Sunday, June 9, 2013

Some Scenes From June 4 Roosevelt Island FDR Four Freedoms Park Summer Sunset Fundraiser

As previously reported, the FDR Four Freedoms Park Conservancy (FDR) held a Summer Sunset Fundraising event

Image Of June 4 FDR Summer Sunset Fundraising Party

on June 4 with tickets ranging from $250 to $10 thousand. Here's some of what happened.

The FDR Chairman William vanden Heuvel

 Image Of William vanden Heuvel Atop Newly FDR Park Inscribed Granite Steps

delivered these remarks under a tent placed between the granite steps and the Renwick Ruins Smallpox Hospital.



Following Mr. vanden Heuvel's remarks, I took a walk around the park to the tunes of Blue Moon



and New York New York.



The lawn could be a great place for picnics, future concerts and other events open to the public. Of course, still to be decided is who controls the area, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) or the FDR Park.

23 comments :

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Bill Blass said...

The people in eastwood should control this park.. The hipsters are getting too much poWer on this island

Bill Blass said...

I saw a hipster riding a bike today in new york city when a cab door opened and the hipster rode into the door he fell to the ground fell off the bike.i said to he .thats what you get. For riding a bike in new york City. You moron

Mark Lyon said...

You certainly have an interesting perspective. Do you also support other forms of violence against groups or individuals you dislike?


By the way, it's against the law to door a cyclist:

NYCRR- Section 4-12-(c)- Getting Out of Vehicle: No person shall get out of any vehicle from the side facing on the traveled part of the street in such manner as to interfere with the right of the operator of an approaching vehicle or a bicycle.

http://www.newyorkbikelawyer.com/Bike-Accident/Doored-While-Cycling-in-N-Y-.aspx

Westviewer said...

There are no hipsters on Roosevelt Island.

CheshireKitty said...

Wait a minute, Bill! The hipsters control FFP? Pollara - a hipster! Since when? But putting the hipsters/Eastwood people in charge of FFP is an idea, Bill! Imagine the possibilities! At least they would drive the dull moneyed types out!

CheshireKitty said...

Umm... well, it depends. It won't be easy to transform RI into an exciting community. Has anyone ever heard of a group of hi-rises becoming - exciting?


On RI, there should have been a mix of housing types - low-rise, and high-rise - so as to bring a sense of "human scale" to the streets (well, the one street).


You really have to think long and hard how you could make RI exciting/hip/interesting etc.


Actually, salvaging some of the history does make it interesting - which is why the historical structures projects are so important. We should probably salvage some of Goldwater before it's demolished, and place some of its more interesting "remains" throughout the island, or build garden structures in the community garden out of them. You could distribute parts of Goldwater to the non-profits and artists for any sort of arts project. Or, you could have an installation made of Goldwater remains in the subway mezzanine level - might resonate with many Goldwater employees.


We have density here but not the sort of density as in the Village or other burgeoning areas. We may have many medical students/post-docs/Fellows - but they are completely focused on their work, and just use RI as a bedroom.
Many younger people on the island just see it as a temporary stopping off place, a place to crash for the time being.


This is completely different than the exciting communities in NY today, where exploding numbers of youth are creating communities from scratch out of decaying industrial areas. They have no intention of leaving (at least for the time being) and love living in these areas. There's a creative element involved. There's also the semi-anarchy/chaos in the areas - of being able to try out new things, new concepts. You can't duplicate that on RI, which is very closely held by a few organizations - RIOC and a handful of landlords.


Moreover, people that own apartments on RI may see them as investments and are eager to cash out. So between the transient people, and those who just see their places as investments, what's the percentage that actually want to live on RI? Not that many. That's why RI is not exciting or hip.

Westviewer said...

You nailed it, Kitty.

YetAnotherRIer said...

"It's just as important for the cyclist to pay attention to car doors being flung open and for this reason to cycle at a reasonable speed so as to avoid striking passengers exiting cars, in addition to avoiding getting door-ed."


Yes, it is important for a bicyclist to pay attention but, in this case, it is the driver's or passenger's responsibility to look out for traffic BEFORE he/she opens the door. And a bicycle is just the same kind of traffic as a car.

CheshireKitty said...

Of course it's common sense to check before opening a car door on the traffic side. Passengers don't want to get smashed into by a car or truck - and the driver doesn't want the door of his car ripped off either. Aren't there signs in cabs advising passengers to exit on the street side of the car? It's all common sense and most people will check before opening a car door.


Cyclists should keep an eye on stationary cars - try to see if passenger/driver are about to exit the car. Cyclists must practice defensive "driving" as much as drivers do - anticipating that "other" drivers will make potentially stupid moves.


