Friday, December 7, 2018

Happy Chanukah From Roosevelt Island - Join The Chabad Of Roosevelt Island For Family Public Menorah Lighting Saturday December 8 At Rivercross Lawn - Pass The Latkes Please & Spin the Dreidel With The Maccabeats

The Chabad of Roosevelt Island invite you to the Annual Family Public Menorah Lighting for the 7th Chanukah Light at the Rivercross Lawn


on Saturday evening December 8 (6:30 PM):
Come together to celebrate Jewish pride!

Enjoy hot latkes, hot drinks, music, dreidels and other  ttreats.

For more information contact nechama@RIjewish.org

Happy Chanukah from Roosevelt Island


and the Maccabeats. Have fun spinning the dreidel



and enjoy the Latkes.



Yum.

History of Chanukah here.


Roosevelt Island Transportation This Weekend - No Roosevelt Island F Train Service From Manhattan, Both Tram Cabins At Full Capacity And NYC Ferry Winter RI Service Schedule

No Roosevelt Island F Train service from Manhattan this weekend.


According to the MTA:
TRACK MAINTENANCE 11:45 PM Fri, Dec 7 to 5 AM Mon, Dec 10 to 5 AM Mon Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the E after 47-50 Sts in Manhattan to Roosevelt Av in Queens.

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

... To Roosevelt Island and 21 St-Queensbridge, take the F to Roosevelt Av and transfer to a Brooklyn-bound F.

From these stations, take a Brooklyn-bound F to 47-50 Sts and transfer to a Jamaica-bound F. 
Also:
... STATION ENHANCEMENTS | Until December 2018 57 St F Station is closed...
Both Tram Cabins operating at full capacity.

There is Roosevelt Island ferry service on the Astoria Route. Here's the Winter Schedule for Roosevelt Island ferry service.

Sponsored Post - Check Out Roosevelt Island Gristedes December 14 To December 20 Product Offerings, Specials & Sales Items - Complete Christmas Dinner Too

The Roosevelt Island Gristedes Supermarket


invites you to check out their December 14 - December 20 Product Offerings, Specials & Sales items.

Grab & Go Prepared Items too.


Also, Complete Christmas Dinner.


Don't forget the 10% Roosevelt Island Seniors Discount on Tuesday and Sign Up for the Gristedes Diamond Loyalty Rewards Program.

More Gristedes Supermarket information available at their web site, Facebook Page and Twitter feed

Thursday, December 6, 2018

All Female Version Of Shakespeare's Richard 111 Coming To Roosevelt Island's Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance This Weekend December 7 - 9 Performed By Blunt Ensemble - Political Machinations, Backstabbing And Secret Treasons, Get Your Tickets

Shakespeare's Richard 111 is coming to Roosevelt Island this weekend at the Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance performed by the Blunt Ensemble.


The $5 tickets can be purchased here:
Richard III

Blunt Ensemble presents a stripped-down 6 woman adaptation of Shakespeare's classic play. Director Rachel Matusewicz uses her all-female cast to explore the dynamics of power in the patriarchal society of Richard's England, in a play full of political machination, backstabbing and secret treasons. Where one man's ruthless ambition will bring himself and his country to the brink of destruction.

Director: Rachel Matusewicz
Stage Manager: Sage Spitz
Lighting Design: Terrence Dalton

Featuring:
Ellie dEustachio
Brooke Garfinkel
Meredyth Kenney
Bess Miller
Ryan Natalino
Marie Eléna OBrien


More info on the Blunt Ensemble Facebook Page.

Your DASH Donation Of An Electric Can Opener Can Help Feed A Roosevelt Island Resident In Need Says RI Disabled Association Support For The Homebound, Disabled And Elderly At RIRA Public Session Last Night

DASH is the acronym for the Roosevelt Island Disabled Association Support for the Homebound, Disabled and Elderly. Last evening, during the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council Public Session, DASH Director Louella Streitz asked the Roosevelt Island community to help insure that neighbors with arthritis will be able to eat by donating an electric can opener.



According to Ms. Streitz:

DASH (Disabled Association Support for the Homebound, Disabled and Elderly) is reaching out to ask if anyone would kindly adopt a senior for the Holidays and gift the 7 or so needy seniors, an electric can opener. The ones I am thinking of have acute arthritis and many of them eat quite some canned food.

DASH operates on a $0 budget based with pure volunteerism and would appreciate any donations of electric can openers.

