A Resident's Tired Of Hearing What Not To Do on Roosevelt Island - No Bike Riding on RI Bridge, No Dogs On Some Lawns, No Baby Strollers On Red Bus During Rush Hours, No NO NO

A guest post from Roosevelt Island resident Bill Long below.

Image From Bill Long

I object to the sign on the Roosevelt Island Bridge outlawing bicycles and on the Rivercross lawn outlawing dogs.

Here's why.

People who stand on the left side of the subway escalator instead of riding on the right really annoy me. I think their behavior is uncivil to those of us who prefer to walk up the escalator stairs.

Nevertheless, I seldom, if ever say anything to these uncivil types because that would be uncivil as well. I think most of the time people have the right to behave the way they want, as long as they aren't causing direct harm to those around them.

I would certainly never advocate that the MTA put up a sign demanding that people stand to the right on the escalators, much less penalize people who didn't comply, even though I consider this behavior obnoxious.

That's why the new signs that have gone up on the Roosevelt Island bridge and on the lawn beside Rivercross are so distrubing to me. These signs tell me I can't ride my bike on the path across the bridge and I can't walk my dog on the lawn. Some cyclists and some dog owners may exhibit uncivil behavior. But why is that a reason to penalize those of us who are deferential to pedestrians on the bridge or those of us who pick up after our dogs?

The administration and leadership on Roosevelt Island shows an unfortunate tendency to tell people what /not/ to do.

"Don't ride your bike here." "Don't walk your dog there." "Don't bring your baby stroller on the Red Bus during rush hour." "Don't open this type of store on Main St." "Don't privatize this building." "Don't separately meter the electricity in that building."

Roosevelt Island will never achieve its potential until we start expanding what people can do. That should be the goal of our leaders. Until that becomes the objective, nothing of value will be accomplished here.

Bill Long
The Octagon

I don't know if Mr. Long is Mad As Hell yet like Howard Beale in Network but...


You Tube Video of Mad As Hell From Network