Beautiful Southpoint Park Flowers and July 11 Manhattanhenge Captured By Roosevelt Island Photographer Tatiana Muzica

Roosevelt Island photographer Tatiana Muzica shares this picture of Southpoint Park flowers

and July 11 Manhattanhenge.

Glee Filming In New York City This Weekend - Rumor That Glee Will Be Filming On Roosevelt Island Sunday Evening - RIOC Says No Roosevelt Island Sunday Glee Shoot

I Love New York from jo on Vimeo.

On Location Vacations tweeted:

GLEE for SUNDAY in NYC rumor they're filming @ Battery Park Ferry Terminal in AM,Bathesda Fountain in afternoon, Roosevelt Island in evening
— olv (@olv) July 14, 2012

I asked the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) if it was true that Glee will be filming on Roosevelt Island tomorrow. RIOC's Press Spokesperson replied:

There is no Glee film shoot.

Other reports have Glee filming next Sunday on Roosevelt Island.

Glee will be filming next Sunday in 3- : Roosevelt Island for NYC skyline at 5pm (via @MoncheleForLife ) twitter.com/GleeIsAllINeed…
— Ms Leanatic(@GleeIsAllINeed) July 14, 2012

Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department Community Meeting Taser Presentation Last Night - Here's What Happened

 Image of Taser From Gothamist

As reported previously, the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department has requested the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) to:

... consider allowing Public Safety Officers to be equipped with Tasers to better protect the officers from injuries caused by suspects resisting arrest, for help gaining compliance from suspects as well as preventing disturbed people from injuring themselves....

Last night, Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department conducted a Community Meeting Presentation on Tasers:

Image From RIOC

The meeting began with a presentation by Public Safety Director Keith Guerra making his case for the Tasers to be used by Public Safety Officers. Here's what he had to say.

You Tube Video of Roosevelt Island Taser Presentation (Part 1)

Following Mr. Guerra's presentation there was a question and answer period with the audience. Here's the first half of the Q & A period. (second half of Taser Q&A will be added later today).

You Tube Video of Roosevelt Island Taser Presentation (Part 2)

More information on Roosevelt Island Taser issue as well as comments from readers at this post.

UPDATE 9:30 PM - Here's the remaining portion of the question and answer session.

You Tube Video of Roosevelt Island Taser Presentation (Part 3)

It would have been more helpful had this community meeting included experts on Tasers who had a different view from the Public Safety Department on the use of Tasers so that a full and complete review of the issue could be fairly examined. For instance, Gothamist reported in October 2011 article:

... according to a new report [pdf] from the NYCLU, "police officers are using Tasers in inappropriate, irresponsible and downright deadly manner." As the saying goes: shoot 50,000 volts of electricity into somebody's chest first, ask questions later.

Studying 851 Taser incidents from eight police department across the state (including the NYPD), 60% of those cases did not meet the expert-recommended standards that restrict the use of a Taser to "situations where officers can document active aggression or a risk of physical injury." 40% of the incidents involved "at-risk subjects" like the elderly, children, the visibly infirm, or those who were seriously intoxicated or mentally ill.

It also appears that Taser's aren't colorblind: 58% of all Taser incidents in the state involved black or Latino suspects. And in 75% of the occurrences, no warning was reported. In half of the surveyed jurisdictions, no verbal warning is required before an officer uses his Taser gun....

Roosevelt Island resident Mark Lyon made an excellent point during the meeting and as a comment to this post:

... Last night, at the PSD Presentation, they made it clear that they would not create final policies before approaching the board for approval.  They instead would wait until after approval.  Personally, I think having finalized policies in place would make it easier for the board to evaluate whether to approve purchase of these devices.

More information is clearly needed before any decision is made by RIOC Directors on Tasers being used by Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department.

Any Suggestions For Cooling Down The Roosevelt Island Tram Cabins During Brutally Hot Days - RIOC Operations Committee Is Looking For Answers

Image Of Heat Exhaustion From AltaVista For Illustrative Purposes Only

Reported June 22:

Roosevelt Island resident Todd Williams sends in a suggestion for cooling down the Roosevelt Island Tram on brutally hot days:

Because it is dangerously hot in the tram on warmer days (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if someone passes out on the tram one day), I have suggested to a couple of the operators and to one of the guys in the control station that they place some industrial strength fans at the tram station to blow air through the tram while it is stationary and people are waiting inside. This will help remove some stale air and keep people a little cooler before it takes off....

