This is the last weekend to check out the 2024 Roosevelt Island Black History
Month celebration exhibition at RIVAA Gallery. According to RIVAA Gallery:
We are pleased to welcome you to our annual Black History Month exhibition.
This year we are celebrating “Heroes: Real and Imagined".
The exhibition is curated by Micheline Hess, a Roosevelt Island resident. A
comic creator, artist/illustrator and former RIVAA member, Micheline has
reached out to artist/cartoonists for portrayals of their heroes from life or
those heroes they have imagined and created. The exhibition opens on January
25 and will be on view at RIVAA Gallery, 527 Main Street, until February 11...
Here are some scenes from the January 27 RIVAA Gallery Black History Month
Heroes: Real and Imagined exhibition opening reception.
Micheline Hess is a Roosevelt Island resident and and an artist/curator of the exhibition.
According to Ms Hess:
The name of the exhibit is Heroes: Real and Imagined. Basically what I
was seeking to do was find a way to get
people starting a discussion about Heroes that both exist in real life as
well as the kind of Heroes they have
created. as comic artists and
illustrators and painters. Characters
scenes that depict instances of
heroism. In
the way of the Arts bringing
empowerment. Creating their own
characters that they then write or draw
their own adventures with...
Meet the artists showcasing their work at RIVAA Gallery's
Also, Roosevelt Island's NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright is celebrating Black History Month with a student essay contest
We are sponsoring a National Black History Month essay contest, with awards going to the top entries from students on the Upper East Side, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island. #BlackHistoryMonthpic.twitter.com/Q4Yf3sw6ha
— Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (@SeawrightForNY) February 1, 2024
and the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) is celebrating with a Jazz concert.
In celebration of Black History Month, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation’s Youth Center will coordinate their 3rd Annual Jazzy Jam Session on Friday, February 23rd from 3PM-5PM. During the Jazzy Jam Session, participants will explore jazz music, art, and much more. pic.twitter.com/VUH5CyScyh
— Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (@RIOCny) February 1, 2024
There is no Roosevelt Island subway service to or from Manhattan this weekend. According to the MTA:
As reported January 12, according to MTA Assistant Director, Government & Community Relations
Katerina Patouri:
Dear Community Stakeholder,
Please be advised of the following service changes as part of the ongoing
63rd St Direct Fixation Project, upcoming in February 2024:...
... Feb 10-12th, 17-19th, 24-26th:
In support of the ongoing 63rd St track replacement project, the F shuttle
train will be suspended for the weekends of Feb 10-12, 17-19, and 24-26:
F shuttle train service will be suspended starting on Saturday at 5AM
through Monday at 5AM on the weekends of Feb 10-12, Feb 17-19, and Feb
24-26.
Starting at 11:00 PM on Friday 2/10, 2/17, and 2/24 and for the remainder
of each weekend, a free shuttle bus will replace the Q95 and Q94 and will
extend to connect Roosevelt Island, 21 St- Queensbridge, and Queens Plaza,
following the current Q94 overnight shuttle route.
This shuttle bus will run during daytime and overnight hours for the
duration of the weekend and is scheduled to operate approximately every
5-10 minutes.
Project completion is still slated for Q1, 2024, subject to change....
According to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC)
Dear Roosevelt Island Community:
The
MTA has announced planned service changes to the F-Shuttle train
service for Roosevelt Island every weekend during the month of February.
Here is the information shared with us from the MTA detailing the
changes in service for the upcoming weekends:
Feb 10-12th, 17-19th, 24-26th: NO Subway Service on Roosevelt Island
The F shuttle train will be suspended for the weekends of Feb 10-12, 17-19, and 24-26:
F shuttle train service will be suspended starting onSaturday at 5AM through Monday at 5AMon the weekends of Feb 10-12, Feb 17-19, and Feb 24-26.
Starting
at 11:00 PM on Friday 2/10, 2/17, and 2/24 and for the remainder of
each weekend, a free shuttle bus will replace the Q95 and Q94 and will
extend to connect Roosevelt Island, 21 St- Queensbridge, and Queens
Plaza, following the current Q94 overnight shuttle route.
This
shuttle bus will run during daytime and overnight hours for the
duration of the weekend and is scheduled to operate approximately every
5-10 minutes.
Other Methods of Travel
In
addition to the MTA’s free shuttle bus, island residents may utilize
the following methods of off-island transportation during all February
weekends:
Red Bus Manhattan Shuttle:
During all weekends in February RIOC will once again run a Red Bus
Shuttle to Manhattan every Saturday and Sunday from 3:00pm – 7:30pm. The
shuttle leaves from the Tram Station at the top of every hour and picks
up returning riders from the Southwest side of 2nd Avenue, between 58th
Street and 59th Street, on the half hour.