As things stand now I don't have much sympathy for cyclists: They speed, they drive against the flow of traffic, they do not observe lights or stop signs, and they get away with everything including knocking into pedestrians since they are not ticketed by cops. Woe to the pedestrian who is smashed into by a speeding bike - bike lane or no bike lane.

Mark Lyon said...

You seem not to understand the ticketing campaign NYPD has long been on against cyclists who disobey the rules.

Some info: http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/transportation-nation/2011/may/27/bike-ticketing-in-new-york-widespread-on-the-rise/

http://gothamist.com/2013/02/01/cyclist_3.php

Further, cyclists are far more likely to take the brunt of the damage from any accident involving a vehicle. NYPD doesn't have much of a history of prosecuting reckless motorists who injure or kill cyclists or pedestrians. Cyclists causing significant damage to others is also rather rare. NYC DOT has helpful statistics: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bicycle-crash-data-report-2011.pdf

CheshireKitty said...

Absolute BS, Mark. I have never in my life - and I've lived my entire life within the 5 boroughs - seen a cyclist get "pulled over" for a ticket, not once! And you ask any Joe Schmoe on the street and they'll say the same thing. They have no license plates for one thing - so even if they do break the law, how the heck is anybody going to identify the bike, Mark? You're talking through your hat, Mark.

And you say operators of motor vehicles get away with hitting pedestrians or cyclists. Hit-n-run drivers try to get away with it - and sometimes they do get away with what amounts to murder. Often, though, they don't. Why? Because witnesses will identify the make/color/model of the car, and often at least get a glimpse of a license plate. Plus there are numerous cameras phographing license plates throughout the city - red light cameras and so forth. It is much harder to get away with harming pedestrians or cyclists if you're a car rather than if you're a bike. And the cops do go after hit-n-run drivers all the time.



Mark: Cyclists run wild because they know they can get away with it. There is no registration requirement. They operate their bikes unsafely. If they collide with a pedestrian, like I said, woe to the pedestrian. If a car hits them, that's just tough f*****g luck - they took their chances in riding recklessly, now they pay the price.

CheshireKitty said...

Perhaps if cyclists used the roads unselfishly and safely for a change, they wouldn't cause all this anger and irritation towards them. Perhaps abiding by the same rules that other road users have to would be a good start. Convoys of dayglo lycra-clad road abusers are enough to cause anyone to be annoyed with their weaving and erratic road positioning and lack of ability to comprehend the reason and rules around traffic lights makes the common road users' blood boil.

CheshireKitty said...

If the cops have started ticketing cyclists then hallelujah. They deserve every ticket! It just warms the cockles of my heart to hear stories of arrogant cyclists getting ticketed.

CheshireKitty said...

Mark: Get real. Nine times out of ten cops aren't going to pull over cyclists. Cyclists are constantly breaking the law, running lights, speeding, and so forth. There simply aren't enough cops to catch them all the cyclists breaking the law.


Now imagine if motorists engaged in the same kind of shenanigans as cyclists! Hahaha... you can't - because nine out of ten, motorists respect the law, wait at red lights, stop at stop signs etc.-- even if there is no cop there enforcing these laws.


It really does make a difference requiring road users to register vehicles and buy insurance, not to speak of issuing licenses, which is the case with motorists but not so with cyclists.


If cyclists operate their bikes unsafely, because, nine times out of ten, they can get away with it, then the price they pay is occasionally getting door-ed. That's the breaks!

YetAnotherRIer said...

Don't throw all bicyclists into one pot. Yes, there are some very arrogant a-holes on two wheels out there and they taint the perceptions pedestrians and drivers have of bicyclists in general. Most, though, are very considerate and do not break more traffic laws than, say, pedestrians (the whole red light issue seems to be at the core of all discussions). I do insist, though, that it is the car passenger's responsibility to keep the cyclist safe in this case because when you go down the bike lane you rely on the fact that nobody opens the door w/o paying attention.

YetAnotherRIer said...

They deserve tickets just as drivers deserve theirs. Yes, agreed. And I say that as an avid bicyclist who actually obeys traffic laws and got yelled at by other bicyclists for stopping at a red light.

YetAnotherRIer said...

Do you know which group of traffic is the most inconsiderate towards all other groups? Pedestrians.

CheshireKitty said...

This leads to the problem of why the bike lanes as currently implemented aren't adequate to ensure cyclists' safety. In high-traffic areas, bike lanes must have physical barriers separating them from traffic or parked cars. The city will never do this - thus it will never really be safe to cycle in midtown/downtown Manhattan.

YetAnotherRIer said...

I can only refer to other countries again, where such buffer zone is not needed because people watch out for each other. This is really just a matter of mentality and nothing else.

Denise K Shull said...

When is the first wine tasting for the locals scheduled?

YetAnotherRIer said...

As long you pay up you will able to attend. As a local resident. How about that?