Report From RIOC President Leslie Torres - Main Street Master Leaseholder Tentatively Done, New Red Bus Management, Sportspark Pool Membership, Good Shepherd Plaza Renovations & More on Roosevelt Island

Image of RIOC President Leslie Torres

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Lesie Torres sends the following report to Roosevelt Island residents.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, with good news to report on the Commercial Space Master Lease, the red buses, a new pool membership structure for Sportspark, and the
Good Shepherd Community Center.

Commercial Space Master Lease Moving Forward

I am pleased to announce that we have come to tentative terms on the Commercial Space Master Lease. All the necessary requirements under the Public Authorities Law should be completed in time for the May 23rd Board meeting. We look forward to working with a master lessee to upgrade the island's commercial corridor.

Red Buses Under New Management

I know many of you have expressed concern about the Red Bus schedule and stops. It is an issue we are concerned about too. Getting it right is one of our top priorities.

To that end, I am happy to report that we have hired Cyril “Cy” Opperman, a bus operations expert with over 31 years of experience. Cy comes to us from the New York City Transit Authority, where he worked his way up from bus operator to General Superintendant of the West Farms Depot. I know he’ll be a great asset to the Red Bus operations.

Cy’s priorities are safety and the schedule. He’s a hands-on manager and has been riding the buses for a few weeks prior to his official start. So if you see Cy on the bus, say hello. I know he’s eager to hear from residents about their Red Bus experience.

Sports Park Pool Membership

Beginning in May, RIOC will be offering discounted pool memberships. For more information on the membership program please visit www.RIOC.ny.gov

Renovations at Good Shepherd Community Center

Every day Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation staff is busy making repairs and working on construction projects big and small. One of our current large projects is the renovation of Good Shepherd Community Center.

The community center was built as a church in 1889 to serve the residents of the many almshouses that were constructed on Welfare Island, as Roosevelt Island was then known. The community center was landmarked in 1975.

Over the years, the center continued to serve religious purposes, but also became the site of numerous community meetings, concerts, and other events. You can find more information on the center’s website at www.goodshepherdchapel.net

The Roosevelt Island Operating Committee has been working to make much-needed repairs to the center, and over the next several months we’ll embark on a complete renovation of the center’s plaza. Our overall goal is to maintain or restore the original look and feel of the center and plaza.

As I mentioned in a recent column, we have already begun, and in some cases completed work on the center’s interior. We’ve replaced the floor and doors in the downstairs community room and are now working on replacing the heating, ventilation and cooling system. We’ll also replace the nearly 30-year-old fire alarm and fire suppression system.

The center’s red doors and the wood church floor are also in a state of great disrepair. We believe that the doors and floor are original to the building – making them more than 120 years old. We are looking to replace them and are also exploring replacing the current asphalt roof shingles with slate, which was the material originally used for the roof.

The bigger renovations are the ones we’ll make to the center’s plaza, including fixing the poor drainage, uneven pavement, cracked pavers, and poor lighting in the area.

Here is a brief run-down of the work that will begin shortly. We hope to have repairs completed by July. During the first phase or renovations, visitors will be able to access the community center via the north side. During phase II, access will be available through the West. We will have access for the disabled during all times.

Plaza Floor:

Many of the current pavers are cracked and broken. We will replace all the pavers with ones that are twice as thick, while maintaining the current plaza design. We’ll also put in new trench drains to provide better plaza drainage.

Sidewalk:

The Z-brick sidewalk will be replaced with concrete. We understand residents’ desire to keep the beautiful z-bricks. We’d like to keep them too, but there are no more z-brick manufacturers from whom we can buy the bricks.

Lighting:

The lights will be replaced with the same light poles and fixtures installed on Main Street.

Benches:

We will replace the current benches with ones that better fit with the look of the community center. We are considering adding additional benches and welcome input from the community. If you have suggestions, please email them to GSChapelproject@rioc.com or call us at 212-832-4540 x327.

You can get more information about the community center and plaza reconstruction by viewing the presentation on our website at http://rioc.ny.gov/pdf/GSChapelProject.pdf
Service Disruptions on the F Line.

I wanted to alert you to planned Service Disruptions on the F Line. On the weekends of April 9th-11th and April 23rd-25th, there will be no Northbound (Queens-bound) F train service at the Roosevelt Island Station. RIOC will provide Tram service throughout the service disruption. For more information please refer to www.MTA.info or www.RIOC.ny.gov

Until next time,

Leslie Torres

A version of the RIOC President's column also appears on RIOC's web site and the April 9, 2011 Main Street WIRE.

UPDATE 2:30 PM - Here's Roosevelt Island's new Red Bus Manager Cy Opperman on the job at a bus stop.

Image From Jonathan Kalkin at Yfrog