I, Louella Streitz am the Director and will handle all distribution. I  will handle all distributon and can be reached at firstdash@gmail.com.
More info about DASH, volunteer opportunities or if you need assistance available at The Roosevelt Doctor web site.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Past, Present & Future Exhibits Of Roosevelt Island's Gallery RIVAA - Creating An Island Of Art & Continuing The Journey With Your Help

Roosevelt Island artist Tony Vita illustrates the 17 year history of Roosevelt Island's Gallery RIVAA with flyers and scenes from past art exhibits, dance performances, music concerts, poetry readings as well as upcoming plans for the future of Gallery RIVAA and Roosevelt Island as an "Island Of Art".

Watch the video and message at end asking your help to continue the journey by contributing what you can.



During the June 6, 2018 unveiling ceremony of Roosevelt Island Plinth sculpture at Good Shepherd Plaza,  RIOC President Susan Rosenthal announced plans for a Roosevelt Island Art Trail and thanked our local Gallery RIVAA for its contribution to the Roosevelt Island art scene.



Also, Gallery RIVAA's Tad Sudol made this October 2015 presentation of his idea for an Island Of Art on Roosevelt Island to the RIOC Board Of Directors.



Here's one possible future exhibit


for the Roosevelt Island Of Art.

Roosevelt Island Holiday Shopping - Pop Up Gift Shops This Weekend And Next, Christmas Trees For Sale, Professional Holiday Family Photos & RIHS Visitors Center Merchandise

Plenty of opportunities to do some Hanukkah/Christmas Holiday shopping locally right here on Roosevelt Island.

This weekend is a Holiday Pop Up Shop at the Seniors Center (546 Main Street):

Holiday Pop Up Shop

December 8th and 9th, 2018 Saturday—Sunday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

All you need in one place. This holiday season!

Holiday gifts and decorations Jewelry, food, poinsettia for sale and much more!

For Information, please contact Wendy Hersh at whersh@nyc.rr.com.

On Sunday, December 16, check out the Pink Tage Creative Market at Manhattan Park Theatre Club (8 River Road). According to the event organizer Carla Ramirez:
The intention of making this Creative Bazaar, is to help entrepreneurs who do their jobs by hand.

They are small entrepreneurs most from my native country Venezuela, I want their talent to be known by other cultures.

Manhattan Park, in conjunction with other residents, have given me all their support to make this event happen. To give the residents of Roosevelt Island a family day to do activities for both adults and children including free Zumba Class, Sports Activities, and many activities for children.

They can make Christmas purchases too. We will have jewelry booth, handmade handbags, T-shirts, makeup, photography, accessories for dogs, desserts, arts and crafts, handmade soaps, women's clothing, sportswear, and much more. We will have food stalls and hot chocolate.

So we are waiting for you to share a family day with us.

Each Saturday and Sunday until December 23, the Roosevelt Island Christmas Tree Emporium is available at the Motorgate Rotunda next to Gristedes and offers free delivery.


Roosevelt Island Party Planners Bespoke My Heart are offering professional Holiday photos on Saturday December 8:
Haven’t taken your Holiday photos yet? Get them taken by a professional on Roosevelt Island at a pop-up photo studio. Saturday December 8th, located at 504 Main Street (2nd Floor), appointments available from 9am - 6pm.


Reserve your photo session now: Click here.

Cost: $50 for a 20 minute session with different props and backdrops.

Walk away with the photos on a USB drive ready to print or upload for holiday cards.

Register Now for you Roosevelt Island professional Holiday Photo Session.
Don't forget to stop by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society Visitors Center


for Holiday Shopping too.


According to RIHS:
ROOSEVELT ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY VISITOR CENTER HOLIDAY SHOPPING

December, 2018

Daily, except Tuesday

11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Saturdays 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SPECIAL EVENING OPENINGS

WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY

DEC. 19, 20, 21

11 A.M. TO 8 P.M.
Click here for some gift ideas at the RIHS Visitors Center.

Happy Shopping.

Stacy Horn, Author Of Damnation Island, Poor, Sick, Mad & Criminal In 19th Century NY Discusses History Of Roosevelt Island At NYPL RI Branch Thursday December 6 Presented By Roosevelt Island Historical Society

Damnation Island is the title of a new book by author Stacy Horn


about the history of our home here on Roosevelt Island. You can tell by the book's title that the story is of a Roosevelt Island before luxury condos, Cornell Tech and tourists coming to visit.

Ms Horn will be giving a talk about her book at the NYPL Roosevelt Island branch (524 Main Street) tomorrow evening. 
Ms Horn's talk about Damnation Island is presented by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS) and is the second program of its free Fall Lecture series. According to the RIHS:
In the 19th century, New York confined the poor, the insane, the criminal and the sick to Blackwell’s Island. Here, nestled between the teeming shores of Manhattan and the rural farms of Queens, these unfortunates were warehoused in deplorable conditions, squalor and neglect.

