F Jamaica-bound trains run via the E after 47-50 Sts to Roosevelt AvMore information on subway service disruptions this weekend from the MTA's Weekender.
Weekend, 9:45 PM Fri to 5 AM Mon, May 17 - 20
No Jamaica-bound service at 57 St, Lexington Av/63 St, Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge.
... For example, Cornell. There’s an agreement that has to be made. Although it was stated that it is solely the agreement for that piece of property and an appraisal, I think there are a lot of other issues that involve the Island, like the future of the Operating Corporation, because there’s going to be an impact. It’s a good impact. But change is always hard. And we, as the Board of Directors and the administration and the governor’s office, have the obligation to make that change reasonable for all parties.About Riverwalk Southtown development:
Now does that mean everybody’s going to be happy? Very rarely. It means the traditional thing: Some people are going to be happy, some unhappy, some in the middle. But the fact is that we have to have some kind of equitable solution. Now, I know there are issues of transportation – the barging or not barging, and what happens afterward – parking, impact on the City, access to the water, all those things that we worry about, and have worried about in all the construction that has gone on here. The Island didn’t start out with buildings all here, so we’ve gone through this a number of times and we’ll go through it again, and this is a little bigger vision than most, but in truth, I think it will be good for the Island, and I think it is our job to make sure it is, because if it’s not, then I don’t think Cornell will be happy. So we have that issue....
... Then we have the Southtown development going – David Kramer, a very reputable guy as a developer – I need to work with him to make sure he’s happy, to make sure we’re happy. I worked with him many years ago, so, knowing that he’s unhappy, we need to look at that. The [Island] master plan was done many years ago, so knowing that he wants to make changes in it, that’s reasonable; we need to look at it. I’m very pro-development, with my background, but not pro-development that is not good for the municipality that I work for....About quality of life improvements for residents of small communities like Roosevelt Island:
... One thing I learned working in smaller communities, ... is that it is of utmost importance. But it’s not going to happen overnight. It just isn’t. Every time I hear it from the Board or read it in the blogs and it says, We’ll wait ’til she comes in, it’s like, Hey, I am not doing this the first day. I mean, [on that standard,] already I’ve failed.In closing:
You don’t shake up a whole organization without knowing what you’re shaking it up into....
... I am thrilled to be here. It think it’s going to be very interesting, very demanding, but hopefully, and I don’t mean this in a facetious way, a fun job – that there are things that can be done, that we can progress, that the Board won’t have to work 24/7, that the people of the Island will see that there is a government that cares, and a Board that cares, and an administration that cares.It was a good interview. Click here to read the entire Main Street WIRE interview with RIOC President Charlene Indelicato.
Last month, Gristede's welcomed Earthbound Farm to the Roosevelt Island store to celebrate Earth Day with their Every Cart Counts program. The organic produce brand took to the aisles,
in search of shoppers who were making their carts count for the earth by purchasing organic and other eco-friendly groceries.
Two lucky shoppers would have the tab for their carts purchased by Earthbound. The Earthbound Farm Cart Search Team found Roosevelt Island residents Melissa and Matt who were re-stocking their fridge after returning from a friend's wedding and Earthbound Farm picked up the bill! Earthbound Farm also rewarded organic-minded couple, Bill and Marylynn, for their cart full of healthy and pesticide-free produce. That made for a truly happy Earth Day at Gristedes.
Welcome and Thank you
As RIRA President, I want to extend a warm welcome to our new RIOC President Charlene Indelicato and a huge thank you to Acting President and General Council Don Lewis and VP/Chief Financial Officer, Steve Chironis who both held together the leadership of our operating corporation while it was missing its President and Vice President of Operations. This was a rather large responsibility that they gamely handled as they both also managed to do their regular jobs at the same time. Garden Club, these two gentlemen deserve fresh flowers every week for whole summer. Thanks also to the unnamed heroes on the RIOC Board and the RIOC staff who stepped into the void and took on extra responsibility.
