playing at the
University of Louisville and attributes much of her success to Roosevelt Island NY toughness. She even
has a tattoo on her leg showing Blackwell Park where she started playing hoops
on Roosevelt Island.
Emily Engstler of Louisville may be the best defender in the country!! Stats
prove it. She explains why her New York toughness has helped her become who
her coach calls “the best we have had since
@angel_35 “
@UofLWBB@em__ballerpic.twitter.com/jBJD7dPuWy
RIRA’s Children, Youth & Education Committee, in its commitment to
improve the lives of our youth, is starting an initiative to promote our
island’s youth and young adults' success stories. A group of students will
research candidates and interview them with depth and detail. Their stories
will be published in the Roosevelt Islander Blog Post. For this interview,
Dylan Marfey researched the successes of Emily Engstler who was born in
Queens and then moved to Roosevelt Island when she was 7 years old. She was
active on the island with many of its youth programs, including baseball and
then found her passion in Basketball with the support of her family, peers,
and the community.
I always take to heart Gibran Khalil Gibran’s quote: Keep me away from the
wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the
greatness which does not bow before children.
If you have any success stories you would like us to include in this
initiative, please email Adib Mansour at
RIRAdib@earthlink.net
Here's Emily Engster playing at Roosevelt Island Blackwell Park basketball
court.
5-Star Syracuse commit Emily Engstler is the NYC basketball star you don’t
know pic.twitter.com/qXCb5zEfLx
... Day one, January 1, when I took the train, I saw the homelessness, the
yelling, the screaming early in the morning, crimes right outside of the
platform, we know we have a job to do, we're going to do both, we're going to
drive down crime and we're going to make sure New Yorkers feel safe in our
subway system. And they don't feel that way now, I don't feel that way when I
take the train every day, or when I'm moving throughout our transportation
system. That is our battle and that is what I'm going to do as the Mayor of
the City of New York....
How do Roosevelt Island residents feel about safety at our F Train subway
station?
According to this Roosevelt Island parent the answer is very worried:
I'm concerned about the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department's (PSD)
misaligned safety and security priorities.
This morning a mentally ill person threatened to kill my four-year-old
daughter openly and directly. PSD was unable to help me identify or deal
with the aggressor.
It happened at 8:30 am, under the subway station's archway while waiting for
the red bus. As we arrived to wait there, the person was talking to
themselves inside the station. Still, soon after, he walked outside and
started speaking directly to my daughter and me screaming about racial
injustice and saying, "I'll kill your kids, I'll kill your daughter," and
"Yes, I am talking to you."
I took my daughter into the subway station, and the aggressor left, walking
north towards the pier. I did not have my phone with me, so I could not take images or videos of the
person, so after dropping off my kid, I went to the PSD offices to identify
them on camera.
I learned there that while there are cameras on that location, the PSD has
no access to them. The PSD officer took a description, pointed me to the
subway station, and ask for the NYPD officer there who should have access to
the feeds.
Following up, I went to the subway station but was told that there are no
officers stationed there, and they didn't know how to access the footage I
was referring to.
This island has 4 points of ingress/egress. Not having video coverage of
them seems like a more pressing safety and security concern than placing an
officer on the promenade in case an electric scooter passes by.
Following last week's random murder in the Times Square subway station by an
aggressor of a similar profile, I suggest this issue be taken seriously.
No response yet from RIOC but will update if any comment is received.
RIOC Public Safety Chief Kevin Brown and Deputy Chief Anthony Amoroso did engage in a dialogue with Roosevelt Island residents during the January 18 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Safety
Committee (PSC) monthly meeting chaired by Erin Feeley Nahem.
Chief Brown reported during the RIRA PSC meeting:
I've said this a number of times that Roosevelt Island is one of
the safest communities in New York City. However, we have to keep our eye on
the quality of life issues out there that Public Safety will
not let get out of control...