During the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) June 25 Operations Committee meeting (full audio webcast of meeting here), RIOC Director David Kraut asked RIOC VP of Operations Fernando Martinez what can be done to prevent passengers, particularly children and older people, from passing out from heat exhaustion on the Tram.

Mr. Martinez explained that when the Tram was redesigned, it was decided not to include air conditioning in the Cabins because of the added weight which would reduce the number of passengers permitted to ride in the Cabins and the time needed to charge the batteries.

Mr. Kraut said that now that we have a greater experience of the Tram Cabin heat problem, let's look for a solution to the problem. It might be some sort of fan or air conditioning system that RIOC was not aware of but perhaps other people might have the solution.

Mr. Martinez said the matter will be discussed with Tram Operator Poma.

Here's the discussion.



Yesterday, I sent the following question to Mr. Martinez:

...during recent Operations Committee meeting, subject of cooling the Tram Cabins during very hot weather was discussed. Have any plans been made for fans, air conditioning or any other method of cooling down the Tram Cabins during hot weather?

Will update when an answer is received.

Take A Virtual Run Around Roosevelt Island With NYC Runs July 4 Firecracker 10K

You ever wonder what it is like to run around Roosevelt Island? Wonder no longer. Here's a video of the NYC Runs July 4 Roosevelt Island Firecracker 10 K.

You Tube Video of July 4, 2012 Roosevelt Island 10 K Run

Whew, I need a rest now.

Community Presentation On Use Of Tasers By Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department July 12 - Are Tasers Necessary Law Enforcement Tool Or Unnecessary Danger To Roosevelt Island Community?

 Image From RIOC

An invitation from the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC):

The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department invites the community to attend a presentation on Tasers led by Keith Guerra, Director of Public Safety. The meeting will take place on Thursday, July 12th at 6:00 PM at the Manhattan Park Theater Club, located at 8 River Road. Representatives from Taser International and a Police Sergeant/Taser Instructor will also be in attendance. Immediately following the presentation, attendees will have the opportunity to comment and ask questions.

For more information, please visit http://rioc.ny.gov/pdf/Tasers.pdf

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

In response to my request for comment on the possibility of Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department being armed with Tasers, RIOC's Press Spokesperson replied yesterday:

Before a decision is made about whether RIOC's Public Safety Department officers will be equipped with tasers in the future, we will seek to discuss the issue thoroughly with the RIOC Board and the Roosevelt Island community. This process will continue with the community meeting on July 12, hosted by PSD, in which experts on tasers will be offering an informational and educational presentation. The leadership and officers of PSD believe that the taser is a valuable and safe law enforcement tool that would help protect the lives and well-being of both officers and subjects. We encourage any member of the community who would like to learn more about this issue to attend the July 12 meeting.

I replied yesterday:

As a follow up - will there also be an expert on Tasers at the July 12 Presentation who has a different view on the use of Tasers than the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department?

Also, will RIOC provide to Roosevelt Islander Online the PDF version of Taser presentation made by Keith Guerra to the Operations Committee meeting so it can be shared with the rest of the Roosevelt Island community ?

Have not received an answer yet. Will update if answer is received.

RIOC Director Margie Smith adds:

I’d just like you to make it clear that this is a very preliminary look at tasers. No decision has been made by management and none will be made without lots more discussion.

The issue of arming Roosevelt Island Public Safety Officers was a subject at the June 4 RIOC Operations Committee meeting.  Public Safety Department Director Keith Guerra provided a presentation on Tasers and, as reported in this previous post, asked the RIOC Directors:

... to consider allowing Public Safety Officers to be equipped with Tasers to better protect the officers from injuries caused by suspects resisting arrest, for help gaining compliance from suspects as well as preventing disturbed people from injuring themselves....

An audio webcast of Mr. Guerra's presentation is available at this post as well as on RIOC's web site.

Are Tasers an appropriate weapon for use by the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department? Reader David Enoch comments on that question:

Tasers Are Lethal Weapons.