Tram:
RIOC is running the Tram on a rush hour schedule every Saturday and
Sunday from 7:00am – 10:00pm during the ongoing MTA trackwork. Please be
advised that we expect longer than average wait times for the Tram
while this emergency MTA work takes place, so you should plan your
travel accordingly. Extra PSD officers will be stationed at both the
Roosevelt Island and Manhattan Tram stations during these weekends, and
if you are elderly or disabled and need help reaching the Manhattan side
Tram platform, please make sure to speak with one of the PSD officers
on site.
NYC Ferry: The NYC Ferry Astoria line serves Roosevelt Island and can provide off-island transportation to Queens and Manhattan. You can check its schedule here.
Cornell Tech students are researching Medicare. If you are enrolled in or looking into applying to Medicare we'd love to chat.
Please reach out to am2667@cornell.edu.
We’re researching the process of applying to Medicare, and how people go from researching the right plan for themselves to then applying, to then being able confidently use it.
We’re looking at the entire process and trying to address any points in our project.
Roosevelt Island's NY State Senator Liz Krueger hosted a virtual 2024 Medicare Coverage seminar last November 20. Here's the video of the seminar.
These are some updates that we would like to provide. The RIOC Interim Leadership Team, Dhru and myself, we're hitting
the ground running and we're working to
maintain the Island's vital services and
to better communicate with the community. That's honestly one of our first
priorities. We've already been at the Operations Committee meeting and Roosevelt Island Historic Society meeting. We also
attended the Community Board 8
Roosevelt Island committee meeting. I
think one of our our first initiatives
is to focus on greater transparency and
collaboration among Island
stakeholders....
And Ms Amin:
Engagement with the
local media. We have reevaluated our
policies on engaging with local media
and are now becoming more responsive to
incoming requests for information and
comment as you've seen over the past few days. We believe this greater level of
openness will help keep Island
residents informed of our initiatives
and operations while also fostering
better RIOC community
relations....
Mr Ellis also described tours of Island operations and infrastructure with RIOC Board members among other items.
Following the Interim Leadership Report, RIOC Director Lydia Tang spoke about problems working with RIOC President Shelton Haynes and General Counsel Gretchen Robinson currently on paid administrative leave pending an investigation of them about workplace concerns raised by RIOC employees. According to Ms Tang:
As newly appointed resident board members, endorsed by elected officials and appointed by Governor Hochul, we bear the responsibility of overseeing RIOC's audit, budget, operations, and governance. It's crucial to counter some unfounded claims by Shelton and Gretchen, which tarnish the reputation of myself and Ben Fhala.
Systematic denial of basic access for oversight persisted for over seven months.
Despite six months of requesting a comprehensive Operations Tour, per ABO recommendations, it was only arranged after Shelton and Gretchen were placed on leave. Gratitude to Gerrald, Dhru, and Mary for the tour, with plans for Dr. Melamed and Mr. Fhala's tours.
Upon joining the Board, I approached Shelton and Gretchen positively, expressing empathy for Shelton's family crisis. Suggestions to "work smarter" were offered, advocating delegation and embracing the "new normal" of new Board Members. If my phone conversation were recorded, it would confirm Shelton stating that Gretchen acknowledged my voice of reason. Assuming antagonism hindered information gathering for our fiduciary roles, echoing the adage: "When you assume, you make an 'ass' of 'u' and 'me.'"
Flouting dysfunctional norms, I urged executive responsiveness to board inquiries. Months of Gretchen issuing advisories against responding to board emails, and delays in answers reveal dysfunction at RIOC, necessitating renewed inquiries.
In response to staff reports, we investigated a procurement contract. Information requests on executive team members aimed to address community concerns went unanswered. Salary requests sought to verify or refute an 18% raise allegation, and requests for work/paid-time details for the entire executive team echoed community and internal whistleblower concerns, all with unanswered queries indicating a potential cover-up and a clear disregard for our oversight responsibilities.
Meetings with staff sought answers to fiduciary oversight concerns. Despite positive interactions, such instances were negatively spun. Interactions with staff were restricted, assuming ill intent, obstructing fiduciary roles. This assumption manipulated the board, allowing the executive team to overstep their authority. Our plans involve addressing RIOC dysfunctions with a renewed focus on fiduciary oversight inquiries. We remain dedicated to providing necessary oversight over RIOC and its audit, budget, operations, and governance.
Here's the February 1 RIOC Interim Leadership Report and statement by RIOC Director Lydia Tang.
... It is unclear how long the new interim RIOC leadership will remain in place,
how long the review of Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson's workplace conduct will take
and if they will return to their positions as President/CEO and General
Counsel respectively.
But, Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson are attempting to stop the review of their
workplace conduct and demand to be restored to their positions at RIOC.
