Was that Flipper spotted in the East River today? The Twitterverse reported
spotting a dolphin swimming in the East River near Roosevelt Island this
afternoon.
The Roosevelt Island Disabled Association in collaboration with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is proud to be able to prepare our community parents and their children for the school year. We will be giving away over 300 backpacks and supplies to children within our community. Supplies are limited and child must be present with their parent.
It is always good to give back to the community...
Summer is nearing an end, that means school is around the corner.
Let’s have an evening of music and treats while you come have fun with
The Roosevelt Island Disabled Association partnering with RIOC Public
Safety Department and the Youth Center to distribute free backpacks with
school supplies.
Backpacks will be given out while supplies last, on a first come,
first-serve basis. Children must be present with a parent to receive a
backpack
When you arrive, you will be directed to a volunteer to receive your
backpack of choice. To minimize congestion, we ask that you wait until
4:30pm to begin lining up for the event.
Roosevelt Island residents are invited to Meet and Greet Tennis Champ and
US Open player
Barbora Krejcikova
6-7 pm tonight at Roosevelt Island
Graduate Hotel
Lobby.
UPDATE 8/27 - Spoke today with RIVAA Gallery President Sandra Gavelyte about the Affordable Art Weekend initiative and local artist Victoria Thorson who sold one of her sculptures to another Roosevelt Island resident.
Also, a resident purchased this painting from a Gallery RIVAA artist
during Affordable Art Weekend.
Stop by Gallery RIVAA on Sunday for the final day of Affordable Art Weekend.
Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Community Emergency Committee Chair Frank Farance reports:
RIRA Community Emergency Committee meeting on Preparedness,
Flooding, and Climate Change webinar
Long time community activist and RIRA member Frank Farance presents
his monthly talk on Roosevelt Island emergency preparedness. Since
April 2021, Mr. Farance has been providing a monthly presentation of the 4th
Thursday each month at 8-9 PM. Each month address a different
topic, including seasonal hazards and preparedness. This month's
topics include
Specific Actions for: Government, Community, Organizations,
Housing, Individuals
Closing, Q&A
Frank Farance is a supervisor in the American Red Cross of Greater
New York, Disaster Action Team (DAT), which has responded to fires
on Roosevelt Island. He is also a National Weather Service Weather
Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassador. He is a graduate of FEMA's National
Emergency Management Advanced Academy (NEMAA) and he is highly
trained in many areas of emergency management.
The New Yorkers who call Roosevelt Island home have some of the best views
in the city. Good to join
@Rebecca76AD
to visit with our community and hear their questions and concerns.
pic.twitter.com/evY1Gh6jFz
This morning I welcomed
@NYCMayor to
Roosevelt Island to meet with constituents and community leaders to discuss
the issues facing residents. Thank you to all those that participated and I
look forward to working with Mayor Adams to address the concerns of our
community. pic.twitter.com/55AiwAdoV5
— Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (@SeawrightForNY)
August 24, 2022
NYC @nycmayor Eric Adams visited Roosevelt Island today with Assemblymember Rebecca @seawrightforny meeting with local residents and @RIOCny@RiocCeo to discuss community concerns and took ride back to Manhattan on the Roosevelt Island Tram (with mask). pic.twitter.com/kZqDvryJX7
A Roosevelt Island Tipster attending the meeting with Mayor Adams reports:
It was very noisy as Mayor Adams was coming into the Senior Center meeting room
and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright immediately stood up and
introduced him with a few nice words about him wanting to come to the Island
and saying that this is one trip but he'll be back again soon.
She mentioned that one big issue was getting a Pickleball court
here. He said he plays Pickleball and everybody laughed. He
then began speaking and basically it was the usual - glad to be here, some
people think of RI as not being part of the city, but not him. Joyce Short
then yelled out "Not just the city, Manhattan". That brought a round
of applause.
Then he went to questions.
Matt Katz said we're part of the city but we don't have a say in how we're
governed. We need to elect our board members...
Joyce Short spoke again agreeing with Matt and reinforcing that the
redistricting map needs to keep us in Manhattan.
Lynne Shinozaki invited him to an October 11th event at the Girl
Puzzle. He said he'd come.
Margie Smith asked if he would fill both of his Roosevelt Island Operating
Corp (RIOC) Board seats with residents. He said he knew he could
fill two seats, but didn't commit either way to filling them with
residents. Ms Smith then mentioned the need for medical facilities
on the Island and at that point he said he's "a list guy". He wanted
us to work with Assemblymember Seawright to put all of our issues on a
list and he would address them that way.