Author Stacy Horn will describe the notorious history of Damnation Island at a lecture presented by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society at the New York Public Library Branch on Roosevelt Island, on Thursday, December 6, 2018 at 6:30 p.m.

The event is FREE and open to the public. It is the second in the Society’s annual series of fall lectures, which is supported by funds provided by Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation’s Public Purpose Fund and New York City Council Member Ben Kallos, with funding from the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development.

DIRECTIONS: Take the Tram at 59 th Street and Second Avenue or the F train to Roosevelt Island. Take the red bus (no charge) or walk eight minutes north to 524 Main Street.

The Roosevelt Island Historical Society promotes awareness of the Island’s unique story and pursues preservation of its landmarks and artifacts.

For more information, please visit www.rihs.us.
Listen to this June 5, 2018 NY Public Library podcast interview with Ms. Horn discussing the dark history of Blackwell's, then Welfare and now Roosevelt Island.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center Reaches Out To Reclusive Resident To Help Provide Needed Services, You Can Help Too - Senior Center Seeking Increase In RIOC Public Purpose Funds

During today's Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center General Meeting, Executive Director Lisa Fernandez recounted a story about helping a reclusive Roosevelt Island resident obtain needed services that the resident did not know were available.

The story begins with a Roosevelt Island resident telling Ms. Fernandez about a neighbor banging on her door and that something seems very wrong. The resident added that she had only seen her neighbor a couple of times in 10 years.

Ms Fernandez, a Senior Center Case Worker and Public Safety Officer went to the neighbor's apartment to see if any help was needed and wanted.

Listen to Ms Fernandez explain what happened next.



If you know of a Senior who may need some assistance, contact the Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center (546 Main Street, 212-980-1888) and they may be able to help.

Also, discussed at the General Meeting was the RIRA Public Purpose Funds recommendation for the Senior Center of $3,250 which is significantly less than the recommendations for other Roosevelt Island non profit organizations. Ms Fernandez asked the Senior Center members to support efforts to obtain a larger Public Purpose Funds grant for additional Senior Programs.



Stay tuned for more on this issue.

First Full Meeting Of Roosevelt Island Residents Association 2018-2020 Common Council Wednesday December 6 - New Members, New President & You're Invited For Public Session To Raise Your Issues And Ask Questions Too

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Common Council will hold it's monthly meeting tomorrow evening, December 5 at 8:00 PM in the Good Shepherd Community Center (543 Main Street).

Image Of November 2018 RIRA Common Council Meeting

The RIRA Common Council meets the first Wednesday of the month (except when not in session for July & August).

As always, prior to the start of each monthly meeting there is a Public Session in which residents can come and address the Common Council Delegates on any issue of concern. All members of the Roosevelt Island community are invited to attend.

Last month's November RIRA meeting was the final session for the 2016-18 Common Council and first session for the 2018-20 Common Council. Meet the new RIRA Common Council


and new RIRA President Lynn Strong Shinozaki.



Below is the Draft Agenda for December 5 RIRA meeting.
Preamble

We the residents of Roosevelt Island, come from diverse backgrounds and have diverse interests and circumstances. We all want to live together in harmony based on mutual respect and the voluntary sharing of certain responsibilities for our common good. We form this community association to enable us to define, maintain and promote our common objectives in a democratic manner.

Purpose

To represent the interests of its members to all governmental, quasi-governmental and private institutions that develop policy affecting Roosevelt Island and its residents: that supervise or manage our housing and that supervise or manage other Island operations;

To ensure that the health, safety and welfare of its members and the QUALITY of life in our community are maintained and improved.

Date: Wednesday, December 5th, 2018

Time & Place: 8:00pm, Good Shepherd 543 Main St Roosevelt Island (lower level)

1. Public Session (please sign-in to be placed on the Public Session Speaking List)
2. Roll Call of Common Council Members
3. Adoption of Agenda
4. President’s Call for Treasure
5. President’s Report
6. Old Business
a. Approval of November 7th Report Common Council 2016-2018
b. Approval of November 7th Report Common Council 2018-2020
c. Treasure Pro Tempore November Report
d. Nominations Committee Report
e. Island Services Committee Report
f. Youth and Education Committee Report
a. Adoption of Consent Agenda
• Organization Expenses for 2018-2020
1. Mail Box expense
2. Paypal Fees
3. Meeting Agenda Packets
4. Tax Filing Costs
5. DOE Permit for Voting space at PS/IS 217 2020
7. President’s Call for Standing Committee Chairs
a. Communications Committee
b. Governmental Relations Committee
c. Housing Committee
d. Island Services Committee
e. Legal Action Committee
f. Planning Committee
g. Public Safety Committee
h. Social, Cultural and Educational Services Committee
8. New Business
At last month's November RIRA meeting, Frank Farance and the 2016-2018 Common Council thanked former President Jeff Escobar for his 5 years of service to the Roosevelt Island community.  At the suggestion of his daughter, Mr Escobar ended his term with a mic drop saying:
Escobar out.


and thanked the 2016-18 Common Council members for their service.

