Monday, June 17, 2013

Up On A Roosevelt Island Roof With Sunset View Of NYC East River Waterfront and a Ginger Beer - It's Heaven


Come join Robson & Jerome up on a NYC Roof.



Relaxed now?

By ROOSEVELT ISLANDER at 8:39:00 PM

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38 comments :

Bill Blass said...

Oh please two .hipsters.this is the new
Look of the island how sad

June 18, 2013 at 4:02 PM
Bill Blass said...

To think that my father was in ww2. ¡So these hipsters can enjoy all this nation has to live the good life

June 18, 2013 at 4:06 PM
Bill Blass said...

I will soon be running for rioc. I will be getting the state to build a sec 8 building near octagon

June 18, 2013 at 4:09 PM
Bill Blass said...

Ginger beer. Really

June 18, 2013 at 4:10 PM
OldRossie said...

Bill - close this website, go to www.careerbuilder.com, and get a job. Maybe the state wont have to pay your rent.

June 18, 2013 at 4:44 PM
Bill Blass said...

Well if my rent was not so high .i would be happy to get a Job and pay it myself. But i could never ever try to pay the market rent for .my apRtment.so dont be upset with me i am a slave to sec 8

June 18, 2013 at 4:56 PM
CheshireKitty said...

Rossie: Bill is correct. The rents don't match up with paychecks. That is why so many in the metro area - including in supposedly low-rent areas of NJ - double up, or even simply rent a room, such as the dining room, or living room, in apts. Apts are intensively shared because pay has not kept pace with rent.

June 18, 2013 at 5:48 PM
OldRossie said...

Bill said: "If my rent was not so high, I would be happy to get a job.." I don't think rent is the issue.

June 18, 2013 at 5:50 PM
Bill Blass said...

Yea ok tell me what is the issue

June 18, 2013 at 6:45 PM
CheshireKitty said...

Yes, Rossie, exactly what are you driving at? I agree with Bill that rent, or the divergence between rent and pay, is exactly the issue.


Let's also note that our wonderful Mayor has repeatedly vetoed bills that would raise the minimum wage - seemingly damning the poor to remain poor forever - as Blass eloquently puts it "a slave to sec 8".


The fact is Rossie, there are no "cheap" apartments anymore - only moderately "cheap" shares (if you consider about $1,000 per share cheap).


The fact is Rossie, there are no more "good-paying" jobs anymore for average Joes - the kind that would pay the rent on a 2K, 3K or 4K apartment - the cost of the size apartment one might need if one had the temerity to actually try to raise a family of more than 1 or 2 kids.


The City is well-suited to singles - at least those singles earning enough to afford the high rents on studios or 1 BRs, or the less high rents of shares.


The City is not well-suited for families, unless they are well-heeled.


Thus, the probably million+ Sec 8 recipients in NYC - those that may reside not only in public housing but in myriad other types of accommodations (regular apt buildings, two-family houses, even private houses that are rented) throughout the City.


What would be the alternative for these families were it not for the Sec 8 voucher? They would be forced into sub standard housing or might be forced to rent an apt share themselves: Just as in the 19th C, before housing regulations were implemented, there are plenty of families today occupying shares, i.e. single rooms in apts, because there is no way they can afford the rent on any other size space. This is why Sec 8 is vital - it keeps families in normal-size units, out of shelters, out of shares.

June 18, 2013 at 8:01 PM
Stephanie said...

Why does everything on this blog have to turn into a classist diatribe? I'm so sick of the new residents of the island getting vilified by Bill Blass et al. Many of us are decent people who are interested in living in a quiet, diverse community in NYC that has a lot to offer and participating in that community. Stop acting like change on the island is some huge class war. This place doesn't belong to you, either. We're all just borrowing it.



In other news this is a nice song and I enjoyed seeing the views of Roosevelt Island shown off as they deserve to be.

June 18, 2013 at 8:38 PM
Stephanie said...

Oh and PS my father and grandfather served too.

June 18, 2013 at 8:40 PM
CheshireKitty said...

I didn't see any views of RI in the video, which is shot in Manhattan near the Empire State Building. You really must be a newcomer if you couldn't tell that views are of Manhattan and not Roosevelt Island.

June 18, 2013 at 9:33 PM
Stephanie said...

I suppose I was referring to the view w/ the ginger beer. But yes, I am a newcomer. What of it?

June 18, 2013 at 9:38 PM
CheshireKitty said...

Stephanie: Tell us, how does the cost of living here compare with the cost of living in your hometown; and, is the cost of living here "worth it" for the experience of living in New York?

June 18, 2013 at 9:51 PM
Stephanie said...

Well, actually, I'm from one of the *other* most expensive cities in the world, and it's comparable (a little more expensive, but it has its upsides too.) That said, I'm not here for the experience. It's not like NY is some luxury consumer good for me. I'm here because this is where I got a job. We all have to do what is best for us.

June 18, 2013 at 9:58 PM
CheshireKitty said...

