The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is excited to present the Halloween Harvest Extravaganza on Saturday, October 30th at Southpoint Park, from 2 - 5 PM!
While we are unable to return to full Halloween activities at this time, this scaled-down free event will be a festive day of fun and a chance for all to show off your Halloween costumes -- whether they be spooky, funny, smart, beautiful, or downright terrifying! Activities will include pumpkin painting, costume walks, music, dancing, art activities, giveaways, and more!
Get ready to have a SPOOK-tacular time!
The 2020 Roosevelt Island Main Street Halloween Parade was cancelled last year due to the Covid Pandemic. RIOC has not explained why the Halloween
Parade was cancelled this year too.
...Roosevelt Island democratic representation suffered another setback
yesterday when 1 of two Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board Directors who are no longer Roosevelt Island residents,
David Kapell,
chose to remain on the Board with the apparent approval, or indifference, of
Governor Hochul and
RIOC....
UPDATE 10/21 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Vice
President Erin Feely-Nahem adds:
Jeffrey Escobar did the right thing by resigning.
Exacerbated by the pandemic,many issues have arisen on the Island which
need to be addressed, increasing the importance of Resident input. As we
are unable to vote for who manages and controls the ongoing development
within our community, it is imperative to have active community members on
the RIOC Board to provide insight on, and vote for what residents' feel is
important for their community.
An individual who is living within a community offers a more educated
opinion than either an individual who spends 40 hours a week here, or
worse, pops in for an hour Zoom meeting quarterly. .At the least,
residents should be voting on who we want to represent us on the five
"public member" board seats.
David Kapell is unknown to the community and does not necessarily
represent the resident's desires. Presently, although one can submit
questions or concerns to the RIOC Board via email, there is no system in
place for real dialogue between the RIOC Board members and the community,
nor any means of accountability for decisions made.
During yesterday's (October 28) Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board of Directors meeting Public Session
(RIOC will post video here), I asked:
RIOC claims that current Board Member David Kapell holds 1 of two public
Board seats that does not require Roosevelt Island residency.
Please show where in Mr Kappel’s appointment by former Governor Cuomo, Mr
Kapell was designated in a Rioc Board seat that does not require Roosevelt
Island residency.
Also, please show where former RIOC Board member Jeff Escobar, who resigned
because he no longer lived on Roosevelt Island was designated as an
appointment which required Roosevelt Island residency.
Why does Mr Kappel wish to remain on RIOC Board since he no longer lives
here and is not effected by decisions made by the RIOC Board.
RIOC General Counsel Gretchen Robinson replied that Governor Hochul's
Appointments Office:
... has confirmed and double confirmed and triple confirmed that Mr Kapell is
serving in a legitimate seat and is not violating any regulation or rules or
laws. We appreciate his service to the Board.
Mr Kapell was appointed to the RIOC Board
with Jeff Escobar and Conway Ekpo in June 2019 by Governor Cuomo at which time
all 3 were Roosevelt Island residents. Mr Escobar moved away from Roosevelt
Island and resigned from the RIOC Board after the issue of his remaining was
raised.
Mr Kapell refuses to resign and declined to say why he wished to remain on the
RIOC Board after moving away from Roosevelt Island.
Roosevelt Island resident Matt Katz also asked during the Public Session about
Mr Kapell remaining on the RIOC Board after moving away from Roosevelt Island.
According to Mr Katz:
I wrote you on October 4 regarding the illegal appointments of Jeffrey
Escobar and David Kappel, non-residents of Roosevelt Island, to fill seats
on the RIOC Board of Directors designated by statute for Island residents.
There has been comment regarding the meaning of the term resident and I said
at the time that a resident is not a past resident, not a future resident or
a wanna-be resident. The reason we, Island activists persuaded Gov. Pataki
to require by amendment of Ch. 899 to appoint a majority of Island RESIDENTS
to the Board was to ensure that people with skin in the game would determine
this Island community's future. You write back, saying that you would
respond to me shortly. Three weeks later, there has been no response.
Since then, Jeffrey Escobar, a long-time advocate for and participant in the
life of this community, resigned from the Board, understanding the clear
(clear even to State lawyers) mandate to do so. David Kappel, never an Island
activist or participant in the life of this community,and unknown to me after
my many years of service to my fellow residents, has not resigned, perhaps
counting on former Governor Cuomo's endorsement as sufficient bona fides for
the post. We intend to bring the matter up with Gov. Hochul and to seek
redress for this violation of the statute. Regards,
I also asked:
What is the status of AVAC system. Why is it broken. I am told that there
are holes in the tubes which need to be repaired. Is that true? When will it
be fixed.
Why is RIOC's new Main Street office hidden behind frosted windows from the
public. What message does that send to the community?
Why was the Roosevelt Island media not invited to attend and report on this
week’s Bank Town Hall meeting? I understand that three elected officials
attended as well as 2 residents. Why was the media excluded.
None of these question were asked by Ms Robinson during the Public Session.
During October 19 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Safety Committee meeting, Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Safety Department Deputy Chief Anthony Amoroso described training procedures of the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department.
