RIOC Proposes Return Of Roosevelt Island Holiday Lights, Displays, Decorations & Tree, Santa Reindeer Sled Too - Three Year Contract For $75 Thousand Annually Up For Approval At September 29 Board Of Directors Meeting

Among the items on Agenda for the September 29, 2021 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board of Directors Meeting is:

... Authorization to Enter into Agreement with Neave Group for Roosevelt Island Holiday Decoration (Board Action Required)...

Image of 2019 Roosevelt Island Reindeer Sled At Good Shepherd Plaza

According to a September 24, 2021 memo from RIOC Procurement Manager Amy Firestein to RIOC President Shelton Haynes: 

Need:

Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) is seeking a contractor for design and installation services for holiday decorations. In 2019, RIOC partnered with Hudson Related to share these costs and expand the decoration locations. That partnership ended per the contract term at the conclusion of the Christmas holiday season in 2019. In 2020, RIOC did not have Island decorations due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, however, island residents continue to express the desire to decorate the island for the holiday season. Therefore, RIOC wishes to procure a vendor to achieve this purpose in beautifying the Island for the 2021 winter holiday season....

... Recommendation:

Neave Group provided the lowest bid at $75,000 per year for the winter holiday season starting in 2021. Based on the above, I recommend the three-year agreement with Neave Group for winter holiday decorating for a total cost of $225,000 for Board approval....

Below is the full RIOC Holiday Lights memo.  

As reported in 2017, RIOC and  Main Street Retail Master Leaseholder Hudson Related agreed to:

...  create a joint marketing campaign to draw pedestrian traffic to the Island’s Main Street. The campaign will install holiday decorations for the winter holiday season throughout Roosevelt Island to attract more shoppers to the Island retail establishments. Various proposals were considered, and it was agreed that HRR would hire Neave Décor (“Neave”), a prominent decoration company, to bring a “winter wonderland” experience to Roosevelt Island, for the holiday season. This experience would include various decorations such as tree lights, snowflake lights, rain deer, stars etc. though out the Main Street retail corridor, the transportation hub and the Good Shepherd plaza, among other areas.

Neave agreed to enter into a three-year contract with HRR at a reduced price of slightly less than $75,000 per year. HRR would be responsible for one-third of the expenses (i.e. $25,000 per year) associated with this project. RIOC would be responsible for the remaining portion and issue HRR a $50,000 credit on the MSA fees for each of the three years. If possible, RIOC will endeavor to solicit contributions towards its share from other stakeholders on the Island....

The agreement expired in 2019. The Roosevelt Island Holiday Lights were cancelled in 2020 due to Covid.

Here are some pictures from the 2019 Roosevelt Island Holiday Lights Display.