelt Island sits just a stone's throw from New York's Upper East Side, nestled in the East River between Manhattan and Queens. What makes it so peculiar is not only its anonymity but its by-law stating that no dogs are to be allowed on the island at any time, for any reason. The absurdity of this issue is eclipsed only by the impassioned feelings of many of Roosevelt Island's citizens concerning the specter of canine rights, or, in this case, an acute lack thereof.
We all knew that the past two weekends of normal subway service for Roosevelt Island would not last much longer and it has not. According to the MTA, there will be no F train service from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island this weekend.
Be prepared for very crowded Roosevelt Island tram cabins like this from several weekends ago resulting from the lack of Queens bound F train service.
However, despite the picture of person standing on top of moving tram, to my knowledge, there is no truth to the rumor that RIOC is testing the possibility of adding roof top standing room positions for the Roosevelt Island Tram to alleviate overcrowded tram cabins.
Fellow blogger Roosevelt Island 360 calculated that since the start of this year, Roosevelt Island experienced weekend subway service outages for 13 out of 20 weekends and asks if this may be some sort of New York City subway record. Anyone know the answer?
Assemblymember Micah Kellner, together with other Roosevelt Island elected officials, recently met with members of Governor Patterson's staff and discussed issues of concern to Roosevelt Island residents. Among the issues discussed was appointment of the six Roosevelt Island residents who won the recent election to be nominees to the RIOC Board of Directors.
Following up on that meeting, Kellner wrote the following letter to Governor Patterson asking that all six winners of the election be appointed to the RIOC Board and that the Governor not re-appoint those members of the current RIOC Board whose term has expired because they chose not to participate in the election. After the letter there is a February video from Press HD interviewing several of the current RIOC Board members who explain their views on why they did not participate in the election as well as the functions of the RIOC Board.
Dear Governor Paterson:
Thank you for graciously arranging the recent meeting between your staff and the elected officials representing Roosevelt Island. It was a very productive meeting, and I am pleased that your office has gone forward with interviewing the six winners of the Island’s recommendation vote for appointees to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) Board of Directors.
It is important to recognize that these candidates were chosen by the community as part of a deliberate and well-considered process. I strongly believe that if the Roosevelt Island community had been satisfied with the performance of the residents who currently sit on the Board, it would not have undertaken such an exhaustive effort to hold a referrendum to nominate new Board members. Those members currently serving expired terms must not be considered exempt from the democratically-expressed will of Island residents – indeed, some residents have speculated that none of the sitting Board members chose to participate in the balloting process in part because they did not want to expose themselves to a clear repudiation from the community they are supposed to represent.
The residents of Roosevelt Island have made clear their choice as to who should fill the six positions on the RIOC Board of Directors. More Roosevelt Islanders voted for the RIOC Board than in the 2008 Presidential Primary or for Governor in the 2006 election, a clear signal of Islanders’ desire for change. I must respectfully emphasize that you alone can uphold the unambiguous preference of Roosevelt Islanders for a completely new RIOC Board of Directors. The authority to appoint members of the RIOC Board to all six vacant or expired positions rests with you as Governor, notwithstanding the tradition of deferring to the Mayor of the City of New York as a courtesy in regards to the recommendations of two people for the Board.
I strongly urge you to respect the results of this historic vote. If the six winning candidates can pass a police background check, I request that you appoint them to the RIOC Board of Directors so that their confirmation by the State Senate can go forward before the end of the legislative session.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter, and for your continued support of the Roosevelt Island community.
Very truly yours,
Micah Z. Kellner Assembly Member MZK/phc
cc: Matthew Katz, President, Roosevelt Island Residents Association David Bauer, Chair, Maple Tree Group Deborah VanAmerongen, Chair, RIOC Board of Directors Stephen H. Shane, President, Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Charles O’Byrne, Secretary to the Governor Carl Andrews, Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs, Office of the Governor James Clancy, Director of Legislative Affairs, Office of the Governor
The second Rosemarie & Robin Russell Family Concert Series will be held this Saturday, May 17, 8PM at Roosevelt Island's Chapel of the Good Shepherd with a classical music program of Schumann, Bach and Mozart. Can't go wrong with those guys! The musicians playing will be:
Benjamin Hochman, piano
Ralph Allen, violin
Iris Jortner, cello
The first Roosevelt Island Russell Family Concert was a great success. Some comments from concert goers were:
"...the program choices are great, the performers energetic and the space is great for chamber music." 3 viewers betw ages 20 to 59.