Communications committee
A big part of what RIRA does involves community outreach, and the best way to do that is on the web. We took a close look at our existing web site and decided it wasn’t up to the challenge, so our Communication Committee set out on building a replacement. Big thank you to Co-chair Jeff Prekopa for the web page design and construction. I just got a sneak preview of the new website, and I’m excited about what I’ve seen!
The new web site is much more dynamic, thanks to the addition of blogs for events we sponsor, issues we participate in, and work our committees do. Many of the blogs will be open for comments from the community. There are also new galleries of images and videos, updated document archives, a newsletter sign up and much more. All of this is done in a way that’s easier to navigate, and much more engaging. Like family albums, we expect that the archives and photos of the events we sponsor will be fun to look back at many years from now.
As far as community polling goes, we are still working up the best way to reach out to everyone and are still asking for
The new site will go live this week, so be sure to check it out at http://www.riraonline.com. This is very much a work in progress for us. We plan lots of new content and features over the coming weeks and months, and we will continue to make improvements to better serve you, the Roosevelt Island community.
Blood drive
Roosevelt Island Day is June 15, the day we all come out to improve our community. As we have done for years, RIRA will continue the tradition of our annual blood drive on that day. RIRA members will be recruiting donors at the farmers market for three weekends before the big day, May 25, June 1, 8 and the morning of Roosevelt Island Day.
We hope you will find it in your heart and veins to donate some of your valuable red stuff. The New York Blood Center has some reasons why:
Someone needs blood every two seconds.
Surgical, trauma and cancer patients and those with blood disorders need blood.
Every summer the blood supply in New York City shrinks.
There is no substitute for human blood.
Only 2% of the eligible population donates blood each year.
If only 1% more of Americans donated, blood shortages would disappear.
This year’s New York Blood Center coordinator Elisa Cavaliere informed me that many people have misinformation about eligibility. Prospective donors are prescreened. She urged people to please sign up even if they think they cannot donate. Even if they couldn’t give before, they might be able to donate now. Donating blood is easy and takes only ten minutes.
Let’s make this drive the best year for blood donations yet .
Cornell project is approved by City Council:
You might have already read David Stone’s article on the final land use vote on the CornellNYC Tech project. The Roosevelt Island Community Coalition will be having it’s quarterly membership meeting on Tuesday to review the final agreement the City made with Cornell for the approval of the land use deal. In my next column, I will give more specifics of our gains. Right now we have mixed responses to the ULURP agreements.
Nine months ago RICC created a lengthy term sheet compiled from the 35 organizations that are now in the coalition. Those terms made up the requests and discussions that took place since then. Some were negotiated by RICC directly with the Cornell team and some were championed by Jessica Lappin, Community Board 8 and Borough President Scott Stringer. To their credit, Cornell looked at each of the items on our list and studied them carefully sometimes going to the relevant City agency to discuss the feasibility. We did not get all of our terms. Some refusals were disappointing. Some of the items Cornell championed were surprising, like the walkway to the Queensborough Bridge. The City said no. They also looked into being a local shelter in emergencies. The City said no. But we did get many good programs for the community that we hope will build town gown relationships.
In the final down-to-the-wire negotiation, Jessica Lappin made sure that Cornell’s promise to “adopt” PS/IS 217 would create a long term and ongoing partnership with the school. Cornell has agreed to give extra attention and teacher development to the school starting small this summer and larger when they have a physical presence on Roosevelt Island in 2017. Although their ultimate promise sounds awesome, this start date is not soon enough for us. We would like to see planning start now for a start date next fall when the demolition of Goldwater starts. The people affected by the construction should get the benefits.
Cornell’s agreement to barge the bulk and heavy construction material is pretty big. At their barging presentation to the Community Board back in October, they said that the best they could work out with barging would be 40% to 50% by bringing in two types of mutually exclusive docks. At the last minute their construction guru figured out a way to have both systems work without a dock by some sort of magical levitation. Hence they will now be reducing their truck traffic by 40 to 50%. Best as I can figure, this means that their remaining trucks will be passing through Main Street one every ten minutes. If they can do this, perhaps they can do better and cut out trucking entirely. This is Cornell after all. They are the experts in technology. We will be finding out more about the barging when we meet with Cornell folks shortly.
