Wild Kingdom Comes To Roosevelt Island, Watch Angeliea Hang Out With A Gaggle Of Roosevelt Island Geese - She Fits Right In On The Ground But Can She Migrate In Flight With The Flock

Hey, you ever want to fit in with a Gaggle Of Roosevelt Island Geese? Roosevelt Island resident Ragan Rhodes shows us how her friend Angeliea Stark blends in with our Roosevelt Island geese on the Queens side of Goldwater Hospital.

Enjoy.



Now if Angeliea can migrate in flight with the Flock of Geese, that would be INCREDIBLE!!!

No Roosevelt Island F Train Service To Manhattan This Weekend And Next - Resident Asks NYC Planning Representative Why Almost Every Weekend Subway Service Disruptions?

According to the MTA:

F Coney Island-bound trains run via the E from Roosevelt Av to 5 Av/53 St

Weekend, 11:15 PM Fri to 5 AM Mon, Nov 15 - 18

Trains resume regular service at 47-50 Sts.

No Coney Island-bound service at 21 St-Queensbridge, Roosevelt Island, Lexington Av/63 St and 57 St.

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) adds:

Please be advised there will be no Manhattan bound F train service from 11:15 P.M. Friday, November 15th through 5:00 A.M. Monday, November 18 and from 11:15 P.M. Friday, November 22nd through 5:00 A.M. Monday, November 25th.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

During NYC Planning Department Western Queens/Roosevelt Island Transportation Study presentation to Community Board 8 (CB8) Roosevelt Island committee last night, a Roosevelt Island resident asked about why the constant Roosevelt Island F Train weekend subway service disruptions.

The NYC Planning Department representative did not have an answer.

CB 8 member Larry Parnes indicated that he thought the Roosevelt Island weekend F Train subway disruptions are caused by work related to the construction of the Second Avenue tunnel and that this work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013. Mr. Parnes added that he did not know if there is other work related to subway service maintenance and rehabilitation which might  require additional Roosevelt Island weekend subway service disruptions after completion of the Second Avenue tunnel work.

Here's video of that discussion as well as more Roosevelt Island Transportation Q and A including on bus service to Long Island City/Astoria, Ferry service, bike sharing and pedestrian access to the Queensboro Bridge.





Will have more on the Western Queens Roosevelt Island Transportation Study in later post.

UPDATE 11/16 - Here is the NYC Planning Department Western Queens/Roosevelt Island Transportation presentation to  CB 8 Roosevelt Island committee that took place prior to the question and answer period shown in the two videos above.



UPDATE 6:30 PM - Here's the NYC Department of Planning Western Queens/Roosevelt Island Transportation slide presentation to CB 8.

Roosevelt Island Youth Program Soccer Semi Finals Tomorrow At Octagon Field - Come Watch The Exciting Action And Cheer On The Players

Season recap to date here.

Roosevelt Island Residents In the News, Young Playwright Chloe Hayat and Hedge Fund Magnate Coach Denise Shull

Roosevelt Island residents Chloe Hayat and Denise Shull were in the news this week.

Image of Chloe Hayat From Young Playwrites Inc.

Ms. Hayat was a winner of the 2013 National Playwriting Competition of Young Playwriting Inc which was:

... founded by Stephen Sondheim in 1981, Young Playwrights Inc. has been the only professional theater in the United States dedicated to identifying, developing, and promoting playwrights ages 18 and under....

Ms. Hayat was interviewed about her play, Electric Blues, which explores a man's time on Death Role. In the interview with Nick Gandiello of Young Playwrites, Ms Hayat explains the inspiration for Electric Blues:

... I had read Dead Man Walking for school over the summer before senior year. Then I wrote my final – I can’t remember what it was called! – public policy paper for my exit project in high school on the death penalty. And it is such a moving topic for me. I feel very passionately, obviously, against the subject. I wanted to find a way that an artist could change something about it. I thought that putting a face (to it) and making this issue human could really bring more light to the topic than numbers and facts. So, Trigg, my main character, is my human face to such a horrible, controversial topic...

Click here for the entire interview with Ms. Hayat including information on how you can attend a reading of Electric Blues and other 2013 Young Playwrites winners in January 2014.

