The Roosevelt Island Saturday Farmers Market is relocating from Good Shepherd Plaza to their temporary winter home under the Motorgate Helix starting this Saturday, November 26.
According to Farmers Market vendor Israel Wengerd of Wengerd Farms:
The move is necessary to be out of the inclement winter weather.
The Roosevelt Island Farmers Market at Motorgate Plaza under the Helix
is open early morning to mid afternoon on Saturdays in good weather
and bad offering a wide variety of healthy and delicious tasting fruits,
vegetables and much more.
Also, relocating to Motorgate Plaza for the winter is the Big Reuse Roosevelt Island compost Food Scrap Drop Off Site
Happy Thanksgiving Day wishes to everyone out there in Roosevelt Island
land and elsewhere.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
Since Thanksgiving is a day all about about Tradition, here is my traditional
Thanksgiving Day post started in 2007.
In addition to family, great food, the Macy's Parade, Miracle on 34th Street,
March of the Wooden Soldiers and football, listening to
Arlo Guthrie's rendition of
Alice's Restaurant on WNEW-FM was, for me, a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition.
A former station DJ remembers Thanksgiving and Arlo Guthrie this way on the
blog
All Mixed Up Radio.
Every year a couple of days before Thanksgiving, it starts. It's slow at
first, and then turns into a non-stop avalanche of phone calls. And no
matter how many times a station runs promo announcements telling people
exactly when it will be played, the calls still come.
"What time are you playing 'Alice's Restaurant?'"...
Yes, in the olden days people used to listen to music on the radio. Imagine
that!
Here's a snippet of Alice's Restaurant with Arlo Guthrie and Johnny Cash
One of the nation's newest settlements, a small community of pioneers, is about to celebrate its first Thanksgiving Day on its rockbound island home in the East River.
The situation on Roosevelt Island, which separates midtown Manhattan from Queens, is not quite the same as the one that faced the first New England homeowners centuries ago. The 170 rent‐paying families, the first in the ambitious planned development being built on the island, have not been undergoing hardships. Maybe inconveniences here and there, but not questions of life and death.
Heat comes up (with or without banging the radiator to alert the super, New Yorkstyle). There is light and shelter and the natives are rather nonexistent.
Last night, the new islanders fed one another at an ethnic buffet representing the many diverse strains of humanity they stem from. Tonight there will be an ecumenical service at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, the church built in 1889 and now put to work as a community center. Tomorrow will be a family day, when people may talk turkey around their tables.
During an October 23,2022 tour of the Roosevelt Island AVAC (Automatic Vacuum Collection) underground garbage removal system, NYC Sanitation Department worker T.J. explained how the AVAC system is forced to shut down due to a variety of obstructions in the tubes and is eventually fixed.
Watch the video from beginning for a full tour of the Roosevelt Island AVAC system.
Please be advised the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation’s (RIOC) east side line of the AVAC System has been shut down for emergency work following an obstruction in the main line.
RIOC is working closely with the New York City Department of Sanitation to have the issue fixed as soon as possible. Be assured RIOC is constantly communicating with the property managers providing updates on any and all progress to address the issue. Also, in anticipation of gatherings for the Thanksgiving holiday, RIOC has created other arrangements for building managers to discard garbage should the issue be prolonged.
RIOC will keep Islanders aware of all critical updates delivered via email, text, and social media as information is received.
This is an update to the notice sent out yesterday at 6:10 pm concerning the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation’s (RIOC) east side line of the AVAC System.
The east side line of the AVAC System is out of service until further notice. RIOC continues to work with the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) to address the issue. Until the service is restored, RIOC has provided property managers an alternate area to dispose of the garbage. RIOC has an agreement with DSNY to have garbage pickup services available to mitigate buildup during the AVAC service disruption.
RIOC will continue to send updates via email, text, and social media as information is received.
Thank you for your continued cooperation as we work to restore the service.
Great news! Working with the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), RIOC has restored service to the AVAC system on the east side. A special thank you to DSNY and the RIOC team for working around the clock during the Thanksgiving holiday.
We sincerely appreciate your understanding during the interrupted service.
... to amend the public authorities law, in relation to requiring certain
directors of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation to be residents of
Roosevelt Island and to require the appointment of certain vacant board
positions within sixty days...
... The provisions of this bill would:
Clarify the residency requirement for certain public appointments to the
board of directors of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation and
stipulate for their immediate resignation from the board upon termination
of such residency;
Provide for the appointment of a successor within 60 days when a board
vacancy occurs within an unexpired term;
Require the posting of job vacancies on the corporation's website; and,
*Provide that this act shall take effect immediately....
I understand that Governor Hochul vetoed legislation regarding the Roosevelt
Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Board of Directors residency requirements and
appointments.
Is that true?
Any comment on the reason for the veto of this legislation which was sponsored
by Roosevelt Island’s State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright and State
Senator Jose Serrano?
Also, there are currently several vacant and expired seats on the Rioc Board
of Directors. Any comment when nominees will be appointed to these seats?