If you had a choice, and now having lived in both cities, if a job were available at either city, would you prefer the "other" most expensive city, or NYC?

June 18, 2013 at 10:09 PM
Stephanie said...

why does it matter? Do you really think that my place wouldn't have gotten filled by some other yuppie had I decided to stay home?

June 18, 2013 at 10:25 PM
Bill Blass said...

As i have been saying none of you new people are from new york
Most of you are hicks from the mid west

June 18, 2013 at 11:04 PM
CheshireKitty said...

I'm just trying to find out why NYC seems so exceedingly desirable to the thousands of newcomers. This is not a trick question, Stephanie, so if you can please try to answer it: All things being equal, including a job and cost of living, and now having actually lived in the Big Apple, would you prefer the "other" most expensive city, or NYC?

June 18, 2013 at 11:15 PM
CheshireKitty said...

Sure, knock down everyone else to build yourself up. Didn't everyone here once come from elsewhere at some point? The only "native" New Yorkers are the American Indians that once lived here... before we all moved in.


Of course you resent the newcomers that seem to be able to afford everything with no problems, and seem to edge us out of jobs.


What is the point of alienating them by calling them hicks? And what makes you think Stephanie is a hick?


If she comes from the "other" expensive city, then she's probably from San Francisco, which in some ways has a heckuva lot more going for it than NY.

June 18, 2013 at 11:21 PM
Bill Blass said...

If i am elected to Rioc i will be giving free tickets to all the new people on the island to the jerry springer show as they will feel at home

June 18, 2013 at 11:34 PM
Bill Blass said...

Diverse coMmuntiy.really.for how much longer

June 18, 2013 at 11:36 PM
Bill Blass said...

I have lived in new york city all my life so i am a new yorker we are by far light years ahead of every one from other parts of the country

June 18, 2013 at 11:57 PM
CheshireKitty said...

Yeah, maybe light years ahead in terms of arrogance.


I've lived in NY all my life too but find people are people. The subway is filled with people from all over the world - not just all over the country. Many people in NY are either immigrants, or first or second generation Americans. Most, like Stephanie, do come here to find jobs.


They come here and a lot of times, they leave to migrate to other parts of the country. Thousands of people leave NYC every year, but are replaced by new people moving in. As long as the inflow exceeds the outflow, the population grows.


The years when rents were low corresponded to the years when the population was dwindling. Now that the population is growing again, the rents are rising reflecting increased demand and tight supply.


If you've lived here all your life, you remember when rents - for entire apts - could be as low as $110 per mo. Remember those days?

June 19, 2013 at 12:06 AM
KTG said...

I am pretty sure he didn't think that he was fighting, so that one day my son wouldn't work and will tie up a section 8 apartment.

June 19, 2013 at 1:20 AM
CheshireKitty said...

There you are wrong - many recipients of Sec 8 vouchers work. The amount of pay is so low relative to the size of the family they are supporting that they qualify for a Sec 8 voucher. Others who receive vouchers cannot work for various reasons, or may be receiving pensions small enough that they qualify for a voucher. There are many reasons why persons may qualify for Sec 8 vouchers. Bill himself may be employed - but still qualify because of his compensation/family composition.

June 19, 2013 at 1:39 AM
KTG said...

My comment is directed at Bill who posted earlier that he doesn't work so he can stay sec 8.

June 19, 2013 at 1:48 AM
CheshireKitty said...

OK - we must hear Bill's side of the story. So far he has said he doesn't work so he can retain the voucher. Bill: Explain how it is you can get by without working? Are you receiving disability insurance benefits by any chance?

June 19, 2013 at 1:56 AM
Stephanie said...

In response to your question, if I could have the job that I have in NY somewhere else- Buenos Aires, Argentina, Paris, France, perhaps Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- I would not choose NY, no. There are a lot of wonderful cities in the world. But my job is here, it is an interesting job and a good job, and NY is a nice city to live in. Thus, as all other things are not equal, the point is moot.

In response to Bill, I am many things, but a hick is not one of them. Indeed I find the NY attitude that everywhere else is a secondary backwater to be rather provincial.

June 19, 2013 at 11:17 AM
Bill Blass said...

Well the 4th of July fireworks are on the west side again this year this island is losing lots of money

June 19, 2013 at 12:14 PM
CheshireKitty said...

Thanks for the heads up Bill. I miss them in the East River.

June 19, 2013 at 1:26 PM
CheshireKitty said...

Exactly - NY is a nice city but in many ways it's not on a par with great cities like Paris, London, Shanghai, or Rio. Those are wonderful cities.


Let's face it - many people have come to NY either because of jobs, or to find work (in the era when there were thousands of entry-level jobs). There's also the hype factor. At least you have kept in balance the factors that are positive and simply so-so about NY.