According to Deputy Chief Amoroso, the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department has:
Special Patrol Officers who are allowed to write summons and make arrests and
Public Safety Officers who have not yet been sworn in by NYPD and not completed an eight week training program at Peace Officers school. PSO's cannot summons or make arrests.
Approximately 15 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Officers are currently training for Special Patrol Officer status.
Learn more about Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department training from Deputy Chief Amoroso in this video of the October 19 RIRA Public Safety Committee meeting.
UPDATE 12/29:
Below is the current staffing, hiring process and employment training orientation for the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department.
Girl Scouts Troop 3233, composed of girls of 3rd and 4th grade, decided to Take Action and be vote promoters by making this video.
Our troop had learned about democracy by getting a ballot to vote for the best Girl Scout cookie flavor and best Girl Scout activity. They also had the visit of RI children’s author Jill Twiss, who read to them her book “Everyone Gets A Say”. Last week they learned about the three branches of USA Government and about what seats are up for this elections.
The troop wrote what they wanted to communicate to New Yorkers about this election and why it is important to vote. We discussed what government positions adults have to vote for and research which are the ballot proposals of 2021.
We hope that this short video will encourage all Roosevelt Islanders and New Yorkers to look into the candidates, understand what they will do for the city and their responsibilities and that they go out and vote, either early voting or on Election Day.
New York City 2021 General Election Early Voting began Saturday October 23 continuing thru Sunday October 31 at the Sportspark Gymnasium (250 Main Street). Election Day voting is Tuesday, November 2 at PS/IS 217 (645 Main Street).
Show proof of your participation in early voting here on Roosevelt Island and get a free cider doughnut with any purchase at The Cafe’ & Parliament Coffee Bar! While supplies last through Sunday, 10/31
But be aware that RIOC Board Members and staff rarely respond to questions
during any Public Session though they sometimes address the subject during the
actual Board meeting.
Questions that could be asked - why is
David Kapell remaining
on the RIOC Board of Directors when he no longer lives on Roosevelt Island?
New York City 2021 General Election Early Voting began Saturday October 23 continuing thru Sunday October 31 at the Sportspark Gymnasium (250 Main Street). Election Day voting is Tuesday, November 2 at PS/IS 217 (645 Main Street).
During the October 19 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Safety Committee (PSC) meeting, RIOC Public Safety Department Deputy Chief Anthony Amoroso reported:
Nobody can drive on the promenade unless it's an emergency vehicle or
some kind of delivery that is being escorted with PSD ...or some sort of
situation where they need to do some repairs...
RIRA PSC member Frank Farance disagreed that RIOC can ban all vehicles from the Promenades saying that their ground leases permit the building managements to use the Promenade in order to access their property.
Deputy Chief Amoroso replied:
... I looked into it with their leases and and we have the final say as far as driving on the promenades...
Here's more on RIOC Traffic Safety Plans for Main Street and the waterfront promenades discussed during the beginning of the PSC meeting including Mr Farance's suggestion of better traffic lighting instead of speed bumps on Main Street for greater vehicle and pedestrian safety.
Yesterday a delivery man on a scooter sped onto the pedestrian walkway almost hitting me and my baby who was in a stroller. Public safety was there on foot and stopped him but when asked for his drivers license the motorist simply said “I don’t have one” and public safety ultimately just let him go. What’s the point of having public safety officers there to stop motorists if they just let violators go with no penalty? They will surely repeat if there are no real consequences @shelton_haynes_rioc_ceo @rooseveltislandrioc
If
you have what it takes to design our next chalk sign, your art work
could be featured on The Cafe' patio chalk board through the month of
March 22'.
adjacent to their buildings being used as a parking lot
by numerous vehicles over the last several months.
During the October 19 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA)
Public Safety Committee (PSC) meeting, Roosevelt Island Operating Corp
(RIOC) Public Safety Department Deputy Chief Anthony Amoroso advised the PSC that:
... The management offices can park on their property. We have no say whether it's Manhattan Park, Rivercross, they can park their vehicles on their property. It's how they access their property that we have a say....
I think it sucks. It was a lovely plaza with a lovely view that now looks like shit and creates a dangerous situation with cars driving where there shouldn't be cars. And just because the property is "private" property doesn't mean it is, or should be okay. There are often zoning laws, and there should be here, that could prevent this kind of use of property, private or otherwise. The whole Island is going to hell on a handbasket.
No cars are going on the green area. If I understand, this is the paved area in between buildings in Manhattan park. I don’t see hoe anyone can use that for recreation. Or how it has anything to do with the Octagon. As a resident, the only thing that I am concerned about is that these cars are not driving on the promenade.
I think it sucks. It was a lovely plaza with a lovely view that now looks like shit and creates a dangerous situation with cars driving where there shouldn't be cars. And just because the property is "private" property doesn't mean it is, or should be okay. There are often zoning laws, and there should be here, that could prevent this kind of use of property, private or otherwise. The whole Island is going to hell on a handbasket.
This shows a total disregard from@manhattanparkapartmentsto its residents. These areas are not meant for parking. The amount of cars is out of control. Since when is it acceptable to have cars driving on the sidewalks and blocking stairs??
Manhattan Park building management answered on Instagram:
The parking on the site is temporary while motor gate garage is under going repairs. We apologize for any inconvenience.
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.
