Tuesday, April 9, 2013

What Roosevelt Island Issues Should New RIOC President Charlene Indelicato Address In Her First Month?


New RIOC President Charlene Indelicato Addressing RIOC Board and Community For First Time

A Roosevelt Island resident asks a good question:
What issues, concerns and problems should RIOC President Indelicato address in her first month?

Public Safety
Subway service
Election of RIOC Board members
Cornell contribution to infrastructure
Main Street retail
Tourism
Signage
I would add privatization of Rivercross, Westview and Island House as well as management of parks and public spaces.

What do you think - any thoughts?

12 comments :

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Westviewer said...

Public safety should be her first prioity, followed closely by Main Street retail.

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rilander said...

Let me start by saying that I am an animal lover but I am also respectful of people and property rights. Thus, objecting to pigeon poop or the destruction of plant life by squirrels is not contrary to that. Thus, I'd like our new RIOC President to deal with the proliferation of pigeons and squirrels by:
1. Initiating an education campaign about the mess and destruction they cause as well as the illnesses they carry;
2. Post lots of signs and other forms of publicity warning people not to feed them;
3. Empower PSD to issue summons when people are caught feeding them;
4. Although RIOC claims they are not responsible for the rat poison deaths of several squirrels last summer, nor of several dogs that have been poisoned in the past few years, at least warn building managers, individuals and shop keepers not to put down pesticides.

There needs to be a responsible and well publicized policy of animal control.
It really doesn't matter who put these poisons down; and they can all disclaim doing it, but the bottom line is that the poisons are carried to other places by birds and squirrels who are attracted to the food they are in. The bottom line is that some pets have already died and I fear that a child can become poisoned by picking up a toy that has dropped on a contaminated spot.

Please...let's get a program in place before the summer!

CheshireKitty said...

I doubt if RIOC will do any of this. Rat poison is widely used throughout the City to control the rat population. If the City lays down rat poison in parks or in the subway tracks, then there are signs posted warning park users or track workers. If children were getting poisoned by rat poison because of having dropped their toys into the poison used in parks, we would have heard of it. I certainly haven't heard of these incidents. A bird or squirrel ingesting rat poison will die - it's unlikely they will start carrying around the rat poison since they'll be dead. On RI, I agree that if rat poison is being used in park areas, then warning signs should be posted advising park-goers that rat poison has been laid down. This way, parents and pet owners can avoid the areas that have the rat poison. Because of the prevalence of pigeons, I doubt if a program of RIOC killing pigeons - which would be difficult to legally carry out since all wild birds are protected by Federal law - would put a dent into the pigeon population. Any pigeons killed on RI would be replaced by new pigeons flying over from Queens or Manhattan. The TA had some success in mitigating the pigeons in the train station, but even with that success pigeons are constantly flying in and out of the station - probably attracted by the possibility that within the station they may find food scraps. I don't think squirrels are a particular problem on RI - it certainly doesn't seem overrun with squirrels. My opinion is that wild birds - songbirds, sea birds, Canada geese - and the actually pathetic remnant of wildlife that is left in the form of squirrels, all add to the charm of RI. If we are going to have parkland on RI, then we have to accept the birds and squirrels that live in parkland. As for rats, they should be destroyed, or, controlled. Squirrels and wild birds are not in the same category as rats.

rilander said...

You missed the point of my comments. I'm not advocating poison, I'm advocating a program of prevention and education. I never said killing animals. Learn to read lady!

CheshireKitty said...

Nobody is going to stop feeding wild birds and squirrels because of signage. Get real. Maybe you should approach the Dept of Education and have them include an instructional module about the dangers of pigeons and squirrels and why we should never feed them. Hahaha..

Your beef is that rat poison is being applied around buildings, at the hospitals, no doubt at the AVAC, without residents being informed. This is a legitimate concern - we should know the areas that are targeted for rat poison so that we can avoid those areas. In fact, most people usually avoid areas of dumpsters, debris, and garbage - the areas that probably have rat poison applied to them. Probably every restaurants and food market on RI has rat poison out around their garbage storage areas so as to control their rodent populations.

You seem to think that pigeons/wild birds and squirrels convey the rat poison from the waste areas to the parks or walkways on RI. This is a silliest notion imaginable. Think of the thousands of food-related businesses in NYC. Every one of them no doubt uses some form of rat poison to control the rodent population on their premises. Do we hear of complaints of squirrels and pigeons going into the garbage bags, stepping on the rat poison, and then returning to the parks to spread the poison there? No! The animals that break into the bags and dumpsters are persistent and often clever rats - but they also eat the rat poison and die in doing so. We don't see pigeons ripping apart heavy plastic garbage bags, or managing to get into dumpsters. Even if pigeons or squirrels got into these bags, they would be subject to poisoning - like rats - and would then die. Your concern that wild birds or squirrels convey poison to parks from garbage storage areas is ludicrous.

We do not know what killed the squirrels near the Starbucks. Squirrels, wild birds, sea birds are dying everyday from a variety of causes, but that's no reason to avoid walking on the promenade or visiting parks. Usually these animals crawl off to die in isolated areas unlike the squirrels at Starbucks.