We are passing the baton to our new RIOC President to get the remaining very real requests from Cornell like sharing the costs of infrastructure and services so community residents don’t subsidize Cornell through our ground rents. We are particularly disappointed in no money for our public purpose fund. RICC plans to continue talking to Charlene Indelicato just like we spoke to Don Lewis and all our other elected officials and boards.
President Indelicato came just in time. Although former Acting President Don Lewis is incredibly smart and capable, an elected President with a background in planning recommended by the Governor has more clout in negotiations than an Acting President. We look forward to working with her.
RICC’s role in collaboration with the Community Board is to keep our eyes and ears open to community concerns and continue an open dialogue with Cornell into the future.
Expired RIOC Board needs reappointment
Right now on the RIOC board, there are three Board members sitting with expired terms and two more soon to expire. Many of them have been reelected but not yet reappointed. Now that we have our RIOC President in place, when will the Governor seat the Board members elected by the community? Governor?
The Public Safety Department will be hosting a Memorial Service in honor of Officer Frensheria Michael at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, on Friday, May 17th at 5:00 PM. This service will afford the residents of Roosevelt Island and co-workers of Officer Michael the opportunity to remember and honor Officer “Mikey” Michael’s dedication to Roosevelt Island, her warm smile and boundless energy. We hope that you can join us for this special ceremony.More on Roosevelt Island Public Safety Officer Frensheria Michael here and here.
Exciting event taking place at Gallery RIVAA.Here's a song from Sweden's The Apartment Years
The Apartment Years is a very popular Indie/rock band from Sweden and they are touring New York, on their first US performance ever!!! Not to be missed.
Saturday, May 18th, 7pm
FREE EVENT! The Tram, A One Act Play By Mary Crescenzo On Stage!The amphitheater is behind 520 Main Street. More information on The Tram here.
Roosevelt Island's outdoor library theatre, Saturday, May 18, 2PM...NYC
The Tram
By Mary Crescenzo
with Misti Tindiglia & Lorraine Federico
What happens when two Italian-American women from two different worlds collide on the tram from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island?
In the shadow of an asylum's ruins, fears and dreams are transformed with the help of a bag of bittersweet chocolates. Travel with these women over the East River and along this historic island when a morsel of life changes everything.
Director, Richard Manichello
Saturday, May 18, 2PM
I had been hearing rumors yesterday that a new President for the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) was about to be announced. During yesterday's RIOC Real Estate advisory committee meeting, I asked RIOC Directors present as well as Acting President Don Lewis and CFO Steve Chironis if a new President was selected. All indicated no knowledge of such an appointment.Ms. Indelicato started work this week as the new RIOC President and attended her first RIOC Board Committee meeting yesterday - the Real Estate Advisory Committee meeting on status of Southtown (Riverwalk) Building 7 negotiations with Hudson Related Companies. The meeting was held in Executive Session, closed to the public, but before getting kicked out, I took this picture of Ms. Indelicato sitting (on right) with RIOC Staff and Directors.
Earlier today, I received word that Charlene Indelicato was to be named RIOC President at tomorrow's RIOC Board meeting....
Anybody from Roosevelt Island want to tell WNYC's Brian Lehrer radio show what you think of the FDR Four Freedoms Park? The subject will be discussed tomorrow morning.
Anyone visited Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island? Discussing it tomorrow. Here's Orson Welles to get you ready bit.ly/12bL3Kw
— Brian Lehrer Show (@BrianLehrer) May 15, 2013
... the sort of political edifice that the Italian fascists loved and Speer perfected for the glory of the Third Reich... The site itself is treated heartlessly. What was a modest, picturesquely rugged shoreline has been disciplined to straight lines and symetrical angles that have no significance beyond the alarming one of man's ability to impose a meaningless geometry on nature. The ultimate irony is that Roosevelt, who fought totalitarians to the death, is commemorated in the harsh style propogated by the dictators.Here were some questions asked by me and others during February 27 public meeting with the FDR Conservancy.