Among the topics discussed during the meeting via Zoom were:
PSD Staffing Levels - 95% of PSD received Covid Vaccinations. 21 of 40
Officers were stricken with Covid in December,
2021 Crime Statistic - 11 assaults majority of which are domestic violence
incidents,
Homeless,
Parking (issuing of tickets),
Traffic safety,
Recent fire at Roosevelt Landings,
Use of force and pepper spray on food delivery moped driver,
Barrier gates on Main Street next to Main Street fire hydrant in front of
Bread & Butter Deli,
Main Street Unloading Zones and breezways,
Manhattan Park cars parking on sidewalk plaza and
Installation of Street Bumps/Humps
Here's video of the full meeting with discussion of these and other Roosevelt
Island Public Safety issues.
Chief Brown, don't let safety issues around the Roosevelt Island F Train subway station get out of control.
UPDATE 1/21 - RIOC Public Information Officer Amy Smith replies:
PSD has and will always take incidents like this very seriously as safeguarding our community is a top priority. The island's low crime statistics show proof of these efforts.
When the resident offered a brief description to our sergeant's desk, two vehicles were sent to search for the individual. Unable to locate anyone fitting the description, PSD was unable to follow up with the resident as they chose not to leave their name or contact information.
We'd like to take this opportunity to remind residents and visitors of Roosevelt Island that the subway station, as well as the immediate surrounding area and surveillance equipment associated with it, is within the jurisdiction of the MTA and NYPD. With that said, PSD will continue to diligently patrol and swiftly respond to island incidents within our jurisdiction and work in conjunction with the 114th precinct when deemed necessary.
According to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC):
As a reminder, beginning on Sunday, January 23rd,
Tram operator, Leitner-POMA, will begin a second phase of standard
testing and maintenance on Tram cabins to ensure long-term reliability
and safety.
During
this maintenance period, which is expected to last through early
February, one cabin will be operational. Please plan your travel
accordingly as longer than normal wait times and lines can be
expected during rush hour.
To
supplement Tram service during this planned work period, the RIOC Red
Bus will be providing free shuttle service, to and from Manhattan,
Monday – Fridays, from 3 PM – 8:30 PM.
Schedules for Red Bus Shuttle and regular service, below:
Roosevelt Island to Manhattan Shuttle
Departs
hourly from the R.I. Tram Station (300 Main St.), making all northbound
local stops to Capobianco Field (opposite P.S./I.S. 217), before
heading into Manhattan.
First trip will depart from the R.I. Tram Station at 3 PM.
Last trip will depart from the R.I. Tram Station at 8 PM.
Manhattan to Roosevelt Island Shuttle
Departs on the half-hour from the southwest side of 2nd Avenue, between 58th and 59th Streets, and will make all southbound local stops (starting with 591 Main St.) to the R.I. Tram Station.
Last trip will depart Manhattan at 8:30 PM.
Regular Red Bus Service
Will
continue normal morning rush hour schedule from 7 AM – 10 AM, with
pick-up at the R.I. Tram Station approximately every 7 ½ minutes.
Will continue to operate from 10 AM – 3 PM, with pick-up at the R.I. Tram Station approximately every 15 minutes.
No changes to regular evening rush hour schedule.
No changes to regular weekend service.
Alternative Transportation Options
For real-time service alerts and updates on MTA service, visit mymtaalerts.com, mta.info, or call 511
For alerts and updates on NYC Ferry service, visit ferry.ny
The first phase of the Tram Testing and Maintenance program began last November 15 and was completed by December 20 with few reports of very long lines waiting for the single Tram cabin in operation.
I’m very excited as we begin this Participatory Budgeting cycle. Participatory budgeting is a great way to get the pulse of the community and formulate the best use of city dollars. Participatory Budgeting shows the power and importance of this grassroots fueled process and I look forward to engaging the community.
Council Member Julie Menin is proud to announce an allocation of one million dollars to continue participatory budgeting for Council District 5 (Yorkville, Lenox Hill, Carnegie Hill, Roosevelt Island, Midtown East, Sutton Place, and El Barrio in East Harlem). Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. Since her time serving on the Board of Citizens Union, Council Member Julie Menin has championed the importance of civic participation in our budgeting process.