Joyce then mentioned that Roosevelt Island sent more letters about the NYC
Council preliminary redistricting plan than any other Council District,
and a woman from Community Board 8 also spoke about redistricting and gave
him the CB8 resolution.
Barbara Parker said there are issues with the new affordable building on
the Island and he said to put it on the list and he'll address it.
That was pretty much it. So, nothing really happened, except we were
able to mention some of the Island issues, but didn't get any resolutions,
not that we expected any in that type of meeting. He sounded sincere
and I'm going to be optimistic that we'll get something done.
Resident Matt Katz adds:
The questions were short and sweet and Mayor Adams had his assistant
taking notes. I went first to advocate for elected administration
for Roosevelt Island. The bulk of the remaining time, a total of 15
minutes I think, centered around the Manhattan
redistricting issue and I thought the point was made. Mayor
Adams said he would follow up as this was only a
preliminary contact We shall see.
Mayor Adams then walked down Main Street to visit the
Roosevelt Island Library
where he met with NYPL President Tony Marx, Roosevelt Island Library
Manager Carlos Chavez,
RIOC President Shelton
Haynes and some young residents
After the library visit, Mayor Adams walked to the Roosevelt Island Tram
and waited
for his ride back to the Manhattan Tram Station.
Mayor Adams said during the Tram ride that Roosevelt Island is an
exciting and special place.
After the Tram Ride, I spoke with
Assembly Member Seawright about the Mayor's visit to Roosevelt Island.
The community meeting with Mayor Adams was closed to the press, meaning
Roosevelt Island Online news was not allowed to attend the meeting.
Mayor Adams visit to Cornell Tech last June
was also closed to the press.
As Mayor Adams left the Senior Center walking down Main Street to visit
the NYPL Roosevelt Island branch I asked him why the local press was not
allowed to attend.
The Mayor said he was not taking questions from the press and was here
to listen to the residents.
Hopefully, the Mayor will be available to the press next time he visits.
UPDATE 10:00 PM - Here's video of the meeting with Mayor Adams at the Senior Center.
Join us for a showcase of music composed by women this Wednesday, August 24th at Good Shepherd Center at 7:30 pm.
Fanny Mendelssohn, older sister of Felix Mendelssohn by four years, was forbidden to publish the music she wrote by her father and her brother; only after she died did Felix have her trio, Op. 11, published, in 1847. That same year, Clara Schumann, wife of Robert Schumann, published a trio of her own, Op. 17 in G-Minor.
Come hear these two trios, a Romance by Amy Beach, and songs by both Fanny and Clara transcribed and performed by outstanding RI residents Max Zeugner (bass) and Yiheng Yang (piano), as well as longtime friend Jean Schneider (piano) and RIC directors Ralph Allen (violin) and Iris Jortner (cello).
Beginning earlier this summer, several concerned Roosevelt Island residents reported the deteriorating condition of the landscaping and picnic table benches in the Plaza Area behind the Good Shepherd Church to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC).
Last week, RIOC responded and received thanks from residents.
A Roosevelt Island resident Tipster reported last Friday:
Great news for the Good Shepherd Church Plaza. The picnic benches look beautiful.
Thanks to all the hard working RIOC team who worked on the picnic benches!!
Another resident reported:
In the church plaza they have refinished the benches and painted the base
in silver without spilling any paint. Also putting back the picnic
tables which have been sanded stained and varnished. I guess they are
discouraging the kind of artwork that was on the tables before.
Last Friday, I asked RIOC President Shelton Haynes:
Residents have sent photos and Positive RIOC Compliments about the return of picnic tables to Good Shepherd Plaza.
Do you wish to comment on the subject for a story I’m preparing?
Also, will the picnic tables be painted again by local community groups as was done previously?
Mr Haynes replied:
Thank you for the note.
Vicki Feinmel and I had a conversation during National Night Out, where she informed me about an area in Good Shepherd Plaza that needed a landscaping spruce up and then she mentioned the conditions of the tables. I passed the information to Altheria Jackson (AVP of Operations) whose teams Horticulture/Grounds and Facilities addressed the issues.
We would love to have the community groups paint the tables again in the future.
In the summer of 2021, here's what the Good Shepherd Plaza picnic tables newly painted by Roosevelt Island community groups looked like.
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.
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