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Real Estate Advisory Committee is meeting later today in Executive Session (closed to the public) for an update on current negotiations with Hudson Related Companies regarding the future development of Southtown (Riverwalk) Building 7.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a meeting of the Real Estate Development Advisory Committee of the RIOC Board of Directors will be held on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at the RIOC administrative office, 591 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, New York.What are these current negotiations about? The RIOC Board of Directors had previously approved a Lease Amendment for Southtown (Riverwalk) Buildings 7-9 during the February 28 Board of Directors meeting. As previously reported:
Agenda:
1. Chair�s Motion for Executive Session for Update on Current Negotiations Regarding Southtown Development (Building 7)
2. Any Other Committee Business That May be Brought Before the Committee
... the Southtown Building 7-9 Ground Lease amendment with Hudson Related was approved during the February 28 RIOC Board of Directors meeting. According to RIOC CFO Steve Chironis the ground lease payment from Hudson Related to RIOC for building 7 was reduced from $32 million to $28 million. The terms for buildings 8-9 remained the same.Here is the February 26, 2013 Deal Memo prepared by Mr. Chironis to the RIOC Board. According to the Deal Memo (Page 3) tentatively agreed upon terms, the closing for Southtown (Riverwalk) Building 7 was scheduled for April 30 of this year.
Here's video of Mr. Chironis explaining the Ground Lease amendment to the RIOC Board.
Hudson/Related (H/R) holds an option to develop the remaining three lots (7-9) of the Southtown Development Project, which expires on December 31, 2012 (the “Option”). In March 2012, H/R requested a modification of terms based on a claim that the last 2 buildings to be developed (5 &6) were not profitable and the overall market was not as favorable as the conditions in 2006 when the original agreement was reached. However, the original first four buildings (buildings 1-4) were very profitable and the agreement for 5-9 was designed to recover profits lost by RIOC.and (Page 4):
Building 5, which is a condo that was completed in 2009, still has 15 unsold units out of a total of 122. On average, the sales prices of units sold from 2009 through 2010 have been approximately 25% below original condominium asking prices with a moderate rise in 2011 and 2012. Recent resale prices of sold units are still significantly less than the original purchase prices. However, Building 6 — originally intended to be a condo — was instead built out as a rental and is nearly fully rented.
Prior to the proposal and confirmation of the Cornell project on Roosevelt Island H/R gave little indication of their intent to exercise the Option. The agreement provides for a “De-designation fee”, an amount H/R must pay to RIOC in the event of not developing the project. The fee —based on the amount of undeveloped square footage in Southtown 7-9 at a rate of $2/SF — is collateralized by a letter of credit in the amount of $1,420,800. This fee would paid to RIOC in the event H/R does not go forward with 7-9. With the announcement of the Cornell project the prospects for the Roosevelt Island real estate market are brighter but at this point it would be difficult to quantify the impact given that: 1) completion of the first Cornell buildings is not scheduled until 2017; and (2) the overall market faces high-risks posed by existing global financial uncertainties.
At the commencement of negotiations in March 2012 RIOC was initially advised by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and subsequently CBRE pertaining to deal modification issues. JLL, the original advisor to the Southtown project,was replaced by CBRE due to JLL’s financial interest through earned commission that would be due to them upon the closings of buildings 7-9....
... The financial components upon substantial construction completion are summarized as follows:and (Page 2 of CBRE attachment to Deal Memo):
1. Ground Rent:
- Prepaid Ground Rent ($50/SF@ 201,600SF) - $10,080,000
- Starting Annual Ground Rent w/ 3% escalation - $765,760.00...
... 4. Public Safety Fees: $20/unit/month w/ 4% escalation (est. 200 units)
- starting annual public safety fee - $48,000.00...
Subject to compliance with environmental and other law and to a modification to the GDP if required, RIOC will allow (but not require) below-grade parking at Building 8 and Building 9.Click here for the full RIOC/Hudson Related Southtown (Riverwalk) Deal Memo.
May 13, 2013
All Residents
Manhattan Park
Roosevelt Island, N.Y. 10044
Dear Residents:
On Tuesday May 14, 2013, River Road will be completely closed to vehicle traffic due to Local Law 11 work from 7:00am until further notice.