Tasers are not the non-lethal weapons they are portrayed to be by the manufacturer. They can and do kill. It's one thing to use a stun gun on an apparently healthy, calm individual in a relaxed and controlled environment such as was demonstrated by PSD Chief Guerra. It's another to use a taser on a real-life target in a state of high distress and in the midst of a confrontation. In his presentation Chief Guerra tries to convince the audience that there is little to fear from the use of Tasers by allowing himself to be Tasered—apparently unaware that police officers in at least five US states have filed lawsuits against Taser International claiming they suffered serious injuries after being shocked with the device during training classes...and a memorandum from the Aberdeen Proving Ground, a United States Army weapons test site, discouraged shocking soldiers with Tasers in training, contrary to Taser International's recommendations. The Army's occupational health sciences director warned that "Seizures and severely abnormal heart rhythms can be induced by the electric current." and that "the practice of using these weapons on U.S. Army military and civilian forces in training is not recommended, given the potential risks."

A Warning by Taser International

In 2009, the manufacturer Taser International issued a warning and new targeting guidelines to law enforcement agencies to avoid tasing suspects in the chest area due to the potential for cardiac arrests and lawsuits. A Texas Constable whose deputy recently used a Taser weapon against an unarmed 72-year-old woman (resulting in a $40,000 lawsuit settlement), describes Taser's directive as "not really practical". Unless of course you can shoot like Wyatt Earp or Annie Oakley.

Unknown Pre-existing health conditions

Typically, officers will not know about a person's medical history or possible drug use which means it matters little where on the body the person is hit and can mean the risk of death with virtually any suspect.

Increased Use of Force Endangers All of Us

Critics claim that risk-averse police officers resort to using "non-lethal" Tasers in situations in which they otherwise would have used more conventional, less violent alternatives, such as trying to reason with a possible suspect.

-in Jacksonville, Florida, a 21year old man was pulled over by police because his car radio was too loud. After a struggle he and a passenger escaped on foot, an officer gave chase, caught the young man and tasered him at least three times. He died later in custody.

-an Oxford, Ohio a man died after being stunned by a Taser for 10 seconds while interfering with a friend's arrest by Police. He was hospitalized after the confrontation and died five days later.

Let's not escalate what little criminal behavior there is on the Island. Or endanger the lives of innocent people. Rather, let's continue to support Chief Guerra in his effort to build a confident and respected Public Safety Department, without Tasers.

David Enock
Roosevelt Island resident 36 years

Reader Jimmy LaRoche has another opinion:

You are seriously dillusional. Are you going to do a law enforcement job with no real defense tools?

A stick is not enough if you encounter a man with a knife or gun.

The escalation of force for police is to match or use one above the level they are using on you. So.. If the subject is using a bat, an officer can use a gun. If a subject is using their fist, an officer can use his mace or stick. If a subject has a knife or gun... Well... Now what? Run? No! Use a gun!

You obviously don't know about the growing gang problem and the hooligans who hang out under the motorcade smoking and dealing drugs, and the various suspicious vehicles who drop off items and depart rather rapidly from front of 2 river road.

Your 36 years means nothing if your head is buried in the sand and you are truly unaware of the realities.

Did you know that psd arrested a gang rival last february WHO WAS ARMED WITH A GUN???? Yah, it wasn't nypd that magically showed up. Several BRAVE officers ran after the gunman and apprehended him and ultimately arrested him.

Did you know they could have been shot and killed?

I guess things CAN NEVER HAPPEN HERE!

We live in a magical fairy land. Oh look over there! It's humpy dumpy and Cinderella! Let's stroll over with the piped piper and sing a tune!

Yes psd are our law enforcers. This is not a sovereignty of Norwegia. This is new York friggin city.
Everyone wants to be part of the city but noone wants to believe we live in NYC! A city of 7++million, a city where anything can happen at any time!

I don't wish this upon you but have you ever been robbed? I know I have! Not on the island but it's a scary feeling especially if you don't know he has a gun.

Welcome to Roosevelt Island folks where the only people who can carry lethal weapons and it makes the blog for a day and NOT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONELL.

Did you forget in your 36 years here the various shootings that happened here! We had one several years ago in 4 river road, make that 2 shootings there! We had a person break car windows by manhattan park, when a passerby saw him he ran away and dropped a loaded gun!

