Annual 2 Week Intermittent Roosevelt Island Bridge Traffic Closings For UN General Assembly Session Starts Today - RI Residents Worried Coast Guard Puts Community At Increased Risk For Emergency Vehicle Response Delays In Favor Of Recreational Boaters

During @UN General Assembly 9/18-9/30 the @uscoastguard will close the West Channel of the East River & marine traffic will divert to East Channel. As needed #RooseveltIslandBridge will close to all traffic for up to 15min at a time btn 7AM-7PM to permit marine traffic to pass. pic.twitter.com/pb8qST7wZj

— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) September 10, 2018

It's that time of year again for Roosevelt Island.

Image Of United Nations From Roosevelt Island FDR Four Freedoms Park

Mid September is the the opening of the United Nations General Assembly Session and 2018 is no different than previous years in terms of its impact on Roosevelt Island residents. The opening of the UN General Assembly means the diversion of all East River boat traffic to the Roosevelt Island East Channel Queens side for security precautions due to our proximity to the United Nations resulting in the intermittent closings of the Roosevelt Island Bridge.

 Roosevelt Island Bridge Raised To Let Sailboat Pass During 2010 UN Week Causing Ambulance To Wait

According to the NYC Department of Transportation:

While the United Nations General Assembly is in session, from Tuesday, September 18, through Sunday, September 30, the U.S. Coast Guard will close the West Channel of the East River, which is the main navigational channel, and divert all marine traffic to the East Channel, between Roosevelt Island and Queens. The NYC Department of Transportation will close the Roosevelt Island Bridge, as needed, for up to 15 minutes at a time between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to permit marine traffic to pass.

During these closures, the bridge will be closed to all vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle traffic. A variable message sign will be installed to inform the public. Emergency service providers have been informed of the special operational schedule.

The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) adds:

During the UN General Assembly Sept. 18-30, expect more bridge opening activity as all East River water traffic is redirected through the Roosevelt Island Bridge. Please be advised that each opening will take no longer than eight to 10 minutes to complete. 

Every year at this time, the increased Roosevelt Island Bridge traffic closings raises the risk to the health and safety of Roosevelt Island residents who may need emergency services such as FDNY, NYPD and ambulances. As Roosevelt Island resident Raye Schwartz wrote last year:

Somebody needs to let the Coast Guard and Dept. of Homeland Security know that at the least they should limit access to pleasure boats during this period, so that we are not put in danger for fire and ambulances to get through while the bridge is inaccessible - sometimes for ½ hr. at a time while sailboats and pleasure boats go up and down the river....

In response to these annual public safety concerns a RIOC spokesperson replied last year:

... Due to the rerouting of recreational boat traffic to the East Channel of the East River during the UN General Assembly, the NYC Department of Transportation Division of Bridges will be required to raise the Roosevelt Island Bridge to allow the passing of these recreational boats during this event. According to the DOT Division of bridges, each opening should take anywhere from 8-12 minutes to complete.

For the past year, Public Safety Chief McManus and RIOC President & CEO Susan Rosenthal have been meeting with and lobbying, various City, State, and Federal entities to prohibit recreational boat traffic during this two week period.

In spite of our efforts and others who helped, including Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who pled our case to the Commandant of the US Coast Guard, recreational boat traffic is still being redirected to the East Channel. We will continue our efforts to have this protocol changed.

During the last year, RIOC has been working with the NYC Office of Emergency Management and key representatives from FDNY, NYPD, NYC DOT Division of Bridges, NYC DEP, Health and Hospitals Corporation and Con Ed, to explore alternative emergency response options concerning the bridge during both the UN General Assembly and other situations where the bridge may get stuck or fail for any reason. By pre-staging emergency response vehicles and equipment, we are better prepared to respond to medical emergencies on Roosevelt Island. Furthermore, Con Ed has already pre-staged emergency gas and electric equipment on the Island in the event a gas or electric emergency were to take place and Con Ed trucks were unable to reach the Island due to a bridge malfunction.

During the UN General Assembly, and under the newly created Interagency Roosevelt Island Bridge Lift Protocol, the aforementioned City Agencies are responsible for the following:

NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Organize pre-event interagency conference call with Public Safety Agencies

FDNY
Pre-Stage one Engine Company, one Ladder Company, and one BLS (Basic Life Support) Ambulance on Roosevelt Island. Alert Battalion 45 and Battalion 49 companies of Bridge Lifts.

NYPD
Assign resources as appropriate on Roosevelt Island

NYC DOT
Stage bridge oiler crew near bridge structure
Stage bridge electric crew near bridge structure

NYCDEP
Pre-staged water maintenance equipment available at an on-island DEP Facility

Consolidated Edison
Emergency gas and electric equipment pre-staged on Roosevelt Island Gas and electric emergency personnel will deploy to Roosevelt Island via Tramway or Subway as necessary

Health and Hospitals Corporation
Standard resource deployment

RIOC and its Public Safety Department thank all of these agencies for working together to develop these first steps toward a stronger emergency plan.

A new year and recreational boats are still allowed to put the health and safety of Roosevelt Island residents at risk during UN General Assembly Week.

What will it take for the Coast Guard to prohibit recreational boaters from going under the Roosevelt Island Bridge - someone's death or serious injury due to a delay in emergency response?