"Wonderful music and musicians. It's rare to hear string trios; that was a real treat. I like the balance of Baroque, classical and contemporary pieces. Church acoustics were just right - not too echoey for the selection they played. And it was free! Great turn out; great flyers; great musicians! Thank you!!". From 2 visitors from New Jersey ages 20 to 59.
"This event is comparable to a performance at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful concert with our community." From 3 local people betw ages 0 to 59.
The late Rosemarie and Robin Russell together organized numerous concerts and events on Roosevelt Island; they wanted to encourage music education and appreciation. Robin spoke about organizing a concert series which would bring music to Roosevelt Island on a regular basis.
After Rosemarie passed away, Robin continued their mission on Roosevelt Island and founded the Island Arts Music School. He established programs with the new Roosevelt Island communities at Southtown and Octagon. He had just started Musikids, a music and dance experience class for toddlers. Music was the catalyst and the reward. Robin was the director, secretary, accountant and one of the teachers at the school. Robin died unexpectedly in February, 2007, leaving our community at a tremendous loss.
In 2007, staff and students of Island Arts Music School rallied together to held three events: a concert in Robin’s memory, a final student recital dedicated to Robin and finally a holiday event presented as a gift from the musicians to the community. The audiences responded warmly with appreciation, enthusiasm, and support in remembrance of what the Russell Family brought to Roosevelt Island.
Young Roosevelt Islanders David and Emilia are concerned enough about their fellow neighbors that they wrote to RIOC President Steve Shane alerting him to the rusted metal plates protruding from the space separating the sidewalk from the grass near the playground by the handball court and other green spaces. Will RIOC hear the cries for safe playing spaces from Roosevelt Island's young children and fix these hazards?
UPDATE - 5/16: RIOC reports the metal strip has been removed and that some railroad ties on the south side of Capobianco field have been removed as well. The Mr. President (Steve Shane) reports that:
All anyone has to do is ask. We appreciate all the extra eyes and ears (of all sizes). Thank the kids. See you at health & fitness day.
You Tube video of classic Dirty Harry scene "Do you feel lucky?"
Roosevelt Island Public Safety Director Keith Guerra reports that one of his officers was responsible for capturing a suspected bank robber. According to Mr. Guerra:
On April 23, 2008, a Capitol One Branch, in Manhattan, was robbed by a black male, who passed a note to a teller. The man exited the bank with almost $3,000.00 in cash and fled on foot. A civilian entering the Tramway entrance in Manhattan phoned 911 about a suspicious male. The description of that man matched the description of the man who robbed the bank. He then boarded the Tram toward Roosevelt Island. NYPD detectives from the Major Case Squad relayed information to our Agency and, a day later, a suspect fitting the description was apprehended by Lt. Yee. He was turned over to the case detectives and arraigned on Bank Robbery charges.
Lt. Yee received a commendation from the 19th precinct community council. Who needs Dirty Harry when Roosevelt Island has Lt. Yee.
Tomorrow night, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA) and Municipal Art Society will show their wonderful New York City waterfront documentary, City of Water, at Roosevelt Island's Gallery RIVAA (527 Main Street - 7:30). I know it is wonderful because I have seen it screened before and had a very small role in helping to put it together as a participant in MWA's East River Agenda.
City of Water describes the past, present and future of New York City's varied waterfront uses and constituencies including its role as a port and industrial center, transportation network, garbage dumping ground, residential neighborhood as well as a place for parks, open spaces and recreational activities. According to the MWA:
... City of Water explores the aspirations of public officials, environmentalists, academics, community activists, recreational boaters and everyday New Yorkers for a diverse, vibrant waterfront at a time when the shoreline is changing faster than at any other time in New York's history. The film features interviews with former Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff, Representative Nydia Velazquez, MacArthur Prize winner Majora Carter, author Phillip Lopate, Sandy Hook Pilots Captain Andrew McGovern and many others, and includes footage from Jamaica Bay, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and many other places on the waterfront.
The City of Water documentary illustrates many past mistakes made by NY City officials that blocked New Yorkers access to and views of our magnificent waterfront as well as recent waterfront success stories. This is of particular concern to Roosevelt Islanders because the proposed FDR memorial (which everyone knows is really a memorial to its architect, Louis Kahn) repeats these same mistakes of blocking waterfront views and access. This is probably not surprising since it was designed in the early 1970's, a period of time when waterfront access and views were not particularly valued. Blogger Nature Calendar describes the Louis Kahn memorial as a "concrete press-on nail for Roosevelt Island" and writes:
The sterile, largely paved and walled Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial and Four Freedoms Park designed by Louis I. Kahn would run counter to our city’s progress toward reconciliation with the estuary, restoration of both marine and uplands habitats, and recreational enjoyment of the harbor. One look at the model in the image at top reveals the travesty awaiting the island, one that ends in what is literally a high-walled room.
