RIRA Town Hall Meeting On Wednesday 8 PM - Discuss Proposed Construction Phasing of Kahn/FDR Memorial and other RIOC Board Meeting Agenda Items

Image of Kahn/FDR Memorial from NY Times

RIRA President Frank Farance invites RIOC President Steve Shane and sends a message to RIOC Directors and staff as well as all Roosevelt Islanders to attend this Wednesday's RIRA Town Hall Meeting:

The next RIRA Town Hall meeting will be on Wednesday, February 18, at 8-9:30PM at the Church of the Good Shepherd -- upper floor.

The meeting will be a Q&A session for residents to interact with RIOC Board members and RIOC Staff. The discussion will involve 3 areas:

(1) Discussion of agenda items on the February 19 RIOC Board meeting agenda.

(2) Discussion of results from the January 15 RIOC Board meeting.

(3) Any other topics.

If I receive questions in advance, I will forward them to you as soon as I receive them.

As always, thank you, your staff, and your directors for participating in the Town Hall meetings.

One of the agenda items on the 2/19 RIOC Board of Directors Meeting is a presentation by the Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (FERI) on the proposed construction phasing of the Kahn/FDR Memorial in the event the building of this boondoggle ever actually starts, which may still be in doubt.

In the unfortunate event that the Kahn Memorial does move forward, the views of Roosevelt Island residents on the construction phasing of the project were demonstrated in the referendum held last November. The Referendum questions asked:

Question #1: Building the FDR memorial park before the monument
FOR THE FDR MEMORIAL AT SOUTHPOINT PARK, SHOULD FERI COMPLETE THEIR PORTION OF THE LANDSCAPING PRIOR TO COMPLETING THE FDR MONUMENT?
Background: There are two components in developing the southernmost 3 acres of the Island -- general landscaping and construction of an FDR memorial. Given that, particularly in these economic conditions, funding may be too limited for a full implementation at this time, do you favor developing the general landscaping before the monument is built?

The Roosevelt Island residents election results on this referendum question were overwhelmingly in favor of the landscaping portion of the park be completed prior to the granite memorial room by a vote of 830 to 247.

Supporters of the Kahn memorial and RIOC President Steve Shane previously claimed that despite the votes of the Roosevelt Island residents, the granite room had to be be built first because the $4 million allocated for the FDR memorial by the City of NY cannot be spent on landscaping but must be spent on the granite foundation and room since only capital expenses can be funded with the City money. We now know that this is not true and that according to City Council Member Jessica Lappin's office:

The money is available for the entire project and does not specify in what order the project should be completed.

The RIOC Directors should require the building of the park before the Memorial so that Roosevelt Island does not get stuck with a granite room at the tip of Southpoint and no park when, as they have always done in the past, FERI fails to raise the necessary funds.

Of course, FERI's plans to build the granite room first before the park landscaping. By doing so, when they run out of taxpayer funds and continue their 35 year failure to raise sufficient private donations at least they have the mausoleum room and can wait for a later time to build the rest of the park. Perhaps another 35 years. Here are FERI's initial construction plans.

While interdependent, each major component of the Park has its own series of challenges and demands specific types of construction equipment and building methodologies that must be logically sequenced and coordinated so as not to disturb finished work, disrupt building process, increase cost, or impede progress.

Phase 1 – The ‘Room’

The ‘Room,’ defined on three sides by 6’ x 6’ x 12’ high granite “columns,” requires a carefully implemented sequence of steps to deliver and erect the components. The granite blocks for the walls of the ‘Room’ each weigh 36 tons, not including the weight of a delivery truck. Due to the maximum weight limitation of 36 tons on the bridge connecting Roosevelt Island to Queens, this granite must be barged to the site.

The current shipping route requires a deck barge be used to transport the stone along the ocean route from the north to Roosevelt Island. We anticipate the stone will arrive at Roosevelt Island in November 2009.

Just before the arrival of the granite, a 330-ton crane will be delivered to the site via barge and lifted on to the island with the use of a floating crane mounted on that barge. The 330-ton crane will be assembled on the southern end of the island in the area of the ‘Room.’ This 330-ton crane will be used to move the granite from the staging area and to set the large stones in place. At maximum lifting capacity, this crane has a reach of approximately 100 feet. [Exhibit 8a: Crane and Barge Specifications]

The floating crane will stay to meet the stone barge, unload the granite blocks for the ‘Room,’ and place them in the designated stone staging areas. When all of the stone has been unloaded, the stone barge and floating crane will leave, and the 330-ton crane will begin setting the stone in its final location.

The barges will anchor temporarily in the East Channel as close to the eastern edge of the island as allowable. The rock outcropping off the southern tip of the island prevents staging the work in that area.

Upon completion of the setting of the stone for the Room, the 330-ton crane will be disassembled and removed from the site, and work will continue with Phase 2 and Phase 3.

Phases 2 and 3 – Stone for the Paved Promenades and Landscaped Garden

The stone to be used in Phases 2 and 3 is smaller blocks of granite, which can be trucked to the site via the bridge from Queens to Roosevelt Island. While these blocks are smaller than those for the ‘Room,’ they do require the use of a crane for setting. A smaller 35-ton crane will perform this work. This crane can be driven to the island via the bridge, and will move around the site as necessary to install the larger stones that are part of Phases 2 and 3, finish capstones, sloped granite, stair treads, etc.

Here is the proposed construction schedule.

UPDATE - 2/18 - RIOC has posted the proposed construction phasing of the Kahn/FDR Memorial submitted by FERI for the 2/19 Board of Directors meeting. (it is a large PDF File).