Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Workers Begin To Remove Roosevelt Island Main Street Arcade Windows Yesterday - Some Residents Pissed, Hudson Related Says Give It A Chance



Workers for Main Street Master Retail Leaseholder Hudson Related began removing the Roosevelt Landings/Eastwood Window Arcades yesterday. One resident wrote in:

I thought they weren't going to pull the shelter down by Eastwood? Really pissed watching them pull all the glass out on my way to work Monday!
Hudson Related's David Kramer listened to some residents expressing their unhappiness with the removal of the Arcade windows during April 2 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Real Estate Advisory Committee meeting but maintained that he thought the area would look much nicer without the windows, would not be much of a burden on residents and urged residents to give it a chance.

Here's what the residents and Mr. Kramer had to say on the subject.



More on Mr. Kramer's Main Street retail update from this previous post.

25 comments :

YetAnotherRIer said...

Kramer is right. It looks a lot better without the glass panels and I am glad to hear they will do the same acros the street at Westview.

Jesse Webster said...

Too bad they aren't doing a facade cleaning on the Main Street side of Roosevelt Landings while they're at it. It's pretty grimy, probably hasn't ever been cleaned.

Joe Carbo said...

these new stores are not going to make it. see the people from southtown and oxagon do not come to this part of the island unless they are riding on the red bus this part of the island is the getto

Joe Carbo said...

this is how these people with money think

CheshireKitty said...

It was a special arcade but should have been better kept up and the planters should never have been put in. The new look is going to be more open - and maybe that will be a good thing. Certainly, the restyling is nice. How it will mesh overall with the building is another story. Will it make the building less interesting/distinguished architecturally? We'll soon know once the rehab is completed!

CheshireKitty said...

There were no stores they would have wanted to come to - or needed. The Duane Reade is the equivalent of a corner grocery store for Southtown. At Octagon, they have a small grocery or convenience store within the building, and Gristedes is just across the street from MP.


The Sweet Shop is surviving for the time being and Subway certainly seems to caught on.


The big mystery is going to be the organic market - will it really make a dent or make inroads in the shopping patterns of those who shop at Whole Foods, especially the WF store on 57th St? It would certainly be convenient for RI residents to shop at an organic market on RI rather than have to go to Manhattan or Queens to buy organic. It remains to be seen how the organic market turns out, if the prices will be somewhat competitive with regards to WF, etc. If so, then there certainly should be many on RI who will shop there - since it would be alot more convenient than traveling to Manhattan or Queens.

CheshireKitty said...

The buildings could have been landmarked which would have meant the facades could not have been touched. But no-one thought of that, and now it's too late. The restyling is OK - classy. So let's give it a chance. I hope Kramer considers more comfortable seating than the island-shaped laminated benches that were proposed at the Church meeting.

CheshireKitty said...

I agree. Actually, all the Main St buildings need to be cleaned. They are all grimy. This is what happens after 30+ years of being exposed to NYC air pollution plus the emissions wafting over from the Con Ed.

Joe Carbo said...

i think the sweet shop is not making his rent. he is surviving because he has a very good paying job.so he is paying the sweet shop bills with the money he makes from his job.there are always kids hanging out in there but no one is spending any money.i wish him good luck but i dont think hes making money
.

Joe Carbo said...

the sweet shop is like back the 50s 60s we all hung out in the candy store but we didnt have any money to spend yea those were the good old days of the candy stores

PeaceandPlenty said...

I agree that the restyling is lovely and the kind of rustic look goes with the city streetlights. The planters were a bad idea, as you point out. As for the weather, there were plenty of areas that did not have the glass panes and no one complained about them so it seems more a matter of people not liking change as opposed to genuine weather concerns. It's covered and will keep us dry even withut the glass, which was usually dirty anyway.

CheshireKitty said...

Those sure were the good old days. Remember the lengths of dots you could buy? The days when bubble gum was really still a penny?

CheshireKitty said...

The sweet shop will eventually take off, if it hasn't already. Many people initially finance their "dream" with money from their "regular" job. I see customers purchasing beverages and sweets there. He may need to advertise "deals" of some kind - like a reduced price for buying certain popular combinations like a coffee with a muffin - to pull in more customers.

CheshireKitty said...

It should improve the look of the entire passageway. Maybe RIOC could power wash the pavement of the passageway to "complete" the upgrade.

Frank Farance said...