Ms. Shull was interviewed by the NY Times

Image of Ms. Shull From Michael Kirby Smith for The New York Times

for a story on:

... a whole new cottage industry has cropped up in which statisticians track performance data, and coaches and psychiatrists work to help hedge fund managers make smarter decisions by getting them to talk about their personal histories and biases....

According to the NY Times:

... “Our baggage affects how we perform,” Ms. Shull said. “If you become conscious of that, you can make a change.”

One of Ms. Shull’s recent clients runs the trading desk at a major overseas bank and sought help because he was frustrated that he could never bring himself to make bold trades. Together, they traced his lack of appetite for risk back to a conservative mother. Ms. Shull said that this revelation made her client feel more emboldened, at least initially, to make bigger bets....

Click here for the entire NY Times article.

More on Ms. Shull's theory of future regret and her book  Market Mind Games: A Radical New Psychology of Investing, Trading and Risk from previous post.

Another Roosevelt Island resident in the news recently is Carl Weisbrod. He was appointed last week as  Co-Chair of Mayor Elect DeBlasio's Transition Team.

Come Listen And Enjoy Some Live Artful Jazz With Hush Point Tonight At Roosevelt Island's Gallery RIVAA

Start your weekend with some live "Artful Jazz" tonight at Gallery RIVAA as the monthly Friday night series New Voices New Sounds continues with Hush Point beginning at 7 PM.

According to Gallery RIVAA:

NEW VOICES, NEW SOUNDS is an innovative and artistically curated music series that showcases fresh talent that is destined to make their mark on the New York jazz scene. With progressive and contemporary sounds that are rooted in the jazz tradition, these new voices bring fresh perspective and an innovative interpretation of the jazz canon to Rooseveltt Islands RIVAA Gallery.

Hush Point musicians are:

John McNeil - trumpet
Jeremy Udden - saxophone
Aryeh Kobrinsky - bass
Vinnie Sperrazza - drums

and Jazz Reviews says of Hush Point:

Trumpeter John McNeil and alto saxophonist Jeremy Udden might seem like unlikely collaborators. McNeil’s career began with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and continues through a series of straightforward but bold releases under his own name. Although Udden has played with Either/Orchestra and Bob Brookmeyer, his band Plainville performs work that often sounds like instrumental takes on pastoral folk music, rich in ensemble textures and spare on blowing room (at least where the saxophonist is concerned).

But they make a great pair, evoking a blend of ’50s-era Chet Baker and Lee Konitz. That sound might be suggested mainly by Hush Point’s instrumentation, which is filled out by bassist Aryeh Kobrinsky and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza, putting these ears in mind of Gerry Mulligan’s Pacific Jazz sessions...

Click here for entire Jazz Reviews article on Hush Point.

Here's a sample of Hush Point



Admission is a $5 cover charge at the door.

Here's a performance by Katie Seiler at last month's inaugural New Voices New Sounds Jazz Concert at Gallery RIVAA.

So, stop on by at Gallery RIVAA tonight to enjoy some great jazz, greet your neighbors, meet some new friends and view some art.

Cool Picture Of The Roosevelt Island Red Bus, Tram and Queensboro Bridge In Single Frame from Sleepyboo

New Roosevelt Island Main Street Retail Signage - What Do You Think Of New Signs And Look Of Windowless Arcade?

Have you noticed the new Roosevelt Island Main Street storefront signage?

At Gallery RIVAA,

Fusion Salon,

The Thrift Shop,

Public Safety Department,

and Nail Salon.

What do you think? Do you like the new Roosevelt Island Main Street signs and Eastwood/Roosevelt Landings Arcade without the windows?

Cornell NYC Tech Presentation On Roosevelt Island Campus Open Space Plan And Co-Location Building At Community Board 8 Meeting Tomorrow - NYC Planning Commission On Roosevelt Island/Western Queens Transportation Study Too

The Community Board 8 (CB 8) Roosevelt Island Committee will meet tomorrow to hear presentations from the NYC Department Of City Planning on the Western Queens Transportation/Roosevelt Island Study

Image From NYC DCP via Tri State Transportation Campaign

and Cornell NYC Tech campus on Roosevelt Island.

