Saturday evening on Roosevelt Island: a special collaboration among three extraordinary musicians
TRIPLE THREAT
7:30 pm Saturday, December 15, at Good Shepherd Center
543 Main Street, Roosevelt Island |
No admission fee. Contributions to the concert series are welcome.
Inmo Yang violin
Hailed by the Boston Globe for “seamless technique and a tender warmth of tone,” he won the 54th International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy, marking the first time since 2006 that the jury awarded First Prize.
Julia Hamos piano
Winner of the Sterndale Bennett Prize at the Royal Academy of Music and the Mannes College of Music Fidelman Prize for contemporary music, she performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician.
Oliver Aldort cello
A member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he also peforms as a soloist throughout North America, appearing with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Northwest, and the Newton Symphony Orchestra.
Haydn Trio in a major
Ravel Trio
Brahms Trio No. 1 in B Major
If you're considering supporting R&R Concerts, contribute now at certain levels to receive reserved seats for performances throughout the next year, including on December 15.
No Roosevelt Island F Train service to or from Manhattan this weekend.
But the R and E Trains will replace the F Train for Roosevelt Island service instead. The R will service Roosevelt Island during the daytime/evening and the E will serve Roosevelt Island overnight.
STATION ENHANCEMENTS 11:45 PM Fri, Dec 14 to 4 AM Mon, Dec 17 F Trains skip 21 St-Queensbridge, Roosevelt Island and Lexington Av/63 St in both directions Rerouted E and R trains provide alternate service
F Trains run via the E between Roosevelt Av, Queens and 5 Av/53 St, Manhattan.
R Trains are rerouted and stop at 21 St-Queensbridge, Roosevelt Island and Lexington Av/63 St days and evenings, rerouted E trains make these stops overnight.
Travel Alternatives:
For 21 St-Queensbridge, Roosevelt Island and Lexington Av/63 St, take the R days/evenings or the E overnight.
Last Sunday, I took a walk over the Roosevelt Island Bridge to Long Island City and spotted some sort of bicycle race taking place a few blocks away in Rainey Park.
Watched part of Rainey Park Cyclocross bike race in Long Island City a few blocks from Roosevelt Island last Sunday. pic.twitter.com/CtpdQwjNHf
I stumbled upon the Third Annual Rainey Park Cyclocross Bike Race and spoke with the event organizer Keith Garrison who described what was going on as:
We're putting on a little bike race here... the cycling equivalent of cross county running ... people are challenged by flat, fast turns, varying degrees of hillside slopes ... it drops down to the water so there's alot more technical riding there so it challenges skill, not only fitness and speed ...
... This race is really special because it is the only one of its kind in NYC...
Like most things in NYC, we're cramming a lot of action into a little bit of space! The prologue starts on a slightly false-flat section of grass, turns onto pavement briefly and then back onto grass where it links up with the main course. A slight drop in elevation flows into a series of U-turns before a fast sweeping turn around the baseball field, followed by some brief up and down along a small hillside (which is in the outfield for some reason?) before passing the pit for the first time.
Next up is a quick dip down onto the pavement, down an off-camber right hand turn and back onto the paved, slightly up-hill finishing stretch. The following section is a series of flat zig-zags in between and around the large trees that line the park. Once the course takes you along the water it starts to get interesting. A set of ~30cm high barriers (lower than the standard 40cm, but still tricky to bunny hop!) precedes a series of up/down off-camber turns leading to a stair run-up.
After passing the pit for the second time there is a long sideways off-camber descent back down to the lowest elevation in the park. Some more up and down before an up hill drag with 3 Belgian steps (spaced apart enough to be ride-able with some finesse). Elevation levels out again as you begin to approach the street, and some more rooty turns follow.
Next up is a fast section back towards the playground before one last trip up and down the off-camber hillside and heading back towards the prologue. Average lap time for the pointy end of the Elite fields the last two years has been between between 6:45 and 7:45 depending on weather conditions.
