Report From RIOC President Leslie Torres - Roosevelt Island Halloween Festivities, Web 2.0 Smart City Award, Public Purpose Grant Fund Applications, Southpoint Gardening Help, Retail Town Hall Recap, District Attorney's Office Community Meeting and Upcoming PSD/Youth Center Basketball Game

RIOC President Lesile Torres (center)  Community Relations Specialist Erica Spencer-El (left) and Evie Przbyla (right)

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Lesie Torres sends the following report to Roosevelt Island residents.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween despite the surprise of a snowstorm in October. I am happy to report that even with the heavy rain, wind and ice, the Tram operated without interruption.

There are lots of exciting things happening on the Island that I would like to update you on:

2011 Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year Award

I would like to congratulate Michael Moreo, RIOC’s Director of Information Technology and his team for winning the 2011 Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year Award. The award is given by the State Chief Information Officer and Office for Technology (CIO/OFT) in recognition of a state or local government entity that has demonstrated innovative use of web 2.0 technology to advance their organizations core mission, serve citizens and foster open government and civic engagement.

Communicating and exchanging ideas with the Roosevelt Island community is a top priority for us. We offer a portfolio of web 2.0 applications including NextBus, SeeClickFix, and Facebook that help us operate, maintain and develop the island and its services. We are pleased to receive this award and look forward to providing more technology solutions that will further develop Roosevelt Island into a “Smart City”.

Public Purpose Grant Applications

The 2012 application for Public Purpose Funding is now available online. Public Purpose Funds are allocated to benefit Roosevelt Island residents, enhancing their quality of life through education, artistic and cultural enrichment, improved health or a better environment. The RIOC Board of Directors awards these funds upon the recommendation of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA).

To review current guidelines and obtain a copy of the application, please visit http://rioc.ny.gov/ pdf/Grant_Application.pdf. If you have bookmarked last year’s application, please do not use it, as new items have been added to the current application. Please note that applicant organizations must be not-for-profit as defined by 501(c)3 or 501(c)4 Status.

The deadline to apply for Public Purpose Funds is Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 5:00 PM. Applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.
The 2012 Public Purpose Grant application can be downloaded or completed online at your convenience. Please submit your completed application and necessary attachments to the RIOC office located at 591 Main Street.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding completing the PPG application please contact RIOC via email, Erica.Spencer-EL@rioc.ny.gov or by calling 212-832-4540 EXT# 349.

Friends of Southpoint

Friends of Southpoint are looking for fellow gardening enthusiasts to help keep Southpoint beautiful.

Southpoint's seven acres have been planted with more than 35,000 Northeastern native plants, comprised of more than a hundred different trees, shrubs, perennials, ferns and grasses. Friends of Southpoint (FoS) volunteers will be trained in plant identification, as one of the early efforts will be to remove specific invasive plants. Learning to identify the weeds will be part of the work; getting to know the native plants will be part of the pleasure. If you'd like to help out, please contact April Ward at FoS@mac.com. Parents are encouraged to bring their children. RIOC will provide tools, FoS T-shirts and snacks/beverages for the volunteers.

Town Hall Meeting for Retail Space

I was happy to hear that the Town Hall meeting for the Retail Space that took place on October 20th was well attended. I know that Hudson Related is doing their best to move the revitalization of Main Street’s commercial space project along while keeping everyone informed. We too are very excited about the revitalization of Main Street and look forward to new stores opening on the island.

New York County District Attorney's Office Community Meeting

The New York County District Attorney's Office, in partnership with the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department, will be hosting an informative community meeting on the Criminal Justice System and Arrest to Sentencing Process at the Good Shepherd Community Center (546 Main Street) on Wednesday, November 9th from 7pm to 9pm. Attendees will get information on the following:
• The PSD's role in the community and their initiatives
• Why the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has the authority to prosecute and
investigate crimes on Roosevelt Island
• An explanation of the criminal justice process in New York County
• The differences between a violation, misdemeanor and felony
• What is the arrest to sentencing process for adult offenders
• The role of Family Court in the criminal justice system
• The Manhattan District Attorney's new re-entry and juvenile justice initiatives

I encourage you all to come out. Light refreshments will be served.

PSD Basketball Game

The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department will be hosting a basketball game with officers and young adults from the community on Tuesday, November 8th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Sportspark.

The game is organized by the Public Safety Department as a way to build relationships between the department and the youth community of Roosevelt Island, so please join us at the game. This is the 3rd year that this game will take place.

Below is video from the 2011 Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year Award which was awarded to RIOC for it's use of web 2.0 technology and

The full video including first 13 minutes is here

 the press release from the NY State Chief Information Officer:

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of New York State has been selected as the recipient of the 2011 Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year Award. The award recognizes a state or local government entity that has demonstrated innovative use of web 2.0 technology to advance their organizations core mission, serve citizens and foster open government and civic engagement.

“I am pleased to congratulate the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of New York State on being selected as this year’s Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year Award. They epitomize how an organization, regardless of size, can find value in the use of web 2.0 technologies to engage their constituents. Web 2.0 technologies and social media tools create new communication channels for government to stay connected with citizenry. Many state and local organizations are leveraging the technology more and more and I am very encouraged by this trend. Going forward I expect to see more innovative uses in this area,” said Daniel C. Chan, New York State Acting Chief Information Officer and Director of the Office for Technology.

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of NYS has a portfolio of Web 2.0 Applications it uses to engage residents, workers and visitors of Roosevelt Island. As part of its core mission to operate, maintain and develop the island and services, Web 2.0 Apps have played an important role in improving presence as a “Smart City” by increasing the availability and quality of knowledge, communication and social infrastructure. Smart Cities operate on the concept of six (6) main dimensions: smart economy, smart mobility, a smart environment, smart people, smart living and smart governance. Web 2.0 technology is a natural fit to promote the Smart City concept.

“We are extremely pleased to receive this recognition for our innovative use of Web 2.0 technologies. The use of Web 2.0 applications such as NextBus, SeeClickFix, and our Facebook presence is only the beginning. We are committed to providing more applications and other Web 2.0 technology that residents, workers and visitors of Roosevelt Island will use to more fully enjoy, engage and collaborate with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation in years to come” said Michael Moreo, CIO of The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.

To meet today's demands and anticipate future needs, New York State launched the Empire 2.0 Initiative in June 2009. Empire 2.0 is New York State's social media strategy designed to enhance customer transactions and experience of social media networking with state government, increase transparency into government operations, and enhance citizen engagement. In August, CIO/OFT furthered that initiative by launching a new website called Empire 2.0 Center of Excellence, a "one-stop" Center that provides resources and tools about social media and Web 2.0 technologies and best practices in the industry. To visit the Empire 2.0 Center of Excellence website visit www.empire-20.ny.gov.

The Empire 2.0 Showcase Agency of the Year fully embraces the principles of the Empire 2.0 Initiative which are to connect, create, and collaborate, by setting a high bar of IT excellence in the use of Web 2.0 social media technologies in state government to improve service delivery, enhance professional development, and promote collaboration among all relevant stakeholders.