Don't Truck Roosevelt Island Is Message of Roosevelt Island Community Coalition To NYC Council - Show Up And Support Roosevelt Island At April 30 NYC Council Public Hearing On Cornell NYC Tech Campus

Cornell NYC Tech Proposed Campus (page 23 CB 8 Presentation)

A message from the Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC):

RICC NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Show Up - Show Support - #'s Count!

TUESDAY APRIL 30 - City Hall - (located in City Hall Park)

City Council Open Meeting (Land Use Subcommittee)

Session from 9:30 am - throughout the day

The Cornell NYC Tech project has reached the last step in the ULURP process to which the public is invited to testify: review for approval by the Land Use Subcommittee of The New York City Council.

Tuesday, April 30th, RICC and Island residents will use this last chance to testify -- although negotiations on many items will continue.

The hearing begins at 9:30 am -- but projects other than Cornell will be discussed and there's no way to know exactly when Cornell NYC Tech will be presented.

We want to get as many people out to fill the room.

RICC Speakers will testify on topics familiar to all of you, including:

• the use of barges/ferries in place of trucks that pollute our air and congest bridge, helix and street
• creating cement mixers on site -- or some alternative -- to reduce or eliminate presence of especially noxious cement trucks

Please email friends, alert neighbors: find a few hours to come to City Hall on Tuesday, April 30th!

Note: City Hall informs us that taking the 4, 5 or 6 train is best. Get off at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Stop. Emerge at City Hall Park and go to City Hall (no address -- the only building in the Park). Police will direct you to the Council Room. Bring ID -- you will go through security.

Hope to see you there! Thank you.

RICC members raised many of these issues and more during the February 6 NYC Planning Commission Public Hearing. RICC's main message to the NYC Planning Commission was:

 Don't Truck Roosevelt Island

as it will be to the NYC Council.

Here's what RICC had to say about truck traffic, barging construction materials, on site cement mixers, financial support for Roosevelt Island services and more.

Part 1



and Part 2.



Following the March 20 NYC Planning Commission approval of the Cornell NYC Tech application, Cornell NYC Tech's Director of Capital Projects and Planning Andrew Winters reiterated Cornell's position on barging and temporary cement batch plant for the Roosevelt Island campus. According to Mr. Winters:

BARGING: Cornell is actively exploring the feasibility of utilizing barging techniques to help limit construction traffic on to the Island. We are considering two barging techniques: a floating harbor barge for bulk materials and a fixed platform for driving trucks directly from barges to the site. The use of barges in the construction process will require approvals and permits from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the US Army Corps of Engineers. As part of this investigation, we have been meeting with NYSDEC to discuss regulations regarding temporary installations and to determine pre-application procedures for expedited review. NYSDEC has requested a series of studies, including water depth, sea-wall conditions, and preliminary engineering, which we have initiated. In addition to working with the regulatory agencies, engineers, and others, in the Final Environmental Impact Statement we have included an assessment of the environmental consequences of barging as an alternative construction measure to make sure that all effects have been fully considered in the event that barging proves to be feasible.

CEMENT: We do not believe that hosting a batch plant on site is the most effective way to limit impacts of construction and have a number of specific concerns about the feasibility of a batch plant for this project. The volume of concrete that we're going to be using, particularly in the first phase, is very small. Two of the first four buildings will be steel frame buildings, limiting the total amount of concrete construction to 400,000 square feet at a maximum. We've researched other projects in the City and found that even on dramatically larger projects, including the World Trade Center and Hudson Yards, construction managers have found the challenges of using a batch plant overwhelming and have chosen not to use them. Finally, DEC has noted additional concerns, including the possibility of runoff due to the site's proximity to the edge of the island, which is only 800 feet wide at its widest. Though we are still looking at it, the feedback we've gotten is that the combination of the volume, the industrial issues and the cost, make it an extremely challenging route for this project.

Come out and show support for Roosevelt Island at the April 30 NYC Council Public Hearing on Cornell NYC Tech.