Kahn Design Survey Results Are In- 83 Against, 79 Support, 11 Neutral - Update 5:30 PM - 97 Against, 94 Support, 16 Neutral

RIRA President Matt Katz explains Survey from PressHD.

This past week a second opinion survey was taken of Roosevelt Island residents views on Southpoint Park and the proposed Louis Kahn/FDR memorial. The first survey, done by the Trust for the Public Land, indicated that a majority of residents were opposed to the Kahn design for Southpoint Park but was criticized by supporters of Kahn for the alleged inadequacy of the survey. This latest survey was designed by the Roosevelt Island Resident's Association and distributed to approximately 4000 Roosevelt Island apartments in the April 12 Main Street WIRE. The survey form was to be filled out and handed back within the week.

The survey procedure was explained by RIRA President Matt Katz in the above video from Press HD. The survey is here and allowed residents three options. Vote For the Kahn design, Against the Kahn design or Neutral, which meant the respondent had no opinion or the opinion was mixed. The survey also allowed residents to express their views in greater detail by checking off a series of statements regarding their opinions on the Kahn design and adding comments.

Last night the locked ballot box was opened and the raw survey votes tabulated.


The raw votes are as follows. Of the 173 surveys filled out and handed in, 83 were against the Kahn design, 79 were for and 11 had no opinion. In Roosevelt Island's version of the media exit polls, more information will become available on why people voted the way they did when the individual surveys are evaluated for comments and the checked statements.

UPDATE - 5:45 PM: Additional ballots were found in the RIRA P.O. Box. Total number of votes now 207. From RIRA President Matt Katz:

Upon checking the RIRA PO box today, I found additional surveys. Lots. The total count is now 207 (!) with the breakdown as follows:

94 in favor, 97 opposed with 16 neutral. This doesn’t appreciably change the percentages.