"Big events have to start somewhere, and Rainey Park Cyclocross is on its way to big things. And the experience bested many of the big, weekend-long events" https://t.co/kq7WpT9Mcy
RIOC’s Proposed Budget FY 2019‐20 projects revenues of $30,700,000 a decrease of $23,170,123 or 43.01 % over the Approved Budget FY 2018‐19 amount of $53,870,123. RIOC generates most of its revenues from long‐term ground leases to developers of housing projects on the Island. These leases specify the manner in which the ground lease revenues are derived, including amounts, timing, and escalation of ground lease payments, specifically residential fees, ground rents, and public safety fees. In addition, RIOC generates revenues from its Tramway transportation system, Motorgate parking garage, metered street parking, commercial leases, interest income, and other revenues. Other revenues mostly consist of permitting fees collected for activities that take place in the Sportspark sports facility, the Cultural Center, the Sports Fields, and third party construction on the Island.
Residential fees are projected to increase by $937,000 or 63.18 %. This is mainly due to two factors: (1) TEP payments from Southtown Building 9 in the amount of $134,000, and (2) the Sponsor Sales from Westview in the amount of $750,000.
Ground rents are projected to decrease by $23,570,123 or 61.82 % mainly due to the anticipated payment of the State’s contribution for Cornell in FY 18‐19.
Commercial rents are projected to increase by $57,000 or 3.63 % due to contractual escalations.
Tramway revenues are projected to decrease by $806,000 or 14.70 %, due to reduced ridership and downtime for long‐term overhauls.
Public Safety revenues are projected to increase by $57,000 or 2.83 % due to contractual escalations.
Transport/parking revenues are projected to decrease by $568,000 or 18.00 %, mainly due to the elimination of night‐time paid parking and over‐projection of the revenues in the FY 18‐19 budget.
Interest revenues are projected to increase by $16,000 or 4.58 % due to gradual increases in interest rates.
Other Revenues is projected to increase by $707,000 or 41.81 %. Most of the increase is due to projected revenues from FEMA for restoration of damages to the seawall from Hurricane Irene....
DECEMBER 13, 2018 MEETING OF THE ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS THE CULTURAL CENTER THEATER, 548 MAIN STREET, ROOSEVELT ISLAND, NEW YORK 5:30 P.M.1
I. Call to Order
II. Roll Call
III. Approval of Minutes
1. October 18, 2018 Board Meeting (Board Action Required)
2. November 20, 2018 Special Board Meeting (Board Action Required)
IV. Old Business
V. New Business
1. Designation of Keith Thompson to Serve as Records Management Officer of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (Board Action Required)
2. Approval of the Proposed RIOC Budget for Fiscal Year 2019-20 (Board Action Required)
3. Appointment of John O’Reilly to the Position of Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Financial Affairs of the Corporation (Board Action Required)
4. Authorization to Transfer RIOC Archival Records of Historical Value to NYS Archives (Board Action Required)
5. Approval of Schedule of 2019 Meetings of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation Board of Directors (Board Action Required)
6. Authorization to Amend the Expenditure of Public Purpose Funds for Fiscal Year 2017-18 (Board Action Required)
7. Authorization of Expenditure of Public Purpose Funds for Fiscal Year 2018-19 (Board Action Required)
8. President’s Report
9. Committee Reports
a. Audit Committee
b. Governance Committee
c. Operations Advisory Committee
d. Real Estate Development Advisory Committee
10. Public Safety Report
VI. Adjournment
1 The RIOC Board Meeting will commence following a public comment period. The public comment period is not part of the meeting.