... “It looks like a Soviet era, Eastern European thing. It will impede the views of the UN and surroundings. The focus should be on looking out, not looking in.”
For those interested in more information on New York City waterfront development as it relates to parks and open spaces, the Regional Plan Association produced a very informative study titled "Spring 2007 - On the Verge - Caring for New York City's Emerging Waterfront Parks and Public Spaces. Below are the Summary of Recommendations from the report.
Ensure equitable funding for management of all waterfront parks
➜ The surest, most direct route toward ensuring public control, improving parks maintenance and meeting the demands generated by new waterfront parks is to increase the management budget of Parks & Recreation as well as other agencies managing public spaces on the waterfront. ➜ A specific fund – separate from Parks and other agency operating budgets - should be established to pay for expensive and critical repair required by shoreline bulkheads, piers, and other maritime infrastructure of waterfront parks and public spaces.
Capture revenue from licenses or leases on or adjacent to parkland
➜ The City should generate revenue received from licenses or leases on parks and adjoining public property for the maintenance and management of public spaces. ➜ The public’s ability to gauge the costs and benefits of prospective agreements and enforce their provisions should be addressed through better performance standards in the guiding RFP and by ensuring Parks & Recreation’s jurisdiction on public access sites.
Assess feasibility of waterfront Park Improvement Districts (PID)
➜ The feasibility of new waterfront PIDs should be assessed by the City, Local Development Corporations and non-profit partners in waterfront areas with prospective new development, an ability to pay an assessment fee, appropriate zoning and use, and an economic and physical connection between the park and adjoining property.
Create public access through zoning
➜ The City should amend the 1993 Waterfront Zoning text to extend the transfer of ownership provisions established in the Greenpoint-Williamsburg zoning to other waterfront areas. ➜ The Department of City Planning and Parks & Recreation should collaborate to develop overall “Waterfront Master Plans” in specific waterfront areas to create a programming and design vision, consider upland access areas, streamline government approval processes and identify areas for rezoning. A waterfront improvement fund should be created to provide incentives for landowners to meet the goals of these plans.
Make non-profit management partnerships work better
➜ In general, standard costs such as infrastructure, insurance, utilities, and security, as well as nonrecurring capital expenditures are best handled by City agencies. Non-standard elements, such as programming, maintenance of non-standard items, and supplemental care are well suited for local non-profit groups. ➜ Parks & Recreation should assist non-profit organizations managing space on the waterfront, especially in lower income areas, by leveraging bulk discounts on supplies, providing roving horticulturists, training for local staff, and allocating funding that can be matched by volunteer hours. ➜ A park administrator jointly responsible to a community based non-profit and to Parks & Recreation should be established in the most important waterfront areas to help coordinate these arrangements.
Promote common waterfront park design and performance standards.
➜ Parks & Recreation should develop a specific set of design standards for waterfront public spaces to help ensure that materials and designs are sustainable and well-suited for waterfront locations and that those organizations responsible for construction can accommodate Parks & Recreation’s requirements before time and design monies are invested in non-conforming elements. Help greenways and roadways connect us to the waterfront.
➜ Parks & Recreation, NYC DOT, EDC, and other public and non-profit partners should create non–governmental greenway stewardship entities that could coordinate stewardship of all agencies along a single route. As warranted these entities could be directed by new park administrators and overseen by a City Greenway Director within the Mayor’s office. ➜ Roadways adjacent to waterfront parks should be subject to park-appropriate design standards and the same maintenance standard of the adjoining park.
You Tube video of New York Water Taxi leaving Fulton Landing underneath the Brooklyn Bridge
This will be the second weekend in a row of normal tram and subway service for Roosevelt Island. According to the MTA, there will be regular F train subway service to and from Roosevelt Island this weekend and no report from RIOC of any Tram disruptions either.
Can Roosevelt Islanders handle some more good transportation news? We learned earlier this week that ferry service for Roosevelt Island is inching closer to reality and is scheduled to start in 2010, though much work still needs to be done. There is also the possibility that Roosevelt Island ferry service may be available sooner, as early as 2009.
During the May 7 Roosevelt Island Residents Association meeting, City Council Member Jessica Lappin mentioned the possibility that ferry service for Roosevelt Island might be available by the time the Tram goes out of service next year for repairs and modernization. Lappin emphasized that this was not definite but merely a possibility. It seems as though neither the Mayor's office nor the Department of Transportation were aware until very recently that the Tram was going out of service for an extended period of time in 2009. Now that they do know, they are trying to see if it is possible to expedite Roosevelt Island ferry service. Let's hope that they succeed.