I ask you, is that scary? Do you think, logically of course... If it happened before, will it or will it not ever happen again?

My logic points me at YES, only a matter of time.It happen last FEBRUARY!

Here's an example of a taser demonstration:



and a report last month from a Taser victim speaking out about her experience.

Video From BoingBoing via Mark Lyon

In the past, RIOC Directors have opposed arming Public Safety Officers with tasers and/or guns. It will be interesting to see what new rationale and evidence Mr. Guerra provides to demonstrate the need for RIOC Directors to reverse their previous policy and to now arm Public Safety officers with Tasers.

More information on Roosevelt Island Taser issue at this previous post.

Roosevelt Island Mobile Food Trucks Side By Side - Eddie's Pizza and La Bella Torte Italian Pastries With Pier NYC Waterfront Restaurant Make An Exciting Time For Roosevelt Island

Eddie's Pizza and La Bella Torte Mobile Food Trucks were side by side this evening on Roosevelt Island's West Road across from Starbucks serving hungry Roosevelt Islanders and visitors. I did not have anything from Eddie's tonight but did have the Chocolate Cheese Cake from La Bella Torte and it was very good.

It's an exciting time on Roosevelt Island with the opening of Pier NYC Waterfront Restaurant

 Image Of Pier NYC From RIHS President Judy Berdy

as well as the new food options and competition to existing restaurants provided by the Mobil Food trucks - and more food truck are coming soon.

Also, Main Street Master Leaseholder Hudson Related will hopefully be bringing in some more restaurants to the middle of Roosevelt Island in addition to the new Coach Scot's Main Street Sweets Ice Cream Store that will be opening in a few months.

As one reader put it:

Our little island is growing up ... finally! :-)

I agree.

Roosevelt Island Constituent Office Hours With NY State Senator Jose Serrano Tomorrow 4 - 7 PM - Discuss Any Concerns Or Suggestions You May Have With His Office Staff

 Image Of State Senator Serrano With Constituent At June 9, 2012 Roosevelt Island Day

Received the following message from Roosevelt Island's New York State Senator Jose Serrano

Constituent Services on Roosevelt Island TOMORROW!

Serrano Roosevelt Island Constituent Hours*

Wednesday, July 11, 2011

4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

591 Main Street

Roosevelt Island, NY 10044

Meet with Senator Serrano's staff to discuss any concerns or suggestions you may have to improve your community.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our office at (212) 828-5829. We look forward to meeting with you!

*Constituent Services are also available Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm, in Senator Serrano's District Office at 157 East 104th Street.

Roosevelt Island's Cornell NYC Tech Campus Will Make NYC The High Tech Capital Of The World Says Technion Professor - Cornell Will Give Update To Community Board 8 Cornell/Roosevelt Island Task Force July 31

Image  of preliminary Roosevelt Island Cornell NYC Tech Campus From You Tube Video

An update on Cornell Technion NYC Tech Roosevelt Island campus scheduled to open in 2017.

Community Board 8's (CB 8) Cornell/Roosevelt Island Task Force will be holding a meeting on July 31 at which time Cornell will provide an update on its plans for the Cornell NYC Tech campus. According to CB 8:

Cornell/Roosevelt Island Task Force

Meeting Date:
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 6:30pm
Meeting Location:
TBA
TBA
New York, NY

Update by Cornell University on the Cornell Technion project on Roosevelt Island
Old Business
New Business

Nicholas D. Viest and James Clynes, Co-Chairs

More on CB 8's Cornell/Roosevelt Island Task Force from previous posts.

Crains reported on July 6:

... Within the last two weeks, CornellNYC Tech, a collaboration between Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, sent out a request for expressions of interest to numerous developers for three different building projects: a conference center/hotel; a residence for faculty, staff and students; and a commercial property that would be leased to technology industry-related companies....

and:

... Responses to the request are due in August and the formal request for proposals is slated to go out later this year....

Here's more on Cornell's plans for Roosevelt Island campus including video presentation from Cornell officials to May 8 CB 8 Roosevelt Island/Cornell Task Force.