Job Description: Lifeguard SUMMARY: The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is currently seeking a qualified Lifeguard with a great personality and a passion... Full Description
Posted December 3, 2018 9:00 AM | Closes January 31, 2019 11:59 PMWhat we’re looking for: Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) seeks a highly organized, strategic and visionary AVP, Capital Project with strong project... Full Description
Posted November 2, 2018 1:44 PM | Closes December 28, 2018 11:59 PMWhat we’re looking for: Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) seeks a highly organized Facilities Manager with strong time management, customer... Full Description
... The Student Wellness and Support Manager is a full-time, visible resource to Cornell Tech graduate and professional students as well as Ithaca-based Cornell undergraduate, graduate, and professional students engaged in academic study in New York City living and/or studying on the Cornell Tech Campus. Reporting to the Director of Student Services at Cornell Tech, the position provides non-clinical support as well as proactive programming on topics including, but not limited to, physical health, mental health, stress management, and other wellness related areas....
Roosevelt Island resident Scott Piro shares this gorgeous nighttime view of the Roosevelt Island Tram gliding over East River seen from the Queensboro Bridge and adds:
From the #edkochqueensborobridge, 8 Dec 2018 during 21:00 hour.
I stopped while jogging over the bridge to see THIS
... 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...
During the December 4 Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center General Meeting, Executive Director Lisa Fernandez said that decision was a:
... Slap in the face of the senior population. You don't care as much as a cat. You don't care as much as the dirt. We all care, we all matter. We all matter equally...
Ms Fernandez incorrectly attributed the recommendation to RIOC rather than RIRA.
According to this November 16 memo from RIOC President Susan Rosenthal to the RIOC Board of Directors:
Attached are the Roosevelt Island Resident Association Public Purpose Grant recommendations for the fiscal year 2018-19. RIRA conducted evaluations through its Public Purpose Funds Committee (“Committee”). The Committee took into account information provided in the applications and at public interview sessions, while considering evaluative criteria provided by RIOC. This year, the budget for grants has increased 50% for a total of $150,000. Grants will remain open through March 31, 2019.
RIOC is also in receipt of the annexed letter from William Dionne, Executive Director of the Carter Burden Network (“CBN”), vis-à-vis RIRA’s recommended allocation of $3,250 to CBN (16% of CBN’s $20,000 request). In sum, the letter highlights that seniors account for 25% of the Island’s community and that CBN’s budget for instructor-led programming is severely underfunded. Only 5% of their budget of $50,120 for these classes is funded by NYC Department for the Aging. Absent sufficient Public Purpose funds, CBN would be adversely affected in its ability to provide this much needed programming. Also attached is CBN’s presentation to the community, showcasing their achievements and the critical need for these funds.
In light of the foregoing, we recommend that the Board modify RIRA’s recommendations to all other applicants at a modest rate of 5% and increase CBN’s award by that amount. The proposed awards are summarized in the table below.
Below is letter from Carter Burden Network Executive Director Bill Dionne to RIOC requesting an increase to the RIRA Public Purpose Funds recommendation
and more from the Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center General Meeting on the subject
including discussion of Roosevelt Island Senior Center funding sources.
RIRA declined to comment on reasons for their Public Purpose Funds recommendations for the various Roosevelt Island non profit organizations and to specify the evaluative criteria provided by RIOC.
UPDATE 12/18 -At the December 13 RIOC Board of Directors Meeting, Carter Burden Network Executive Director Bill Dionne requested RIOC increase the Roosevelt Island Senior Center Public Purpose Fund recommendation of RIRA.
During the RIOC Board meeting, RIOC President Susan Rosenthal stated that she thought the RIRA $3,250 Public Purpose Fund recommendation for Carter Burden Roosevelt Island Senior Center was unfair and proposed increasing it to just over $10,000 as described in memo above. The RIOC Board approved Ms Rosenthal's proposal.
The issue not addressed during the meeting was the criteria that RIOC required RIRA to follow that lead to the decision by RIRA to recommend the Carter Burden Senior Center receive the original amount of $3,250?
I've asked RIRA to disclose the criteria, as they have done in previous years and was told by RIRA that RIOC would prefer them not to reveal the PPF decision criteria.
I've asked RIOC to disclose the PPF criteria and was told to ask RIRA.
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