Council Member Lappin also confirmed that the Roosevelt Island ferry dock landing will be located near the Octagon because it has already received the necessary Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard approvals. She acknowledged that this is not the most convenient of all possible locations and left open the possibility of a second ferry landing for a future date.
Image is of street level Roosevelt Island subway elevator
One does not have to be acutely claustrophobic to get the heebie jeebies at the thought of being trapped inside an elevator, particularly a subway elevator and especially a subway elevator deep below a place as isolated as the Roosevelt Island subway station can be at times. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to 5 subway passengers yesterday who became stuck in the Roosevelt Island subway elevator and were rescued by the NYC Fire Department. More details to follow but for now this is from the Roosevelt Island 24 hour Incident Report:
Aided- 5 people stuck in the subway elevator. FDNY removed them. No injuries and EMS refused.
A recent New Yorker magazine article on the lives of elevators describes a 1999 incident in which a man got stuck for 41 hours in an elevator at the McGraw-Hill building and what happened to him since. According to the article his ordeal began one night after going out of the building for a cigarette break when:
... he returned to the lobby and, waved along by a janitor buffing the terrazzo floors, got into Car No. 30 and pressed the button marked 43. The car accelerated. It was an express elevator, with no stops below the thirty-ninth floor, and the building was deserted. But after a moment White felt a jolt. The lights went out and immediately flashed on again. And then the elevator stopped.
The control panel made a beep, and White waited a moment, expecting a voice to offer information or instructions. None came. He pressed the intercom button, but there was no response. He hit it again, and then began pacing around the elevator. After a time, he pressed the emergency button, setting off an alarm bell, mounted on the roof of the elevator car, but he could tell that its range was limited. Still, he rang it a few more times and eventually pulled the button out, so that the alarm was continuous. Some time passed, although he was not sure how much, because he had no watch or cell phone. He occupied himself with thoughts of remaining calm and decided that he’d better not do anything drastic, because, whatever the malfunction, he thought it unwise to jostle the car, and because he wanted to be (as he thought, chuckling to himself) a model trapped employee. He hoped, once someone came to get him, to appear calm and collected. He did not want to be scolded for endangering himself or harming company property. Nor did he want to be caught smoking, should the doors suddenly open, so he didn’t touch his cigarettes. He still had three, plus two Rolaids, which he worried might dehydrate him, so he left them alone. As the emergency bell rang and rang, he began to fear that it might somehow—electricity? friction? heat?—start a fire. Recently, there had been a small fire in the building, rendering the elevators unusable. The Business Week staff had walked down forty-three stories. He also began hearing unlikely oscillations in the ringing: aural hallucinations. Before long, he began to contemplate death.
Read the whole article but be warned - you may never feel the same about getting into an elevator. Security cameras captured the entire ordeal. Here is a You Tube time lapse video of the entire 41 hours condensed to 3 minutes.
On a more light hearted note here is a You Tube video of the Boswell Sisters from 1932 singing the Heebie Jeebies. Maybe thinking of it will help you get through being stuck in an elevator for a brief time. Maybe not.
Building upon the success of the free Roosevelt Island Mammogram event held last March, RIOC has scheduled a second visit from the Mammogram Van on May 17. Since Mother's Day is this Sunday, it is a good opportunity to remind all the moms, grandmas, sisters, daughters and any woman in your life to get a complete and thorough health exam. Here's some more information:
Free Mammogram Second chance to sign up for a free Mammogram. When: Saturday, May 17th, 2008 starting at 9:00am Where: Look for the Mammography Van at Capobianco Field during Health and Fitness Day An appointment is necessary. Sponsored by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, The American-Italian Cancer Foundation & the Women's Outreach Network invite you to have a Free Mammogram For more information, please call 1-800-564-6868
May 17th is also the second annual Roosevelt Island Health & Fitness Day.
When: Saturday May 17th 11am-4pm Where: Capobianco Field (Across the street from Westview, 595 Main Street) FREE ADMISSION Featuring free health screenings, Information vendors, Aerobic clinics led by professional instructors, Sport clinics facilitated by professional and amateur athletes, free giveaways & tons of activities for the kids. Come out and kick off spring in a healthy fashion! For more information, please call 212-832-4540
Roosevelt Island resident and Orphans International Founder Jim Luce forwards the above invitation for all interested to attend the Orphans International Spring Gala Dinner Benefit on June 4 at the Indonesian Consulate.
... as a response to the global crisis facing orphaned children. OIWW has established a network of locally incorporated homes to house and educate children orphaned and abandoned after the Tsunami in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and the 2004 hurricane in Haiti.