Also an interview with Professor Craig Gotsman, Technion Computer Science professor and Founding Director of TCII-Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute. Professor Gotsman says:

... the goal of the entire NYC Tech campus, and the TCII within it, as conceived by Mayor Bloomberg, is to turn NYC into the high-tech capital of the world....

You Tube Video of Interview with Professor Craig Gotsman

Roosevelt Island, the High Tech Capital Of the World - who would have thought that?

US Department Of Agriculture Inspecting Roosevelt Island Trees For Presence Of Asian Longhorned Beetle

Image Of Asian Longhorned Beetle

According to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC):

Please be advised the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) & Davey Tree Company are conducting an inspection of trees on Roosevelt Island for the presence of the Asian Longhorned Beetle that infest the following trees:

Maple
Horse Chestnut & Buckeye
Mimosa (Silk tree)
Birch
Hackberry
Ash
London Plane tree & American Sycamore
Poplar including cottonwood
Willow
Mountain Ash
Elm
Katsura
Golden Raintree

Professional tree climbers will assist in completing the inspection of all tree species on the Island. The work is scheduled to conclude by the end of the week.

The inspection is part of the overall eradication effort in New York City. Further information regarding the Asian Long-horned beetle eradication program can be found on the following website:

http://www.beetlebusters.info

Thank you for your cooperation with the eradication efforts.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

You Tube Video of Bugged, Asian Longhorned Beetle Documentary Trailer

More on the dangers from the Asian Longhorned Beetle from Beetlebusters and Smithsonian Magazine.

Eddie's Pizza Food Truck Comes To Roosevelt Island, Hope They Stay For A Long Time And More Food Trucks Follow - We're Hungry and We're Waiting

Reported earlier today that Eddie's Pizza Food Truck would be coming to Roosevelt Island this evening setting up on West Road opposite Starbucks. They arrived about 4 PM

Image Of Eddie's Pizza Food Truck On Roosevelt Island

and Roosevelt Island residents started to line up to order their pizza or just ask questions about their food.

I tried Eddie's thin crust whole wheat spicy chicken with pepper pizza 10 inch bar and took it up to our rooftop deck with a Ginger Beer.

The pizza was light, flavorful and very tasty. Will certainly order from Eddie's again and try some of their other dishes.

Image Of Eddie's Pizza Food Truck Spicy Chicken With Pepper 10 Inch Personal Bar

Several people asked for slices but Eddie's Food Truck does not sell individual slices, only 10 and 16 inch bars/pies as well as sandwiches, sides and salads. Here's more of Eddie's Pizza Food Truck menu. Prices range from $7.50 to $18.50 depending on size and toppings.

Here's a tweet pleading:

@EddiesPizzaNY great pizza!! Please stay here in Roosevelt island! via.me/-2w3r5q6
— Michael Espiritu (@khel26) July 9, 2012

and Eddie's Pizza Truck replies:

@khel26 thanks! Let's the roosevelt island operating corp know you want us here and we will do dinners every weeknight
— Eddie's Pizza NY (@EddiesPizzaNY) July 9, 2012

You can also call in your order to the Eddies Food Truck (917 439 75220). Eddie's Pizza Food Truck will be back all this week across from Starbucks from 4-8 PM. Give them a try.

Hopefully, a few more trucks with different types of food will soon be serving the Roosevelt Island community. Rickshaw Dumplings, Mexicue, Hibachi and others - we're hungry and waiting.

Roosevelt Island resident and photo blogger Olya Turcihin shares these photos of Eddie's Pizza Food Truck:

Image From Olya Turcihin

Image From Olya Turcihin

and adds:

For my Roosevelt Island friends - this is big news ...

Thin crust - but not crispy enough for me ... but wait - no I won't complain!

Image From Olya Turcihin

Image From Olya Turcihin

It was good! - I'm happy!

Me too.