Governor Hochul's spokesperson replied:
Re: RIOC’s board, the Governor is committed to filling board vacancies.
and provided the Governor's veto message to the State Senate on the Roosevelt Island legislation:
TO THE SENATE:
I am returning herewith, without my approval, the following bill:
Senate Bill Number 7622-A, entitled: "AN ACT to amend the public authorities
law, in relation to requiring certain directors of the Roosevelt Island
operating corporation to be residents of Roosevelt Island and to require the
appointment of certain vacant board positions within sixty days"
NOT APPROVED
This bill would require a director who is appointed to a seat on the Roosevelt
Island Operating Corporation ("RIOC") board of directors on the basis of
residency to resign immediately when no longer a resident of Roosevelt Island.
The bill would require the Governor to fill any vacancy among the
gubernatorial seats on the RIOC board within sixty days of the vacancy
occurring, regardless of the reason for the vacancy. The bill also would
require that RIOC post all corporation employment vacancies publicly and to
its website.
My administration is committed to good government that is responsive to the
needs of communities served by the State's agencies and authorities. This
legislation presents significant obstacles towards achieving that goal and
presents risks to the effective administration of RIOC.
First, this legislation is unnecessary to ensure local representation on the
board. Under current law five of the seven gubernatorial appointees to the
board must be residents of Roosevelt Island. The large representation of
residents on the board ensures continued local representation. Additionally,
if a member appointed on the basis of their residency on Roosevelt Island
moves away during their four-year tenure, they cannot be reappointed on that
basis and could only be replaced by an island resident (unless the five-member
resident requirement has been otherwise met).
Second, this legislation presents operational challenges to RIOC to the
detriment of the community and the board. To require that a RIOC resident
board member resign immediately upon moving would create vacancies, could
compel effective directors to resign prematurely, and may disrupt the board's
orderly management of its business affairs. Given the time needed to identify
qualified candidates in the event of unanticipated vacancies, mandating a new
director be appointed within sixty days in the event of any vacancy,
regardless of cause, is impractical and could prevent well-qualified
candidates from completing the nomi- nation and confirmation processes.
Finally, the requirement that RIOC post all corporation employment vacancies
on its website is impractical as it makes no exceptions for practical or legal
reasons, such as urgently needed positions or positions that may be subject to
the terms of collective bargaining agreements which are subject to separate
hiring processes.
For these reasons, I am constrained to veto this bill.
The bill is disapproved.
(signed) KATHY HOCHUL
Asked to comment on Governor Hochul's veto of her legislation,
Roosevelt Island NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright replied:
We will persist in our vigorous efforts, working with longtime residents, on the issue of representation on the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) governing board. We must bring greater accountability and transparency to the board, which serves more than 12,000 residents. While we continue to believe that accomplishing this progress in statute is the appropriate course, we will forge ahead to achieve the best composition of the board and recommend only Roosevelt Island residents for appointments by the governor and mayor.
UPDATE 11/23 - Governor Hochul also vetoed legislation that would have required residents representation on the Battery Park City Authority.
My statement on the Governor vetoing my bill for more resident representation on the Battery Park Authority. pic.twitter.com/gKrLJ7BnhG
For example, the Roosevelt Island Operating Company, which governs Roosevelt Island and deals with similar issues like ground rent, is required by law to have a majority of its board members be residents.
It is clear that the Governor is creating excuses to veto a bill that would transfer power from the Governor and her well-connected appointees to our community residents.
We are in the final week of accepting applications for the latest session of our Strengthening Communities program (December 2nd).
Emergencies affect every community differently, but you can help your community be prepared and resilient. Your Community Network can receive funding up to $40K to work on a community emergency plan through NYC Emergency Management's Strengthening Communities Program.
A community network is a group or a coalition consisting of nonprofit, community, and faith-based organizations that are organized around an issue important to their community such as climate change, gun violence, housing, disability rights, or other issues etc...*
The training program focuses on five key areas/deliverables to build an emergency plan specific to your community:
Creating a needs assessment
Designing community maps of the area where you provide services
Building a resource directory
Preparing a communication strategy
Creating donations and volunteer management plans
NYC Emergency Management staff provides training, coaching sessions and tools that guide participating networks through the program.
Criteria for Community Emergency Network:
Must be a network or coalition convening at least four times a year
Have been established for at least two years or more
Have established communication networks among its member organizations
Have connections within the community it serves
Committed to establishing a formal community emergency plan for their community
Able to identify two community organizers who are committed to leading and administering all mandatory deliverables
Participate in mandatory capacity-building training classes, led by NYCEM
To learn more about Roosevelt Island emergency preparedness, check out the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Community Emergency Committee Zoom webinar on Fire Safety and Preparedness
Tips For The Holiday Season this evening at 8 PM.
Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Community Emergency Committee Chair Frank Farance reports:
RIRA Community Emergency Committee meeting on Fire Safety and
Preparedness
Long time community activist and RIRA member Frank Farance presents
his monthly talk on Roosevelt Island Emergency Preparedness. Since
April 2021, RIRA's Community Emergency
committee has been providing a monthly presentation on the 4th
Thursday each month at 8-9 PM, except November which is the
4th Tuesday. Each month we address a different topic,
including seasonal hazards and preparedness. This month's topics
include Fire Safety and Preparedness tips for the holiday season.
AGENDA: Topics for TUESDAY November 22, 2022 8-9PM webinar
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.