YetAnotherRIer: You always have difficulty empathizing with others concerns: "simply just wear weather appropriate clothing or stay home". Even with rain gear, the goal is to minimize the time in the wind, rain, and snow. Not to mention walking in the snow. A bigger concern is the safety problems with the removal of the benches ... both a structural issue for the unanchored pillars, and missing barrier where children and adults can step into live traffic without the usual visual cues.

Frank Farance said...

Fire Hazard With Scaffolding in Eastwood Driveways
[sent to David Kramer and RIOC Board]

The construction work on the Eastwood facade blocks fire trucks from accessing the inner courtyards in Eastwood via these driveways. The height of the scaffolding is 10'6". Fire trucks need at least 10'8" clearance (probably more with extra equipment). I suggest that you remove the semi-permanent scaffolding in the 510, 540, and 560 driveways and replace it with movable scaffolding on wheels that could be moved out of the way in an emergency. I've filed complaints at DOB and FDNY about this concern.

GeorgeProzakis said...

Wow. Seriously?

If I am not mistaken, isn't there a roadway in the back? Are there not standpipes on the building and in the staircases as required?.

I never recall a fire apparatus going in a driveway. They always were right on Main Street.

Although my time on the good old island was short, I still recall FDNY on numerous occasions right on Main Street and nowhere else.

Go find a job or something interesting to do. What a pain in the neck you must be in real life. Mind your business.

GeorgeProzakis said...

I wonder how people survived all these years with no cover across the street?.

Step into live traffic? Are we dealing with a majority of mentally challenged individuals? I wonder how the rest of New York survives each day without a facade?.

First of all nobody should just walk with blinders on. Second, nobody should let their kids play on a sidewalk. This is why the island has parks and there is plenty of room by the church and other areas to play.

I think Michaels Arts and Crafts has a knitting group every Thursday, it's good, look into it.

Jesse Webster said...

Cleaning is always good!

CheshireKitty said...

It's likely the arcades were included as an "extra" amenity for the disabled & elderly population who sometimes have mobility issues or may use wheelchairs. Even with the removal of the glass, they will still have cover from the weather in the arcade and Kramer will be replacing the alcove benches with some sort of new seating. The new look is attractive - so let's give it a chance.

I happen to agree with Frank on the additional safety that was provided by the alcove units, i.e. the glassed-in section provided a demarcation line and made it less likely pedestrians would step out into Main St in non-crosswalk areas. However, most people do look both ways before crossing the street. If, as a result of the removal of the glass, a lot of people are run over by stepping from the walkway onto the street, then consideration could be given to installing a railing between some of the arcade supports - or maybe all of them except for the ones at crosswalks. However, the speed limit on RI is so low that these sorts of accidents should not be an issue once the glass/alcoves are removed.

Finally, even aside from a convenience or amenity for elderly and disabled residents, the enclosed arcades probably were put in as an extra amenity for all residents. All residents give up enough as it is to live on a fairly isolated island (and it was quite isolated when Northtown was first built) so at least they were given the extra amenity of being able to walk in the rain from their building to a store without having to use an umbrella etc. In the rain the covered walkways extending from Northtown to Motorgate are very handy - and will continue to be handy without the glass. They may be more exposed to the elements but they will still provide cover from the weather.

rilander said...

And they aren't cleaning the grime from the ceilings before they put the wood up! Kramer and his crew never addressed who is going to maintain those wood ceilings either!

CheshireKitty said...

It may be impossible to clean the ceiling panels since they are heavily textured. Perhaps they could have painted them over - although that seems superfluous if they were going to be paneled over. Re: The maintenance of the walkway itself - it could be the responsibility of Urban American, or RIOC. Maybe Frank can find out which entity is supposed to maintain the arcade.

Westviewer said...

I wonder if Hudson-Related is going to try to get RIOC to remove the ridiculous aluminum awning over their door? You know -- the dented red and white striped little protuberance...

CheshireKitty said...

Maybe they could come up with a redesign along the lines of the arcade renovation - although the RIOC entrance isn't within Westview arcade.

CheshireKitty said...

This is out of line (as usual). You claim you briefly lived on RI - as opposed to Frank, a long-time resident. How can you be sure fire trucks *never* need to pull into the driveways/courtyards? It may be necessary to do so if God forbid they needed a great deal of equipment on hand and could not obstruct the flow of traffic - including emergency vehicles - on Main Street! With the scaffolding, they cannot pull fire trucks into the driveways if they need to. I think that is a potentially hazardous situation and Frank was right in bringing it to the attention of RIOC & Kramer.