Image From Construction Tech Cornell

According to the Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee

Meeting Date:
Thursday, November 14, 2013 - 6:30pm
Meeting Location:
Manhattan Park Theater Club
8 River Road Roosevelt Island, NY
New York, NY

1. Introduction of new committee public members

2. Presentation by Department of City Planning of its Western Queens Transportation Study which includes the Roosevelt Island Bridge – joint issue with the Transportation Committee

3. Presentation by Cornell of:
a. The schematic design for the co-location building that they will be bringing to the Public Design Commission for preliminary review approval. This will include renderings, site plans, etc
b. The open space plan as part of the commitment to the BP’s office during the ULURP process.

4. Old business

5. New business

Jeffrey Escobar and Laurence Parnes, Co-Chairs

More information on construction of the new Cornell NYC Tech Roosevelt Island campus available here.

UPDATE 11/16 - Video of the NYC Planning Department Western Queens/Roosevelt Island Transportation Study presentation to CB 8 Roosevelt Island Committee here.

Roosevelt Island Senior Association Open House To Explain Medicare Coverage Choices Thursday, November 14, Questions And Answers With Dr. Jack Resnick - Also NY State Health Insurance Marketplace Explained

Roosevelt Island Doctor Jack Resnick reports:

There's a lot of confusion among people on Medicare about the December 7 deadline for enrollment. Attached is an announcement about an open house the Senior Association is holding Thursday, Nov. 14 that should be of interest to your older readers.

According to the notice announcing this meeting:

Which Medicare Insurance Should You Choose?

December 7 is the last day people on Medicare can choose their insurer. To many, the options are confusing.

The Roosevelt Island Senior Association (RISA) will host an open house at the Good Shepherd Chapel Thursday, November 14, 1-5 p.m. to help with the choice. The event will feature:

• An explanation of the choices
• Presentations by insurance company representatives
• Roosevelt Island community members speaking about their experiences with the different insurance plans
• On-site enrollment

A Medicare web site allows quick enrollment in the insurance plan of a person’s choice. Volunteers with internet access will help people make their choice and enroll in a plan during this open house session.

Doctor Resnick adds that a similar information session will be held next month on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

Last October 8 NY State Senator Liz Krueger hosted a community forum on the Affordable Care Act NY State Health Insurance Marketplace. Here's video of the Forum.

It began with an introduction and overview to the NY State Health Insurance Marketplace



followed by a presentation on the role of Navigators assisting in the enrollment process,



small business enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace and



questions and answers.



Capital New York reported today:

The state health department announced today that nearly 50,000 New Yorkers have enrolled in health insurance plans since Oct. 1, when the state's exchange opened in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.

That total is roughly equal to the number of people from all 36 states relying on the federal government's troubled website healthcare.gov who have so far been able to enroll, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, and signifies one of the few bright spots the Obama administration can point to in an otherwise troubled rollout.

New York's number is likely to increase significantly, since some 200,000 people have completed an application and have been determined eligible but have not yet picked a plan, according to the health department.

Of the 48,162 newly insured New Yorkers, 23,653, or a little less than half, have been signed up for Medicaid. The rest have enrolled in private health insurance plans offered through the exchange....

Click here for the entire Capital New York article.

Crazy New York City East River Sunset Over Roosevelt Island Tonight - Did You See It?

Did you see the sunset tonight? The sky over Roosevelt Island was amazing

as the Tram passed over the East River

alongside the Queensboro Bridge.

Verizon Wireless On Wheels Available At Good Shepherd Plaza For Those Without Phone Service - 6 Days Since Roosevelt Island Phone Outage Caused By Cables Cut During Riverwalk Building 7 Construction

Image Of Verizon Wireless On Wheels at Roosevelt Island Good Shepherd Plaza

As reported November 9:

... a cable mistakenly cut last Thursday during the construction of Southtown Riverwalk building 7 caused the loss of Verizon land line phone service and Time Warner cable service to large portions of Roosevelt Island. Time Warner Cable service was restored later that evening but Verizon land line phone service is still out of service and it is not known yet when service will be restored....