A total of one million dollars of the Council Member's discretionary budget allocation can be used for physical infrastructure projects that benefit the public, cost at least $50,000, and have a lifespan of at least 5 years. For example, projects such as local improvements to schools, parks, libraries, housing, and other public spaces can be funded.
... residents are invited to share project ideas that could be implemented within her Council District by visiting this website and sharing proposals by January 23rd, 2022. Interested parties that wish to volunteer and assist with the process should create an account with (or sign into) NYC.ID. This platform allows residents to comment on and vote for their favorite ideas.
Ideas are then submitted to the respective City agency for evaluation and cost and Council Member Menin’s Office works with community partners to formulate a ballot for voting. Ballots will be distributed throughout the East Side of Manhattan and Roosevelt Island as well as through an online portal for voting from April 2nd through April 10th. Winners will be announced in late April and included in the City’s budget at adoption in June of 2022.
As previously reported, the Roosevelt Island PS/IS 217 green roof was built with Participatory Budget funds.
So far, one Roosevelt Island project has been submitted for participatory budget funding. Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Children, Youth &
Education (CY&E) Ad Hoc Committee Chair Adib Mansour is proposing a Roosevelt Island Skateboard Park underneath the Motorgate Helix/Ramp.
Click here to learn more about the Participatory Budget funding process and to submit your proposal for a Roosevelt Island project.
The third Monday in January has been designated as a Federal holiday in honor
of the birthday of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
who was born January 15, 1929
An original copy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham
Jail" has a home at Samford University. In honor of
#MLKDay2022, learn about the significance of this piece of history.
... A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of
being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law.
Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's
segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of
devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters,
and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a
majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law
enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured?
Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in it's application. For
instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now,
there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a
parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain
segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful
assembly and protest....
Politcio
has an excellent article on the last years of Dr. King's life.
... Almost 50 years after his death, we remember MLK as the transcendent
figure who helped lift the South out of Jim Crow. We also remember him as
almost preternaturally calm in the face of great pressure and danger. He was
indeed all of these things. But the passage of time has obscured his
dimensionality. In the last years of his life, King expanded his vision beyond
the former Confederacy and took on a broader struggle to dismantle America’s
jigsaw edifice of racial and economic discrimination—a struggle that took him
deep into northern states and cities, where onetime allies became bitter
enemies. He did so even as he strained to keep a fractious civil rights
movement unified, and in the face of unremitting sabotage from federal
authorities.
He was a young man, still in his 30s—foisted onto the national stage with
actors many years or decades his senior, suspect in the eyes of both younger
and older civil rights leaders—and the burdens of leadership took their toll
on him....
Take a look at this ery interesting thread below - click through to read in it's entirety.
So, I scrapped my original speech and spent the entire first half of it
reading excerpts from a bunch of Dr. King's speeches, but without telling
anyone that I was doing so, leading the audience to think King's words were
mine. And, whew, chile, it was AMAZING.
I left them with this: People who oppose today what he stood for back then do not get to be the arbiters of his legacy. The real Dr. King cannot be commodified, homogenized, and white-washed and whatever side you stand on TODAY is the side you would have been back then.
Fire at 576/560 main st, 4th floor. Looks like it has been contained.
No one hurt! Firemen are gone don’t know where he tenants were taken, but thank God not as bad as fire 22 years ago!
There was a kitchen fire. It was contained quickly.
So there’s a fire in my building/the building right next door- dad told me to get outside and it’s freezing (but on the bright side, I can look at firefighters)…. I’m almost positive the entire FDNY is here #rooseveltisland@Rooseveltislandpic.twitter.com/iFqOCrFOhl
There was heavy smoke throughout the halls as well as seeping into apartments. Glad everyone is safe!
It was a stove fire in 560 on the 4th floor. We live next door to the apartment that caught fire and everything is ok here - just some water leaking into our apartment but nothing damaged. The building staff has done a great job cleaning it up and repairing our front door that’s the firefighters had to break to get in to make sure our apartment was ok.
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.
