RIRA President Reports On Blackwell Park Plan, Red Bus Schedule/Signage, Public Safety Investigation & Town Hall Meeting

Image of June 2009 RIRA Meeting

RIRA President Frank Farance sends the following report to Roosevelt Island residents.

1. RIOC-RIRA collaboration on Blackwell Park. At the June 17 RIRA town hall meeting, Rosina Abramson, RIOC Vice President of Planning and Inter-Governmental Affairs, led an interactive discussion on RIOC's intention to remodel the park. RIOC is seeking the community's input on developing a master plan (not a blueprint). Abramson's first step is to identify the stakeholders. RIRA's committee chairs will convene meetings over the summer. Residents are welcome to participate in the discussions. Meeting announcements will be posted on kiosks.

2. Ongoing progress on RIOC-RIRA collaboration on red bus schedule. Following the improvement of segment #2 (late morning, 9:55 to noon), RIOC is now experimenting with segment #1, the morning rush. Segment #1 is more complex because three routes operate simultaneously (Octagon Local, Octagon Express, and Firehouse Local), and Main Street traffic is more congested. According to Fernando Martinez, RIOC Vice President of Operations, they are testing a single synchronization point at Octagon (rather than both Octagon and the tram), which means that service is likely to be regular at the southbound stops during the morning rush. There are still some quirks, so we are trying variations. The current versions will need refinement once school resumes in September. Meanwhile, it's nice to see steady progress in improving the red bus schedule.

3. Assemblyman Kellner provides funding for red bus signs. Mr. Kellner has allocated $10,000 to RIRA for bus arrival displays that will indicate the number of minutes until the next bus. RIOC will install the signs.

4. RIRA Public Safety Committee. Erin Feely-Nahem, elected committee chair by the RIRA Common Council, will lead RIRA's investigation into the May 30 baseball field incident, and report back to RIRA and the community. She would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who witnessed events at the field. She's at 917-939-1178 or, by e-mail, at efeelynahem@aol.com. Confidentiality will be honored.

5. RIRA Town Hall Meeting on Public Safety. RIRA will hold a town hall meeting on July 22 from 8-9:30 p.m. for community input on Public Safety. The agenda will be posted on kiosks prior to the meeting. Public Safety will participate in the meeting, and has been asked to give a presentation on how adults and children should interact with officers.

6. RIRA experiment on Town Hall meetings are a success. For the past six months, in advance of RIOC board meetings, RIRA has held monthly town hall meetings (separate from RIRA's monthly Common Council meetings) that enabled residents to participate in community discussion of items on the board agenda and other topics. RIOC has helped by encouraging participation of their officers, directors, and staff. The events have been moderated, informed, and civil, and they have started and ended on time. The experiment is a success, and the meetings will be a regular occurrence.

The RIRA President's message was also published as the RIRA column in the 6/27/09 Main Street WIRE.