Also, remember that for people like you, who arrive to take a job that enables them to immediately live in a centrally located spot as opposed to one of the areas we like to refer to as Jipipy - i.e. anywhere not in the center of the city - your experience is much different than that of millions of New Yorkers. You don't need to undergo a grueling commute to go to work. And you aren't stuck in a bland nabe, or suburb: Even if RI seems dead, at least it's a 4 minute ride from Mid-town.


Of course New Yorkers are going to sneer at everyone else - bragging rights, even if based on the mere fact of residing within the 5 boros or even in nearby suburbs may be the only thing they have going for them. It's a pastime after a while. Of course it's provincial but it's never seen that way.


Now that you've been in NY for a while, you must have picked up the same attitude to some extent. It isn't that we disdain outsiders. It's more that we can't believe how they can live anywhere else.


You can spot visitors to the City on the train or the street from a mile away - all you can do is "pity" them. Maybe it's their heartbreaking "innocence". The best city to transform anyone into a heartless bastard/creep - man or woman - is undoubtedly NY. This, probably, is what, in our "sick" way, we "celebrate" when we sneer at the so-called hicks.

June 19, 2013 at 1:44 PM
Frank Farance said...

Stephanie: We live in a mixed income community, with about a half to two-thirds of the population in some form of "affordable housing" - and it was designed to be so, and is still required to be so.

One thing you'll discover that's Odd about this place is that lots of things are Free. Maybe you went to the Roosevelt Island Day and saw no prices on games, food, rides, and so on.


If you have a child, maybe you'll notice that we have lots of youth services for Free: weekend events with free pizza, summer activities including free movies, school-year activities ... all free. And maybe you've noticed that child can play in the soccer leagues from 6-year old kinderkickers to teenage majors for FREE (full uniform supplied), and ditto for Little League (full uniform supplied) ... the kinds of things that would cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere.

I can go on, but the point is: once you start charging for things, you really start discriminating with fewer people participating. So "living in a quiet, diverse community" really means economically diverse. While Bill Blass (formerly Joe Carbo) goes over the top on Eastwood and CheshireKitty has her own perspectives, Mr. Blass is right about one point: there has been a constant push of poor residents out of the neighborhood. But unlike other neighborhoods where the real-estate market can drive it up or down, Roosevelt Island has a General Development Plan (GDP) that is part of the lease between the City and State. In that sense, residents rightly perceive a Right in support of the lower income residents.

So the Main Street Retail Master Lease (thanks (not!) Jonathan Kalkin) makes merchants cater to to higher incomes, which leaves the others with fewer/no options. And Public Safety's collaboration with Urban American on gratuitous arrests to force evictions for Section 8 tenants: a conviction can get a Section 8 Enhanced (Sticky) Voucher tenant evicted. So Public Safety's gratuitous arrests and fabrication of testimony lead to plea-downs (the charges are impossible to defend for lower income tenants because they can't afford an attorney), and then the family is evicted to make way for a market rate apartment (i.e., UA has a financial motivation in collaborating with PSD on arrests).

So, yes, many things come down to money, and there is a whole lotta injustice going on. But it's not exactly a class war in that (say) the lower class is against the upper class, what we have here is (say) the lower class saying I Have A Right To Exist, the Powers That Be are working against that right to exist, and a disinterest from those who are not lower class.


Make more sense?



Lastly, even if it isn't Bill Blass you're thinking of, remember there are neighbors who are doing worse than you, and neighbors who are doing better than you, ... and you probably have much more in common than you realize. And that's the nice part about Roosevelt Island.

June 19, 2013 at 3:00 PM
YetAnotherRIer said...

Many of these free things are exactly what you would expect from something being free, though.

June 19, 2013 at 9:23 PM
YetAnotherRIer said...

New York usually takes fifth or sixth place in most expensive cities to live in. Moscow, Shanghai, Tokyo, London, and Hong Kong have always been ranked more expensive.

June 19, 2013 at 9:30 PM
Frank Farance said...

YetAnotherRIer: But those things aren't free elsewhere, such as Astoria Day (or whatever it's called on Broadway) with for-pay rides, food, ice cream, etc.. And the registration fees are over $100 for Little League, Soccer, sports, etc.. And if you don't have that kind of money for ballet lessons, you won't find a Main Street Theatre and its scholarships.

June 19, 2013 at 10:16 PM
CheshireKitty said...

Bill - this story should dispel your worry that hipsters have arrived on RI. Not until you have McClure potato chips, and Kings County beef jerky - or whatever the equivalent would be in our locale, possibly Roosevelt Island cayenne-roasted almonds? - could you say the hipsters have arrived. http://gothamist.com/2013/06/19/hipster_newsstand_opens_in_williams.php?utm_source=Gothamist+Daily&utm_campaign=011afbd92f-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_73240544d8-011afbd92f-187449#photo-6
Actually, ya gotta love hipsters. It's their preciousness, their twee-ness, that makes them so endearing. Plus they bring a possibly zany, but surely creative, new energy to wherever they go.. what would we do without them?

June 20, 2013 at 2:19 AM

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