Please remember that there will be NO VEHICLE TRAFFIC on River Road and absolutely NO PARKING in the restricted area until further notice.
If you have a vehicle parked on River Road after midnight tonight, it will be towed.
Thank you for your cooperation and we apologize for any inconvenience.
Manhattan Park Management
... inspection of the exterior walls of buildings greater than six stories in height....Residents of Manhattan Park expressed concern yesterday over the unknown length of time they will be inconvenienced by this work and how long it will be "until further notice" is reached.
Any one get a clear indication on when the work might be done?Another:
I'm in building 30, and I'm a little nervous about the windows being sealed up when the summer rolls around...
I'm surprised there hasn't been any specific notice. I realize management doesn't want to commit and not deliver, but if they've been working on 40 for going on 10 months, and they're about to start 30, we should expect it to go through the summer AND the winter.
I'll have a newborn in the apartment in the middle of the summer, so it doesn't work to not be able to control the temperature at any time.
I realize they're not giving "concessions" on the rent during the work, but perhaps release from the lease should we have to move.
My biggest concern is about the lack of AC usage especially at night. Should we ask for a Town Hall meeting so we can get clarification?Another:
Good luck with getting any information from Manhatten Park. They tell you nothing. Be prepared for the worst Buildings 10 and 30. This ordeal is a horrible experience. The noise during the day at times is unbelievable. Yes, your windows and balcony gets taped up for the duration. I did not use my heat during the evenings and weekends. In the middle of winter it was freezing. They did supply us with space heaters.And another:
I cannot wait for them to be totally finished so we can have normalcy again. Shame on Manhatten Park for not giving us proper notification on this project. 2 weeks notice is not enough notice to clean off your balcony when you can't use it for a year. They left off the part that it was going to take a year. Had we had known that, we could have put our balcony stuff into our storage unit in Queens.
We are in 40 and they have been at it for months now. I called the office and was told that they will be done with my building by the end of June.There were 2 cars parked on River Road last evening.
In regards to the air conditioners I was told that they will install filters. You may want to call management for more details.
If you are a cat person, this behavior may be familiar to you.
The 5/13 Roosevelt Island Daily Public Safety Reports indicated:
05/13/13 - 0600 - 4 River Rd. - Attempted Manslaughter Murder - Victim transported to hospital,PSD stopped subject, NYPD arrested subject, and handling investigationUpon learning of the report, I contacted the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) and the NYPD Office of Public Information to find out what happened. According to a NYPD Press Spokesperson there was no attempted manslaughter/murder but rather a felony assault with a knife inside the residence during a domestic argument.
I want to post a warning for folks walking alone to the Tram in Manhattan at night. Last night, I was walking on the south side of 60th St. toward Second Ave. and got attacked by a homeless guy sitting near one of the closed stores. No comment. After I passed him, he ran up behind me and kicked me. I did call 911 and the NYPD came quickly but didn't arrest him because I was not hurt. Please be careful - this guy apparently hangs out near the Tram.
Lenox Hill Young Professionals Happy HourThe Lenox Hill Democratic Club endorsed Roosevelt Island's NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin in her bid for Manhattan Borough President and Roosevelt Island's Assembly Member Micah Kellner in his bid for NYC Council.
Tuesday, May 14th, 7pm-9pm
McKeown's Bar, 1303 3rd Ave, between 74th and 75th St.
Come meet your neighbors and learn about the Lenox Hill Democratic Club. The event is free and there is a cash bar. Everyone is welcome!
It's a young professionals event for the Lenox Hill Democratic Club, which covers the 76th Assembly District. Our goal is to get more young people involved in Democratic politics on the UES and Roosevelt Island.
As previously reported via the NY Post:
...An Edward Hopper painting of New York City's Roosevelt Island is coming to auction where it's estimated to sell for up to $20 million....