Here is a quote from your rant: "There needs to be a responsible and well publicized policy of animal control." If by animal control you are referring to wild birds and wildlife (except for rats) then you are going to run up against Federal law, which protects both. If you personally harass, shoot, poison, or otherwise do away with squirrels and pigeons, or encourage RIOC or others to do so because of your beliefs that these creatures carry rat poison throughout the island, you will face jail time, which in your case, may not be such a bad thing. Don't mess with wild birds or wildlife on RI, in NYC, in NYS, or in the US. The days are long gone when wild birds and wildlife were at the mercy of sadistic animal haters like yourself.

Eastwood Res said...

I think she should address the water. Something in the water on the island makes some of residents go coo-coo for Coco Puffs. I mean really, all this craziness because some of our own don't know how to act, find themselves in trouble and then want to complain. Some of the parents who don't have energy to properly raise their kids, but have plenty of energy to complain about them being arrested. I'm just sayin'...

CheshireKitty said...

No, Eastwood, it's not craziness. What would you do if you were beaten to a pulp by PSD. Applaud them? Hah. If so, then you would be crazy. Of course Island residents object to PSD brutality - you should, too.


It's one thing enforcing the law but quite another abusing it. The same backlash to police brutality -such as the unjust killings of Remarley and Kimani, just like the killing of Trayvon - and the unending harassment of minority-targeted stop-and-frisk - is occurring everywhere in the NYC.


So according to you everyone protesting police suppression, brutality and unjust killings in NYC & elsewhere, are fruitcakes? Maybe you prefer to live in a police state where anyone can get pushed around, harassed, beaten, and even killed - with no consequences, no penalty for the perpetrator because the perp is the police. I guess you think that State-sanctioned brutality and killing is OK. If so, then you are the un-American, fascist-oriented wacko, not those that protesting police brutality and the shredding of constitutional rights.

Eastwood Res said...

Kitty, I could come to agree with you IF, and only IF, what you say is true. You say, "beaten to a pulp". If that were true, I could agree with you - and I would not applaud that. But I just can't see how Jones was "beaten to a pulp". I saw the hospital picture. He was standing up next to his bed in a hospital gown. The only thing I saw was a scrape on his face. "Beaten to a pulp" would probably not have shown him standing. The other things you wrote about killings don't fly here. The Safety Officers don't carry guns. And, I am a minority who has been "stopped & frisked" several times - by NYPD. I didn't like it each time, but they had nothing so I went on my way. The thing is I showed them respect and got that in return. Our neighbors don't show the Safety Officers the respect of law enforcement. Many of them run - or even fight with them. I've seen this, and you would too if you were out in the evening hours.


I'm not trying to be mean to you or pick a fight with you here. I'm just saying I personally don't believe the facts as you believe them. I really have to see more. You don't. That's our only difference.

CheshireKitty said...

The cracked ribs and punctured lung would not be visible. Did he look "fine" at the press conference? That's a judgment call. To me, he looked haunted, ill, exactly like one who has been tortured or abused would look.


Let's say a security agency has a way of inflicting harm without leaving visible traces. Is it any less harmful? I might look "fine" after waterboarding - but would I go around praising the CIA afterwards?


I agree that we must show l/e respect. Yet, agencies must also earn our respect by acting in a fair and ethical manner. Routine traffic stops that escalate into melodramas and arrests - do not earn the community's respect. They earn the peoples' revulsion and fear, resulting in actions like Jones reflexively running away from PSD. And as long as Guerra is in charge of PSD, the fear is justified.


You can be as "mean" or belligerent as you like. The more that is posted on the issue, the better, since in this way, it is kept at the top of posts in the blog. The more bad PR/feedback PSD gets the better - eventually it may dawn on the powers-that-be that if Guerra draws so much opprobrium, maybe it is better to get rid of Guerra.


I know Eastwood too - but never felt unsafe there, and never had a "bad" experience there. I would sometimes use a couple of stairwells near my unit to avoid having to wait for the elevator, or to get more quickly/directly to Capobianco Field, but aside from the expected dirt/graffiti/broken beer bottles etc., I never encountered residents smoking pot or hanging out in the stairwells - and this is over a period of decades. I disliked the recurring broken glass in the lobby and front door, also that the emergency exit (to Capobianco Field) was kept ajar - a security flaw.


I would have to say that I must have called PSD to complain about the door dozens of times. It would be fixed then someone would either break the lock or otherwise figure out a way to keep the door open.


The problem with Eastwood is that the landlord never wanted to invest in hiring doormen - instead relying on spotty security from PSD.


If the exits were actually kept closed, and entrance to the building only possible through front doors attended by doormen, you would eliminate the security problems.


Why not have smoke detectors in the stairwells which would pick up both pot & cigarette smoke? They could be wired to a central location and either building staff or PSD dispatched to the location to check on the smoke. They've always had lobby cameras but that's not the same as lobby attendants (doormen) and certainly the cameras never prevented the broken glass.


Eastwood is not a full-service building even though it is now charging premium rents. By keeping costs low, UA can keep profits high.


Eastwood tenants themselves should agitate for security improvements including forcing UA to spend a big chunk of profits to hire door staff and construct door stations. Each lobby could easily accommodate a station. UA may say PSD is supposed to provide security at Eastwood - but does it?


Maybe the best thing would be for PSD to be dismantled and the money UA spends on PSD to instead be spent on implementing at least 4 doorstations and hiring doorstaff. NYPD could expand patrols on RI. If UA implemented door stations in each building, then every building on RI would have a door station - would be guarded round the clock.