The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) reported this evening:
Please be advised that, due to delays in subway service to Roosevelt Island as well as no Manhattan-bound subway service, there are longer than usual lines at the R.I. Tram.
As an alternative, we are offering a Red Bus shuttle to the Manhattan Tram station until 7:30 PM tonight and will resume this service tomorrow from 11 AM until 7:30 PM. Additionally, you can take the Q102 bus or NYC Ferry (ferry.nyc).
It's a beautiful song which truly captures the uniqueness of Roosevelt Island, an oasis in the middle of New York City.
Watch the video and listen to the words - I'll bet they resonate with many.
According to Mr. Miller:
I live in Astoria, about a 30 minute walk from Roosevelt Island, and the first time I visited I was just struck by how it felt like an oasis in the middle of the city – it felt like I could leave the stress and hubbub on the other side of the river, and I had such a sense of peace that was hard to come by elsewhere in town.
Once the pandemic hit, and I spent so much of my time cooped up in my apartment, I started taking walks over there whenever I could – walking 30 minutes there, walking around for maybe an hour, and then walking back. It became my go-to place to restore my peace of mind.
The song is, for me, about coming to terms with the difficulty of making a life in a city like New York, and longing for relief from the pressure and the non-stop grind.
I tell everyone that Roosevelt Island's my dream spot to live, whenever I can afford it!
Here are the lyrics to Take Me To Roosevelt Island by Ian Miller:
I feel like I’m wasting away in this town
I stare at the Hudson and watch myself drown
In this city that won’t let me sleep
Full of promises that it can’t keep
Take me to Roosevelt Island
Where the river flows gently all day
I’ll sit ‘neath the bridge in the silence
And hear what the breeze has to say
I’m getting lost in this city
All the busyness just doesn’t pay
So take me to Roosevelt Island
It’s only a mile away
All these people move fast and I want to go slow
And if I disappeared, well, would anyone know? No...
In this city that don’t give a damn
Where I don’t even know who I am
Take me to Roosevelt Island
Where the river flows gently all day
I’ll sit ‘neath the bridge in the silence
And hear what the breeze has to say
I’m getting lost in this city
I used to know how to pray
So take me to Roosevelt Island
It’s only a mile away
Getting tired of fighting
Can’t you see that I’m trying?
Need a place I can hide here
Or else I’m gonna die here
So take me to Roosevelt Island
Where the river flows gently all day
I’ll sit ‘neath the bridge in the silence
And hear what my heart has to say
God get me out of this city
Or give me a reason to stay
I’m sick of the noise and the striving
I’m young but I’m barely surviving
Just longing for Roosevelt Island
Parliament Coffee Bar at Cornell Tech is featuring a Spicy Cinnamon Mocha
Espresso for National Chocolate Lovers Month! Available daily through February
According to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC):
While we continue to follow social distancing and align our operations with
New York Forward guidance, we also continue to incrementally increase the
number of passengers permitted on the Tram. Tram capacity will increase on
Sunday, November 1st, from 20 to 35 passengers per cabin, and we will
continue to assess and gradually increase in phases.
We understand the need for this mode of transportation, however, the health
and safety of our riders and operators are our priority. We appreciate your
cooperation.
Following the closure of Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) facilities earlier this week due to the snowstorm, RIOC announced Tuesday
February 2:
Please be advised that the below RIOC facilities will reopen tomorrow,
Wednesday, February 3rd:
All RIOC administrative offices
The Cultural Center
Good Shepherd Community Center
Sportspark
The following facilities will remain closed:
The Roosevelt Island Youth Center
Sportspark Pool
The Sportspark pool has been closed since January 18 due to a staff member's Covid exposure but was scheduled to
re-open February 1 before RIOC postponed the re-opening following the
snowstorm.
I asked RIOC yesterday
Why has the Sportspark Pool not re-opened? Is it closure related to the
Snowstorm, another Covid incident or some other reason? When does RIOC
anticipate the pool re-opening?
Newly hired RIOC Public Information Officer Amy Smith replied:
Thank you for your inquiry. I’m moving Mr. Haynes and Aida to bcc to spare
their inboxes going forward. As mentioned, we encourage you to send inquiries
directly to me as I am the point of contact. All pertinent updates will be
disseminated via our official channels which we’ve outlined for you in
previous correspondence.
Later in the day RIOC sent out an advisory reporting:
Please be advised that Sportspark Pool will reopen on Monday, February 8th for
normal operating hours:
Monday - Wednesday, 7:30 AM - 3 PM
Saturday - Sunday, 10:30 AM - 6 PM
Closed: Thursday and Friday
Thank you.
I followed up today asking RIOC:
The RIOC advisory about Sportspark pool remaining closed until Monday does not
say why it is still closed after other RIOC facilities opened after the
snowstorm. Is there a staffing, mechanical, health or some other reason
Sportspark pool is not open until Monday?
Ms Smith replied:
Thank you for the follow-up. Sportspark Pool is undergoing standard cleaning
and maintenance. It will re-open on Monday, February 8th, weather permitting.
Welcome to Roosevelt Island's local, hometown
Fusion Salon located
at 523 Main Street (212-688-0055).