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Christie’s New York is pleased to announce that the May 23rd American Art sale will be led by the magnificent, large-scale painting, Blackwell’s Island, by Edward Hopper. The work, which has never been offered at auction, has been exhibited at renowned institutions, such as The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Institute. More recently, Blackwell’s Island was included in the first major retrospective of the artist’s work at the Grand Palais in Paris from October 2012 through February 2013. An impressive five feet wide, the work was painted in 1928 and is estimated at $15-20 million.More about Edward Hopper's Blackwell's Island painting from Christie's Press Release, audio recording below from Christie's Deputy Chairman Eric Widing
A native of Nyack, Edward Hopper was drawn to the New York’s East River and used the banks and bridges as his subject several times between 1911 and 1935. Originally known as Hog Island and today known as Roosevelt Island, Blackwell’s Island has a rather notorious history. Its varied architecture and isolation is likely what attracted Hopper to the locale....
The announcement that Edward Hopper's painting Blackwell's Island would be auctioned at Christie's on May 23rd has sparked a revival of interest in this work. The painting is the subject of a lecture by Judith Berdy, President, Roosevelt Island Historical Society, in a program sponsored by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, at the New York Public Library Branch on Roosevelt Island, on Tuesday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. The painting features the north end of what is now Roosevelt Island; its dark silhouetted buildings includes the Metropolitan Hospital dome and other hospital buildings. The lecture will incorporate period photographs to explore the context of Hopper's 1928 work. Blackwell's Island, owned by a private American collector, has frequently been exhibited at leading museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The work has never been auctioned before. The painting is on view at Christies, 20 Rockefeller Plaza from May 19 to 22, 2013. The event is FREE and open to the public.Ms. Berdy discussed the Blackwell's Island Painting and other RIHS activities during Public Session of the May Roosevelt Island Residents Association meeting. Here's what she had to say. Stop on by the RIHS Visitors Kiosk at the Tram Plaza and learn about the interesting history of your neighborhood.
Small high-tech firm building green products for the control and monitoring of heat, power and water in multi-family housing has need of some critical help on a fast-paced project on Roosevelt Island, NY.More information available here.
We are looking for 3 Engineering Students who have completed their sophomore coursework with at least a 3.5 GPA. (We will verify this.)
The successful candidates will become members of specialized installation teams creating and expanding a dense, low power wireless network...
IMMEDIATE needs for Coder Consultants with LTC/ SNF experience Nursing Facility Located on Roosevelt IslandMore information on this position available from Craigslist.
Requirements:
3 years strong medical coding experience, 3M/HDM coding application, and LTC/SNF experience A MUST (no New graduates/Interns; must be recent paid experience)
Must have 2 years college or equivalent with additional training in medical terminology and anatomy
Possession of a valid credential as a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT), OR Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) from the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA);
Organic Gardening/Ecology/Nutrition/Arts/Literacy Teacher (part time) (Roosevelt Island, NYC)More information on this position available from Craigslist.
This position is a unique opportunity to work with a leading-edge, international, environmental and educational nonprofit, Life Frames, Inc., dedicated to integrating community resources and creating transformative, ecological and multicultural learning landscapes. Each place-based environment is called A Living Library & Think Park. (Life Frames, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to establishing a team of staff and volunteers who reflect the multicultural and linguistic diversity of the communities that we serve.)...
This program works with local schools and other community resources, to build on-site educational organic gardens and content-rich learning landscapes integrated with hands-on, interdisciplinary, standards-based, common core curricula, ecological systems, multi-arts, digital media, nutrition, health, youth leadership. Branch Living Library & Think Parks, local and global, will be linked through state-of-the-art interactive technologies.
I walked out of the garage and saw a FDNY EMT truck and no less than 20 NYPD uniformed, detectives, plain clothes and PSD personnel in and outside Gristedes. We were going in to rent some movies and saw a couple of the young employees bloodied up. I talked to a few ppl and were told that these kids were pistol whipped right outside Gristedes. One of the employees said that these guys all had guns. We got there around 9:40 ish.According to a NYPD Spokesperson:
Pretty hardcore stuff for this to happen anywhere.
The victim was leaving work last night when three males came up from behind him, threw him to the ground, searched his pockets and took his iPhone. One of the suspects was seen with a gun.The suspects have not been apprehended.