More Pizza Choices Coming To Roosevelt Island With Arrival Of Eddie's Pizza Food Truck This Evening Across From Starbucks - You Asked For It, Give It A Try

 Image of Eddie's Pizza Food Truck From Midtown Lunch

After a long, tedious and frustrating process getting the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) to allow mobile food trucks to serve the Roosevelt Island community, like food trucks do for many other NYC neighborhoods, the time has finally come. Last Friday, La Bella Torte Food Truck began serving Canollis and other Italian pastries and tonight comes Eddie's Pizza Food Truck which will be serving at the West Promenade Road near the Starbucks between 4 and 8 PM tonight. Eddie's Pizza Tweets:

Tonight we will be doing dinner on Roosevelt Island from 4PM-8PM. Hope to see you there.
— Eddie's Pizza NY (@EddiesPizzaNY) July 9, 2012

Eddie's Pizza Food Truck will be on Roosevelt Island for dinner at 4-8 PM Monday - Thursday.

Midtown Lunch tried out Eddie's Pizza Truck recently:

... To keep it under our sacred $10 limit, you can either order a 10-inch personal pie either from their speciality menu ranging from margherita at $8.50 to white or WTS (a white pizza with ricotta, tomato, spinach, and mozzarella) at $9.50, or you can build your own specialty pizza. Speciality pizzas start at $7.50 and you can add a vegetable for $1.00 and a meat for $2.00....

and:

... I was in an olive mood, so I ordered a margherita with olives. I wouldn’t call it perfect, but it was damn good. As other ML bloggers have noted, the pizza crust is ultra-thin. Thinner than any pizza I’ve ever tried. The sauce was tangy and tomato-ey, but used very sparingly. The cheese was great and they used lots of it, the sliced tomatoes were flavorful, and the basil added a nice, fresh touch. I was hoping the olives wouldn’t be the canned kind, but they were. I guess you can’t have it all.

But my main gripe here is that the while the paper-thin crust is sooooo good, I devoured it in about a minute and I was still hungry after I ate the pie. I really missed that heavy, dough-ball feeling in my stomach that pizza often provides. In fact, I’m sure I could easily eat a large Eddie’s pizza by myself....

Image From Midtown Lunch

Eddie's Pizza Food Truck serves more than pizza. Here's the Eddie's Pizza Food Truck menu:



and video with more about Eddie's Pizza Food Truck.

Eddie's Pizza Mobile Food Truck With Andrew Zimmerman

Looking forward to trying Eddie's Pizza as well as other Food Trucks which will hopefully be making their way to Roosevelt Island. Imagine coming home from work in the evening and having the option of stopping at one of the tasty food trucks. Maybe take the food home with you, bring it to the waterfront or just sit and eat it on one of the benches in Southtown, Blackwell Park or at Good Shepherd Plaza.

Choice is coming to Roosevelt Island and that is a good thing. Not only can you eat at one of our existing restaurants, but you can also choose from a variety of Mobile Food Trucks.

However, just received this disturbing comment from a reader of the La Bella Torte Cannoli Food Truck post:

It looks like they won't be here for long the free month on roosevelt island is only 2 weeks, and they want 345 a month for every sector the trucks go to, so if a truck wants to go from sector 1 to sector 2 its another permit they have to apply for. I think they just did this to shut people up, so they can say we gave the trucks a chance and they didn't want to be on the island. Its really sad, because there are a lot of trucks that would have come tothe island and i'm sure a lot of residents who want the trucks there, but unfortunately the powers that be don't want it

I really hope RIOC does not try to screw up Food Trucks coming to Roosevelt Island any further!!!!!

Roosevelt Island Fruit Ninja At Lighthouse Park

And now for something completely different.



UPDATE 7/9 - A reader adds:

Question: How long is a knife to be illegal:

Answer: Place it across the palm of your hand.. If the blade is longer than the span of your palm, then the knife is illegal.

Source: Police detective

Margarittaville Comes To Roosevelt Island - Pier NYC Waterfront Restaurant Opens This Weekend, Reviews Are In And They Are Good

Image Of Roosevelt Island Pier NYC

First full day of operations for Roosevelt Island's Pier NYC waterfront restaurant was yesterday. I went in the early evening, had a brisket sandwich from John Brown's Smokehouse and enjoyed the fantastic views, cool breeze and cold beer.

The brisket sandwich was good and I am looking forward to returning. Glad to see that more umbrellas were added covering the tables for protection from the brutally hot sun and the porta potties were moved away from the tables to the area closer to the subway vent shaft.

Here's what Pier NYC looked like last night



and some reviews from first day customers.

From Westviewer:

I just had a great crabcake there!

