Friday, August 30, 2013

Report From RIOC President Charlene Indelicato - Bike New York Setting Up Shop On Roosevelt Island, Last Outdoor Movie Of The Summer, Fall For Arts, Motorgate Renovations & OEM Hurricane Evacuation Presentation

 Image of RIOC President Charlene Indelicato From RIOC

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Charlene Indelicato sends the following report to the community.
The unofficial end of summer comes this weekend. After Labor Day our Island and the rest of New York City will return to its hustle and bustle after these quiet days of August.

Our kids will be returning to schools, both public and private. Please use additional caution when driving around the Island prior to and after schools are in session. We want to make sure everyone gets to class safely.

We have had a great summer here on Roosevelt Island, and I hope we can continue that through the fall.

Bike New York setting up shop

Bike New York is a not-for-profit organization, with a mission to facilitate and promote cycling in all five boroughs of New York City through education and public events, as well as to collaborate with both community organizations and municipal agencies. Bike New York comes to our Island through a generous grant to establish a bicycle education center. In looking for the ideal neighborhood, Bike New York identified Roosevelt Island as their preferred location and we are glad they saw what we knew already!

We are in the process of finalizing their location on the Island, but once opened, they will conduct workshops and other events that encourage biking as an exercise, as a form of commuting and just away to spend a lovely Saturday afternoon on our waterfront. We will share more details about Bike New York and its services as plans are finalized.

Closing out the summer with The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club is the final installment in RIOC’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series. If you are reading this on Friday, come join us for our last summer film. The movie will start at 8:15 p.m., but the fun starts at South Point Park at 7:00 p.m. with family friendly trivia with fun prizes. The park is ADA-accessible, and the Red Bus will stop at the nearby bus stop every 15 minutes. This summer has seen hundreds of people come to our movies, and for the most part the weather has cooperated. Next summer, we hope to bring another slate of great films to the Island to enjoy under the stars.

Fall for Arts

We are beginning to look forward to the Fall and our events calendar is filling up. One of our more popular events is Fall for Arts. We always enjoy celebrating art throughout our community and I am looking forward to my first Fall for Arts festival scheduled for Saturday, October 5th. I will be discussing this further in the coming weeks, but I just want give everyone something to look forward to as the leaves begin to fall and the temperature begins to cool.

Motorgate renovations continue

As the renovations keep moving on the Motorgate garage, another section is now complete. Section 5A, both North and South, has been completed. Work will now move to Section 5B. As these improvements and renovations continue, we want to remind everyone who uses Motorgate to follow posted signs and move slowly through the garage. Safety is our number one priority, so we urge you to exercise caution.

OEM comes to Roosevelt Island to talk evacuation routes

This past Tuesday, working with other co-sponsors, we brought the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to the Island to talk about evacuation routes. As storms get worse year by year, our residents need to know what to do if an evacuation is ordered. OEM graciously came to the Island to give a presentation at the Manhattan Park Theater Club about what to do in an evacuation emergency.

On behalf of everyone at RIOC, I want to wish the entire Roosevelt Island community a Happy Labor Day.
More on Bike New York



at their web site.

7 comments :

YetAnotherRIer said...

I always hate it when I have to listen to the myth how biking is the "fastest way to get around." That is one of the root causes why a) bicyclists are aggressive, b) bicyclists don't get respect, and c) bicyclists get into fatal accidents. But anyway, I support Bike New York.

CheshireKitty said...

Biking is not always the fastest way to get around - certainly can't beat inter-city trains. Biking isn't the safest way to get around. And biking has drawbacks in inclement weather, which unfortunately New York gets quite a bit of, if you think of the raining days, the freezing cold days, the ice, the very hot days, etc etc.


Biking is not the solution to NY's transportation problems. Mass transit is - hopefully mass transit that is more environmentally-friendly and cheaper. How about all-electric City buses? Or would the oil barons find a way to block that.


However, biking should be encouraged as another alternative to mass transit on days it is safe/feasible to bike, for recreation, fitness etc.


I am not in favor of mass bike lanes, however. Bikes are always allowed on streets - either riding to the right of traffic or in the right hand lane. Of course they cannot keep up with the speed/acceleration of cars if they ride in lanes. Unless cars are removed on a mass basis, with dedicated, protected bike lanes put in, the current striping of lanes along-side parked cars, is silly/unnecessary.


We should have more bike lanes - either go all the way and remove parking on a mass basis and replace parked cars with bike lanes beside the sidewalk, or just leave things as is - with cyclists riding to the right of traffic beside parked cars (no striping required since this continues to be the accepted area where bikes can travel along the street - sharing the lane with cars).

rilander said...

I will not and do not support biking on city streets unless and until bike riders must take drivers ed, pass a road test, and be held accountable for safety by being issued summons for violating traffic laws. Right now these maniacs ignore red lights, weave in and out of traffic, cut around cars, and ignore road safety.

Also, I do not see biking home from Costco with 36 rolls of Charmin across the handlebars!

CheshireKitty said...

Yes - some say bikes/bikers should be registered, licensed, insured, just like drivers of cars.

YetAnotherRIer said...

Bicyclists are not any worse than pedestrians or drivers. They all push the law to is limits and try endlessly to get away with everything. Bicyclists are low hanging fruit, though.

YetAnotherRIer said...

There is one take away I got from NYC's Summer Streets. Give bicyclists a dedicated route from uptown to downtown. Having Park Avenue those three Saturdays made riding joyful and safe. Cars have high ways, pedestrians have sidewalks, bicyclists need something exclusive, too.

Im not talking bike lanes. But imagine closing Broadway for all car traffic permanently. This must be doable.

Mark Lyon said...

Bikes can, and do, frequently get tickets in NYC. For example: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/tickets-bike-riders-mahattan-brooklyn-nypd-article-1.1384700


On the other hand, traffic enforcement for automobiles actually seems rather lax, compared to many other areas of the country. It's particularly frustrating that in NYC a driver can mow down someone and, as long as they don't speed off, the police will usually give them a minor ticket and announce that "no criminality is suspected" and let them go on their way.