Our mission has always been to provide exceptional
hair care services for men, women
and children in a safe, modern, relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. We
provide the finest selection of
professional hair care products –
We are a Certified Concept Salon featuring expert Hair Care, Cuts, Styles,
Highlights, Color and Keratin Treatment. Our experienced stylists are
dedicated, well trained professionals who provide our clients with a
phenomenal salon experience that will allow you to always look your best.
At Fusion Salon We have created a warm and friendly family atmosphere where
our aim is to always exceed your expectations and to ensure a safe and superb experience time and time again.
We have separations dividers between chairs.We check temperature from each
client.Our employees regularly take a test for COVID-19.
Our employees will wash hands or sanitize after each client, sanitize
station and chairs after each client & wear face mask.
All our Employees have completed Covid-19 training rules regarding precautions
and safety for everybody.
At Fusion Salon we are always happy to discuss your hair care needs or styling
questions. Ask your stylist which products or treatments are most appropriate
for your type of hair. We appreciate how important your hair is and how it
affects the way you feel.
Kim Moscaritolo is a
candidate to represent Roosevelt Island and the Upper East Side in NYC Council
District 5, seeking to succeed current City Council Member
Ben Kallos who is term
limited from running again.
Mr Kallos is running to
succeed Gale Brewer as Manhattan Borough President.
Next Tuesday, February 9th, my campaign for City Council will be hosting a
virtual round table titled "Roosevelt Island Residents Speak Out." This will
be an opportunity for Roosevelt Island residents to share any ideas or
concerns they may have with me and the campaign. Topics that we plan on
discussing include COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution, transportation
issues, affordable housing, help for small businesses, and much more.
This event will be fairly casual, and participation in no way implies any
endorsement of the campaign.
Please share widely with your networks! I'm attaching a flyer, and anyone
who wants to
RSVP can do so here
Roosevelt Island Residents Speak Out
Tuesday, Feb. 9th 6pm-7pm Please note that Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright
has her virtual swearing in on this same evening at 7pm. We have scheduled
this event at 6pm so that people can attend both.
Billy Freeland is a
candidate to represent Roosevelt Island and the Upper East Side in NYC Council
District 5, seeking to succeed current City Council Member
Ben Kallos who is term
limited from running again.
Mr Kallos is running to
succeed Gale Brewer as Manhattan Borough President.
This morning, Mr Freeland was out shoveling snow in the Second Avenue bike
lane by the Queensboro Bridge across from the Roosevelt Island Tram. According
to the Twitterverse:
This morning a neighbor reported that the Second Avenue bike lane &
“pork chop,” located at one of NYC’s most dangerous corridors (near the
Queensboro Bridge) was completely obstructed with snow.@PatrickForNYC
and I grabbed our shovels & did the work *our City* should be doing.
pic.twitter.com/Dz65NB1N6r
It was extremely gratifying to see cyclists—many of whom deliver our
meals—use the bike lane once we finished shoveling it. Thanks
@pchowla for
notifying me.
But: we must demand more of our City. We plow
streets for cars. We must plow bike lanes & sidewalks for people.
#bikeNYCpic.twitter.com/elEAGi6rpw
For those wondering, yes we *could* buy plows for bike lanes! But the City
bureaucracy is so messed up that we can’t, even when
@kallos and
@KeithPowersNYC
step up to offer to pay for it.
Thanks — just to clarify, I did this as part of UES Mutual Aid. Patrick Bobilin and others got it off the ground, and it’s doing great work helping neighbors and keeping streets clean. I hope people will follow uesmutualaid on Instagram and get involved if they’d like!
The Friends Of Coler are a group
of Roosevelt Island residents organizing to help the patients and staff of NYC
Health & Hospitals Corp
(HHC) Coler Facility
during the Coronavirus pandemc.
Please join us on Sunday, February 14th at 2:30 p.m. for our first "Walk n
Wave" event outside Coler. We will spread some Valentine's cheer with our
friends by wearing red and showing up in numbers to celebrate and drop off
treats. We hope to give our friends the message that, as a community, we are
here for them and thinking about them ongoing during this extended time
without visits from their families or other volunteers.
Secondly, you may have read about the NY Attorney General's just-released
report
about undercounting coronavirus-related deaths of NY State Nursing Home
Residents as well as other incidents of poor management and standards of
infection control during Covid. Nurses and residents of Coler are some of
the people who contributed to this important investigation.
Molly Schwartz will interview Nursing Home Lives Matter founder, Vincent
Pierce, and Fire Through Dry Grass Co-Director Andres “Jay” Molina.
This event will go live on the
OpenDoors Facebook page
at 7pm on Thursday, February 4th, 2020. Please join them for an illuminating
and important discussion as well as to show support to our friends inside
Coler.
Watch the latest trailer from the
Fire Through Dry Grass
documentary by Mr Molina and Alexis Neophytides showing the devastation
inflicted upon our Roosevelt Island Coler residents by the Coronavirus
Pandemic.
You can see the hard-working crew fighting the blizzard to keep drives and
walks open, they have been at it for some time. Same with our awesome crew at
460. The snow is relentless right now.
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.