I was led to a table and was offered only the Santos Seafood Shack menu, which was okay with me this time, since I knew ahead of time what I wanted, but what if I also wanted some BBQ? Did I miss something? Is it possible to have, say, a half-dozen clams followed by some BBQ, served at the same table by the same person? Or, is it possible to just go up to the seafood prep area and order yourself? I know this is the first day and all of this will fall into place, but right now, it's a bit confusing. Is it one restaurant or two? What is the overlap?

and bakgwallo:

So, I will start this by saying it was overall -very- positive. Both my wife and I enjoyed the new place very much. However, I do want to give a fully objective review, so let's start it off.

Our first impressions were great - the greater/wait-staff (especially our waitress) were excellent. The environment/table setup/etc were top notch. The only detraction I might have from the atmosphere was the music - both of us actually liked the selection, but I could see where it might be too loud/new for an older crowd (note that I think it would be fine/perfect for after dark, though, if you are going for the kind of party/dance idea). Table was clean, views are great, the breeze off the water with the lovely umbrella thing really took away from the heat.

For food, we both got the BBQ. I had the pulled pork and she had the brisket. I would preface this and say that I like vinegar based pulled pork and not tomato based. However, I felt that the first half of my sandwich was good, but the latter half was mainly fat (again, some actually like that). We both also agreed that an option to either have it on a roll (as opposed to the white/wonder bread) would have been awesome. Also, perhaps allowing it to be on the side would also be good. The brisket was decent, but, as the better half said, it could be great if it was made with a little more 'love'. All of that said, I was a bit disappointed in the BBQ, although I have never found a really good BBQ place in Manhattan yet, as compared to Texas, Tennessee, Virgina, NC, and even my home town in Boston, so it seems to be a Manhattan thing, lol!

The drinks were pretty good. We originally started with Margaritas. I had a strawberry which was decent. My wife ordered a normal one which (she wanted me to point this out) was pretty bad. It seemed like something was missing in it. However, she switched to a mimosa, and then we both started on strawberry daiquiris which were amazing (note that it was about 100 degrees out and I was with the better half, so I do not feel so bad to order such a fruity drink). I did originally want a Mai Tai which is not served, so I would like to add that a Mai Tai would be -perfect- for the location on the river, lol. I would also like to add that Caipirinhas and Mojitos would be great additions, too.

We finished things off with a few deserts which were very good. In short, we started a bit disappointed but left very happy. Next time, I think we will try the crab cakes/items off the 'normal' menu, as I bet they are a bit better. The only real disappointment for me was the BBQ, which I again stress that I have not found really anywhere here anyways, and I believe it could be pretty easily improved with the above suggestions; my wife's was the Margarita, which is a really easy fix. Overall though, we really loved the place, atmosphere, drinks and desert and we plan on visiting often and left happy and impressed. So, thank you for giving us a nice lunch/afternoon date on the island! Also, hopefully after this we still have that invite for the roof top parties, lol!

Now, all that said - is there any plans on a happy hour ;)

Westviewer adds:

I can't comment on the barbecue, since I didn't have any, but I did think the music was too loud, although my opinion needs to be taken with a grain of salt, since I am one of the "older crowd", I guess)  and I've never liked music in restaurants, even when I was in my twenties.  I don't see why the happy babble of contented diners isn't enough background sound for any restaurant.  No music choice is going to please everyone, and you go to a restaurant to eat and presumably converse with your companions.  Music doesn't help with either goal, and if the music displeases, or is too loud for comfort, actually interferes with both.

Bakgwallo returned to Pier NYC Today for more. According to Bakgwallo:

As an update to my first review - went back today again. This time we tried the crab cake sandwich and it was really good... kind of want to have another one already, lol! Drink were good and service was good again, pretty impressed on the second go. Will try the BBQ again someday- but the crab cakes and the other menu are great for me.

Westviewer, my understanding is that for now, John Brown Smokehouse BBQ will not be on the Pier NYC paper menu but all you have to do is go to the carving area and order the BBQ. As for music, how about some atmospheric Margarittaville beach music from Jimmy Buffet



or just Sitting At The Dock Of The Bay with Otis Redding.



It's going to be a fun Roosevelt Island summer.