Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Watch Roosevelt Island Kahn FDR Four Freedoms Boondoggle Built In Seven Minutes Time Lapse Video


You Tube Video Of FDR Four Freedoms Time Lapse

By ROOSEVELT ISLANDER at 10:40:00 PM

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7 comments :

RooseveltIslander said...

Resident Vicki Feinmel asked me to post this comment from her.

"I took a walk down to the FDR Four Freedoms Park hoping that I would change my mind about it and like it. Instead my conviction that it doesn't belong on Roosevelt Island is stronger than ever and, of course, it is now here forever. It's a spectacular work of architecture that belongs in Washington, DC with all the other "Memorials". Let's please start calling a spade a spade. This is not a park but is a Memorial and will never be anything other than that.

What were the jewels of Southpoint were its views and the Renwick Ruins. The views are now blocked by giant slabs of granite and overwhelms the Ruins. There's no pleasing transition from Southpoint Park to the Ruins to the Memorial. The Memorial overpowers all.

When you walk on the gravel paths by the trees, you wonder how you could possibly enjoy it as a park. Are you going to place chairs or blankets on the gravel, blocking the walking path or on the grass where the sun will beat down on you? Are you aware of any park that doesn't allow bicycle riding, eating or dogs? This is a sad joke and again the joke is on us. After all, what has this added to the Roosevelt Island community? It has taken away valuable views and parkland. Yes, there was a survey. Because of the usual apathy, not many voted. So decisions are made by those who show up. Half of those who voted wanted the Wild Gardens concept, which was presented as a option, and the other half were ok with the FDR Memorial.

Also because of a lack of vision and effort to reach out to those who might invest in the Wild Gardens concept, those with the money, FERI, made it the easiest solution, so they won the crown jewels.

Some of our neighbors wanted this; our politicians wanted this, I was told the Governor, at that time, wanted this and one of our political representatives told me Sutton Place wanted this. Last month, all the politicians were here to celebrate FDR and the democratic way. Another joke. Roosevelt Island does not have DEMOCRACY. Our politicians know it and most just don't care enough. Politics, apathy and lack of vision and effort as usual on Roosevelt Island."

November 17, 2012 at 8:08 PM
CheshireKitty said...

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden also does not allow food, pets, or bikes - and sitting on the lawn is only permitted in one designated area in the large, multi-acre park. I have no problem with having one park on RI set aside as a quiet, meditative park-memorial. We have plenty of other spaces and parks on RI - including the promenade - wherein you can eat, drink, bbq, throw frisbees, ride a bike, etc. Unfortunately, one of the nicest somewhat "wild" areas - by the water tunnel project and soccer field - was decimated by Shane's ill-considered removal of scores of wonderful old trees, which were subsequently only partially "replaced" by "generic, plain vanilla" pine trees. It's hard to think of any remaining even somewhat "wild areas" on RI which is truly a shame - I agree that we should have kept some wild areas; it could have been the area of the 4 Freedoms Park, but it did not turn out that way. Since 4 Freedoms Park has now been completed, I would just leave it alone, experience it as almost a sanctuary of quiet contemplation.

November 17, 2012 at 9:15 PM
Cindy said...

Gosh, so much negativity, hatred and anger from Vicki!

November 17, 2012 at 11:10 PM
Westviewer said...

Wild Gardens was chosen and is the park to the north of the FDR Memorial. The southernmost tip of the island was never part of the parkland to be developed. It was always reserved for the memorial, which was planned for at the very beginning. The open spaces on the island are not the property of the people who rent apartments here, any more than Central Park belongs to the people living on its perimeter. The rest is a matter of taste. Louis Kahn was a great architect with a unique vision that not everyone gets. What some people feel as a spare spiritual quality, others see as stark monumentality. It's here to stay. Get over it.

November 18, 2012 at 1:24 PM
Frank Farance said...

Westviewer, your "Get over it" and Cindy's: "Gosh, so much negativity, hatred and anger from Vicki Feinmel", inspired me to Check It Out, so here are my impressions.

Madonna With Child.

Arriving at the Hill With Stairs makes no sense. It's just a mound of dirt that cramps the Ruins and that mound of dirt serves no purpose because you're going to climb those stairs (A Metaphor For: The Struggle In Life) which you descend back down again on the other side (A Metaphor For: The Ultimate Letdown Of Life Itself) and walk through the antiseptic rows of trees (A Metaphor For: The Infirm Years And Hospice Care) that narrow and focus upon the bust of FDR (A Metaphor For: The Self-Reflection Upon One's Life, i.e., We Are Not As Great As FDR) that take you to a room of FOUR freedoms with only THREE walls (A Metaphor For: The Degenerative Mental State Of Delirium), the shallow pool with rotten leaves (A Metaphor For: The Indignity Of Incontinence), and finally the flocks of seagulls awaiting chum from another fishing boat (A Metaphor For: The Final Agony Resulting In Death), surrounded by the East River (A Metaphor For: Purgatory), with little Belmont Island in the distance (A Metaphor For: The Afterlife). One turns around and there are parks department people in pairs that have interesting but historically inaccurate tidbits about the Island, the place, and the monument (A Metaphor For: The Bureaucracy Of Death, Hearses, Morticians, Burial Fees, And Such).

As I was leaving I discovered I might have it all wrong. This is not about Death, but about Life! Maybe even about Birth! Yes, we are starting at the room not of FOUR freedoms, or THREE walls, but a room of TWO sides (A Metaphor For: The Ovaries) as the park visitor (A Metaphor For: The Sperm) passes the Bust Of FDR (A Metaphor For: The Embryo) within the lawn and trees (A Metaphor For: The Uterus), the trees as PLANTS themselves (A Metaphor For: Uterine Wall Im-Plant-ation), the smooth long stone slabs along the park's edges (A Metaphor For: The Placenta), the stairs are now seen as an obstacle in the positive sense (A Metaphor For: The Mucus Plug That Protects The Uterus), the walkway in front of the Ruins (A Metaphor For: The Birth Canal), that transitions us from the FDR Memorial (A Metaphor For: The Sterility Of The Womb) to Wild Gardens (A Metaphor For: The Chaotic Vibrancy Of Life).

In other words, the true exhilaration comes from leaving the memorial and returning back to life. Or said differently, the FDR Monument with the Wild Gardens is a Madonna With Child presented in an architectural setting. Louis Kahn is a genius.

:-)

Seriously, immerse yourself in the Monument and notice on the way out how the Ruins look more beautiful than you'd had ever realized. Maybe you'll even see how the rows of trees have their best look now (i.e., leaf-less).

[Note: Having several college roommates majoring in literature, art, and architecture, I've borrowed some of their finest writings and insights.]

November 18, 2012 at 9:48 PM
CheshireKitty said...

LOTFLMAO! Excellent!

November 18, 2012 at 10:21 PM
Westviewer said...

Everyone is entitled to impressions.

November 19, 2012 at 1:07 PM

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