Image Of Southtown Riverwalk Building 7 Construction Site

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) just sent out the following update:

Verizon has installed a "Wireless on Wheels" trailer on Good Shepherd Plaza on the south side of the Good Shepherd Community Center. This trailer, which is available free of charge, is equipped with fifteen cell phones, I- Pads for checking e-mails, and Wi-Fi service. The trailer will available until service is fully restored. Please feel free to avail yourself of these services.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

A Verizon Spokesperson added this afternoon:

Four of our cables were cut, two fiber and two copper. In round numbers, it was about 1,300 lines. The fiber cables were restored over the weekend, and that was about 400 lines/customers. The copper cables are much more difficult to restore, they require much more splicing. We have restored about another 400 lines thus far on one of the copper lines. As we continue to splice “pairs” within the cables, customers will be restored over the next couple of days. In addition, we have given some voice phones and Jetpacks (for data) deployed yesterday to Public Safety group on RI for distribution to residents who have urgent need. We are also setting up a mobile trailer that contains phones for residents’ use.

UPDATE 4:15 PM - From RIOC

Please be advised that the Verizon trailer service will be available from 9 A.M. until 5 P.M. daily.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

Roosevelt Island NY State Senator Jose Serrano Constituent Office Hours Today 5 -8 PM At Senior Center - Stop By If You Have Any Questions Or Concerns

Image From Senator Serrano's Office

Good for Senator Serrano maintaining regular constituent office hours on Roosevelt Island.

I hope our new City Council member Ben Kallos will also hold regular constituent office hours on Roosevelt Island. Assembly Member Micah Kellner used to have regularly scheduled constituent office hours on Roosevelt Island but has not done so in quite a while.

First Roosevelt Island Snow Of Season This Morning - Just Snow Showers But Winter's Coming, Going To Be Cold Tonight, 27 Degrees

The Roosevelt Island Twitterverse reports:

First snow of the season on Roosevelt island #nyc
— Paul Morgan (@Jumanjiman) November 12, 2013

First snow of the season at Roosevelt Island Manhattan Park. pic.twitter.com/WVGxzw0v5P
— Mark Lyon (@markhlyon) November 12, 2013

According to The Weather Channel:

Today:

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the morning. High near 40F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 60%.

Tonight:

Mainly clear. Low 27F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.

Soon, the snow will come to Roosevelt Island and Main Street will look like this

Image From Trevre Andrews

but, with the construction of Riverwealk Building 7, there will be no

sledding at Southtown Hill any more.

Veterans Day 2013 - Thank You To All Members Of The Military For Your Service

You Tube Video of Norah Jones Verterans Day Montage - American Anthem

Today is Veteran's Day. According to History.com:

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War." Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars.

If you know a Veteran or see one on the street today, please take a brief moment to thank them for their service to our country. Also, don't just thank them today but do it throughout the year and thank our active duty soldiers as well.

Here's President Obama's Veterans Day remarks



and the Veterans Day wreath laying ceremony



at the Tomb Of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetary today.

More on the history of Veterans Day here.

Great Picture - One World Trade Center So Tall Can Be Seen From Tip Of Roosevelt Island

A Roosevelt Island tweet from Gigi A:

Hello One World Trade Center! You're so tall I can see you from the Four Freedoms Park in Roosevelt Island. #NYC pic.twitter.com/WbVBYDBsgZ
— Gigi A (@gigi_nyc) November 10, 2013

Check out more NYC photos from Gigi A at My Walking Pictures blog.

CBS New York reports:

The city experienced a major milestone on Friday night when the spire on the top of One World Trade Center was test lit for the first time.

The spire and beacon stand 408 feet tall. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Friday the beacon is packed with 288 50-watt LED modules that can be seen up to 50 miles.

The LED modules produce 288,000 lumens of light...

Click here for the whole report from CBS New York including video.

Super Typhoon Yolanda Leaves Devastation In Philippines - Google Person Finder and Crisis Map Tool Available

Roosevelt Island resident Karine Wong provides information on assistance for those effected by Typhoon Yolanda which devastated the Philippines and is now headed towards Vietnam. According to Ms. Wong:

If you're looking for someone missing in the Philippines, or if you have information about someone there, Google.org has launched the Typhoon Yolanda Person Finder. (http://google.org/personfinder/2013-yolanda/) A Google crisis map has also been added to detail evacuation centers and areas designated for relief. ttp://google.org/crisismap/a/gmail.com/TyphoonYolanda

Sunday News Shows In 90 Seconds From Politco - Christie On Re-Election, Perry On Republican Presidential Politics, Panetta On Health Care Fix, Kerry On Iran Nuclear Talks and Graham On Bengazi

If you are interested in a quick summary of the Sunday News talks shows, Politico has it in 90 seconds.