Monday, December 3, 2018

Part 3 Of Cornell Tech Roosevelt Island Community Conversations With Faculty Members - Connective Media Professor Mor Naaman Presentation On Tech, Media & Democracy Thursday December 6

The 3rd in a 4 Part series of Roosevelt Island community conversations with Cornell Tech Faculty members takes place Wednesday, December 6 with Professor Mor Naaman.

You're invited.

According to Cornell Tech Roosevelt Island Community Conversation event page:

Community Conversations with Cornell Tech Faculty

MOR NAAMAN: Technology, Media, Democracy

CONVERSATION

Mor's lab designs, builds, and studies social systems, with a focus on technology, media and democracy - issues that have never been more relevant to our society than they are today. Mor will break it all down for us in what promises to be an enlightening and thought-provoking presentation.

Date and Time

Thu, December 6, 2018, 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM EST

Location

Tata Innovation Center, 11 East Loop Road, New York, NY 10044

RSVP Click or  Call: 646-220-1505 or

Email: Jane.Swanson@cornell.edu


ABOUT MOR

Mor Naaman is an associate professor of Information Science at the Jacobs Technion- Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech. He is the founder of the Connective Media hub, co-directs the Oath- supported Connected Experiences Lab, and leads the Social Technologies research group.
Professor Naaman described the Connective Media Program



and Technology Media & Democracy initiative



by a consortium of NYC universities.

Click here to register for the Thursday, December 6, Roosevelt Island Cornell Tech Faculty Community Conversation with Professor Mor Naaman.

The first Roosevelt Island Cornell Tech Faculty conversation was with Professor Serge 
Belongie on Computer Vision, Machine Learning and Augmented Reality. Watch the video here.

The second Roosevelt Island Cornell Tech Faculty conversation was with Professor Nicolai Dell on Creating Tech For Underserved Communities. Watch the video here.

The final Roosevelt Island Cornell Tech Community Conversation in this series is with Professor James Grimmelaman on December 11.

The Cornell Tech Community Conversations are very interesting. Try to attend. You'll find it fascinating.

Meeting On Future Funding Of The Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center Programs Tuesday December 4 - Free Breast Cancer Mammogram Screening Wednesday Too

According to the Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center:

Tuesday, Dec 04th Join us for a very important General Meeting with Bill Dionne at 2:00 p.m. regarding fundings for the programs at the senior center. We will also be sharing upcoming events and much more. Light refreshments will be service.

The Carter Burden Network web site reports:
... From its small beginnings with one person working in the Council office, the Carter Burden Network has grown into an agency with 12 programs in 7 locations and more than 80 employees. Now we serve approximately 5,000 seniors every year across the borough of Manhattan, with a significant expansion into East Harlem and on Roosevelt Island in the past few years....


As previously reported, the recent Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Purpose Funds recommendations to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) for the Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center was significantly less than other Roosevelt Island non profits:
... The RIRA recommendations ranged from $9,750 to $29,500 for 9 of the 10 Roosevelt Island non profit organizations. Left far behind was the Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center who received a recommendation for much less - $3,250.

The final decision on distribution of Public Purpose Funds is made by RIOC....
The Roosevelt Island Daily reported that some saw the RIRA Public Purpose recommendation as a slap in the face of Seniors:
Protest hit my inbox soon after the news was out. "Did you see this?" asked one resident. "Something is really wrong. This has to be adjusted." Easier said than done, but lets see if RIOC blows another one, letting the insular Common Council get away with a feelingless slap in the face to seniors....
However, as noted on Page 10 of the Carter Burden 2018 Audited Financial Statement, the Roosevelt Island Senior Center does receive free use of its space from RIOC:
... The Organization uses space at the Leonard Covello Senior Center, Lehman Village Senior Houses, and Roosevelt Island Center without charge. The estimated fair value of $1,761,270 has been recorded as an in-kind contribution and is reflected on the statement of functional expenses as contributed space....
Not sure if any other Roosevelt Island Public Purpose Funds applicant receives free rent space from RIOC.

Also, at the Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center::
Wednesday, Dec 05 Sign up for a free Mammography Screening sponsored by Mount Sinai from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Call 212.980.1888 to sign up.