Report From RIOC President Charlene Indelicato - Roosevelt Island Spring Construction Projects Begin For West Pier, Good Shepherd Streetscape, Octagon Tennis Resurfacing, Lighthouse Park Footbridges, Tram Station Painting & More

Image of 2012 Summer West Pier With Restaurant from Judy Berdy

Image of West Pier During 2012 Hurricane Sandy

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Charlene Indelicato sends the following report to the community.

This Winter, heavy snow and freezing temperatures have kept our staff busy plowing the roads, clearing the sidewalks and maintaining the Island’s facilities during the harsh weather conditions. As the weather begins to warm up, we’re getting ready for work to move forward on new and existing capital projects. Our Grounds Department has already begun preparations for the athletic fields to re-open in early April, a new session of Mommy & Me classes is beginning soon, and other activities on the Island are picking up. We are looking forward to a warm and productive Spring on Roosevelt Island.

Spring Construction Projects

Work resumed last Friday on the West Pier after a wave of cold and snowy weather. Weather permitting, construction on the Pier is projected to be completed by the beginning of April 2014.

At the Good Shepherd Community Center, the ceiling and doors of the northern section of the west entryway are undergoing restoration off-site. Restoration architects and the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission are reviewing samples of the proposed rehabilitation work to ensure its quality. The work, which is projected to be completed before Fall 2014, will also include cleaning and restoration of the entrances’ walls and lighting.

Two meetings regarding the Good Shepherd Streetscape project have been conducted with the community, during which designs for the plantings and positioning of the benches were finalized. An RFP for the work will be issued upon the completion of the final construction drawings. We would like to extend our thanks to the community for their valuable input during this process and are looking forward to the next phase of this project.

April will mark the beginning of several important construction projects. The Octagon Tennis Courts will be resurfaced, work will begin on the Lighthouse Park footbridges, the sidewalks near the Roosevelt Island Tram Station will be repaired, and the Tram stations themselves will be repainted. While all of these developments are scheduled to begin in the first week of April, the work is weather-sensitive and will require warm temperatures to proceed. We will continue to keep the community updated as work progresses.

Eight responses to the Cultural Center’s construction Request for Proposals were received by the submission deadline (February 28). RIOC is currently evaluating the responses and beginning the rating and ranking process. A contractor will be selected and construction will begin within the next few months.

In mid-to-late March, a crane will be transported by barge to the Riverwalk Building 7 construction site. While the crane is being moved onto the Island, the East promenade will be closed for approximately half a day. An advisory will be issued to notify the public of the specific time and date of this closure.

Mommy & Me

Registration for the March-May session of Mommy & Me Water Safety classes is available online at RIOC’s new Parks & Recreation website http://rioc.recdesk.com. With the assistance of a parent or guardian, participants aged six months to three years will learn basic swimming skill sets that include submersions, blowing bubbles underwater and movement in the water. Classes are available on Sunday and Wednesday mornings – check online for times and other details. This 8-week session runs from the week of March 16 to the week of May 4, with makeup classes during the week of May 11. While four time slots are currently available, each time slot must have a minimum of 6 families preregistered in order for that class to take place. There is a maximum of 13 families per class. Online enrollment ends this coming Wednesday, March 12 – any classes that do not meet the minimum amount of participants will be combined with another time slot. If you have any questions or if you prefer to register in person, please email Eddie.Perez@rioc.ny.gov or call (212) 832-4569.

Red Bus Fares

As a reminder, the Red Bus will be free to ride beginning April 1. The decision to eliminate the fare was made in order to encourage the use of mass transit, keep traffic on Main Street moving as a result of faster boarding times, and to reduce operating costs by eliminating the need to collect fares from the buses. If you have a fare change card, please be advised that March is the last month these cards will be accepted on the bus. Once the fare is eliminated, refunds for any unused value remaining on the cards will be available at the RIOC Bus Garage (680 Main Street) until April 30, 2014.