... In 2008, OIWW will begin to move orphaned children into more permanent family settings by arranging foster care for Tsunami orphans in Sri Lanka. In this "Family Care" model, OIWW will arrange for donors to provide on-going, monthly stipends for the financial, health and educational support of the poorest families. OIWW also provides school oversight, after school tutoring, enrichment programs, health checkups, and monitoring of the child’s wellbeing.
Last September, Roosevelt Island residents raised more than $10,000 for Orphans International.
Tragedies such as the recent cyclone that devastated the nation of Myanmar last Saturday, killing more than 20,000 people, demonstrates the great need for organizations such as Orphans International. According to the NY Times, a UN spokesmen said of the cyclone:
as many as one million people might have lost their homes and that some villages were almost totally destroyed.
For more information on individual nations in which Orphans International provides services, take a look at their country blogs for Haiti, Indonesia and Sri Lanka as well as future country projects.
AM New York via Curbed reported today on a new subsidized ferry route between the Rockaways and lower Manhattan with stops in Brooklyn that will begin on May 12.
The new ferry is the first step in a two-year pilot program to expand ferry service in the city, the mayor is expected to announce today. In between Rockaway and Pier 11 in Lower Manhattan, the ferry will pick up passengers at the Brooklyn Army Terminal's Pier 4 at 58th Street.
"It will be a one-hour ride from Southeast Queens to Manhattan," said Councilman John Liu, chair of the Transportation Committee. "This is most welcome. We are straining at transit capacity."
The fare will be "comparable" to the $5 cost of express bus ride, Liu said.
While reading Mayor Bloomberg and City Council President Quinn's press release describing their comprehensive plan to bring East River Ferry service to Brooklyn and Queens waterfront neighborhoods, I was getting ready to rant and rave again at the neglect of Roosevelt Island in any NYC ferry transportation system. But near the end of the press release I was absolutely stunned to read this:
The second phase of the plan will further expand East River service by adding new stops at North Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn. Studies conducted by EDC and DOT have concluded that this arrangement on the East River will provide the most useful service for commuters in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. This phase of the plan will also include the construction of a new landing at Roosevelt Island that will be used by a private operator. (emphasis added) EDC has budgeted funds to begin the design phase of this service, and there is $4.4 million in federal transportation funds secured by Congress members Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, matched with $1.1 million split from the Bloomberg Administration and the City Council. The federal funds will be used to construct the ferry landings at Greenpoint and North Williamsburg as well as the dock at Roosevelt Island
"For a city of islands, ferries are a natural fit. I'm delighted that federal funds will help bring convenient and downright scenic ferry service to commuters in some of New York's fastest-growing communities," said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. "This investment will also help build a new ferry dock on Roosevelt Island, giving residents there much-needed access to alternative transportation. I was proud to work with Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, Congressman Nadler, and Councilwoman Jessica Lappin to secure these crucial upgrades to our transportation network."
Great news and good job by Congresswoman Maloney, Congressman Nadler, Mayor Bloomberg, Council President Quinn and Councilwoman Lappin. Not known at this time when a Roosevelt Island Ferry service will begin though dock will probably be near the Octagon. One issue of concern is whether the Roosevelt Island ferry will be part of the subsidized route since the press release notes that a private operator will be operating the ferry landing at Roosevelt Island but does not mention that fact for any of the other ferry landings.
For a look at how a public ferry system works, take a look at Seattle Washington.
UPDATE 6:10PM - RIOC officials met with representatives of the Octagon building and Congresswoman Maloney's office today to discuss Roosevelt Island ferry service. According to RIOC President Steve Shane:
... There remains much to be accomplished in the regulatory process, both at the City and RIOC levels. We are being asked to grant a permit which I would be delighted to recommend to the Board upon the creation of a record which would substantiate our action. Whether the City as the recipient of the Federal funds would have to be the contracting party with all of the difficult machinery of procurement that entails is completely unresolved.
UPDATE: 5/7 - Ferry service for Roosevelt Island is planned for 2010. The NY Sun reports:
The city plans to expand ferry service to include stops at East 34th Street in Manhattan, Long Island City in Queens, and South Williamsburg in Brooklyn, beginning in July of this year. Additional stops are planned for 2010 in Greenpoint and North Williamsburg in Brooklyn, as well as Roosevelt Island. The city is also exploring creating stops that could include East 90th Street and West 125th Street in Manhattan, Riverdale in the Bronx, and Coney Island in Brooklyn, among others
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens. The Roosevelt Island Aerial Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to Manhattan has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