On January 23, Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson filed an
Order To Show Cause
in the US District Court for the Southern District Of NY seeking a Temporary
Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction:...
The Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary injunction sought by Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson seeks to stop any investigation of them and restore them to their positions.
Though not named as defendants in the lawsuit, Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson
claim in their lawsuit that NY State Senator
Liz Krueger,
NY State Assembly Member
Rebecca Seawright
and
Roosevelt Island Daily
publisher David Stone contributed to a "racist backlash" against them.
The lawsuit also claims that Mr Haynes and Ms Robinson were excluded from
the appointment process of 3 new RIOC Board Members in an attempt to
undermine their authority and "ability to discharge their job functions."
Haynes and Robinson claim the 3 new RIOC board members are antagonistic to
them...
Reported on January 29 that the preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for February 9 at 10:30 a.m.
Stay tuned. More to come.
UPDATE 2/9 - The scheduled hearing for February 9 on the Order to Show Cause has been postponed. A new judge was assigned to the case. No new date assigned yet.
According to the Feb 8 case filing:
NOTICE OF CASE REASSIGNMENT to Judge Analisa Torres. Judge Katherine Polk Failla is no longer assigned to the case. (tro)
residents and workers who currently use the Q 102 bus. The meeting will include
a presentation:
... by the MTA/NYC Transit on proposed bus route changes:
Queens Bus Redesign recommendation to replace the Q102 between S. Loop Rd.
and Queens Plaza with Q104 service between the Roosevelt Island "F" station
and Sunnyside via Broadway & 46th Street...
The proposed Q104 would be extended to serve Roosevelt Island at its western
terminal, replacing Q102 service, which would be discontinued. The Q104
would continue to serve Broadway and 48 St, maintaining its connection with
the 7 train. Most existing Q102 train connections would be maintained on the
proposed Q104. Existing Q102 service along E Loop Rd/W Loop Rd south of the
Roosevelt Island F train station would be discontinued. Existing Q102
service along 31 St would be replaced by the proposed Q105.
To match stop spacing on other Local routes, Q104 stops would be spaced
slightly further apart than existing to speed up buses and improve
reliability.
Both frequency and span would be increased to resemble Q102 service.
The
proposed Q104
will connect to the N and W trains at the 31st Street/Broadway subway station
which is handicapped accessible and connect to the M and R trains at the 48th
Street/Broadway subway station which is not. The Q104 will also connect to the
7 train at the 46th Street subway station which is handicapped accessible.
The proposed bus route will be a big change for Roosevelt Island residents and
workers who will no longer have access to the Queens Plaza/Queensboro Plaza
subway hubs via the
current Q102 bus
which will be eliminated under the proposed Queens Bus Network Redesign Plan.
But we will have better access to Socrates Sculpture Park and Costco on Vernon
B'lvd as well as the restaurants and attractions in Astoria.
... At the Rivercross co-op, which stands at 531 Main St., unit 321 traded
hands last week for $2.09 million — dethroning the previous record held by
unit 10M at 455 Main St., which sold for $2 million in 2019.... The just-sold
Rivercross home had asked $2.49 million when listed. The unit had long been
home to the Enock family. This transaction marks the end of nearly five
decades of their ownership.
The Enocks — led by the late patriarch David, the late matriarch Wanda, and
their sons Christopher and Matthew — were pioneers on Roosevelt Island,
being the very first family to call the Rivercross complex their home when
they paid $27,000 for their co-op apartment and took up residence in
September 1976....
Roosevelt Island resident and listing agent for this apartment sale at the Rivercrosss
building, Kaja Meade, adds:
The Island is a great place to live and relatively afforable (by Manhattan
standards). The Enochs are evidence that people who buy on Roosevelt Island
love it and stay. There's also opportunities on Roosevelt Island across all
price points and all have access to the same great amenities and views. As a
resident myself, I love living here and know all its advantages - and I'm
always happy to connect and show folks or educate people who may be new to
Roosevelt Island.
As reported December 3, 2013, the Rivercross Co-op voted to approve a market rate privatization plan and
exit the Mitchell Lama program imposing a transfer fee on first time sales:
... equal to 45% of the difference between the gross selling price of the
apartment and the Mitchell-Lama price of the apartment....
Here's what Roosevelt Island was like for the pioneering residents of the
1970's who benefited from the Mitchell Lama affordable housing program.
The Neighborhood Slice TV program
in 2014 profiled an early Roosevelt Island pioneering resident, Sande Elinson, who moved
here with her family in 1977.
... was all affordable. That was the whole reclaiming this and keeping people
in the city. Keeping the middle class and then all these families, all these
kids, we would sit in the parks and we realize, boy, we could set up a
baby sitting coop, a little league, an artists association a garden...
... What was available to us in 1976 on a teacher's income is not available now
but the new buildings have young families in them....
... It's heaven... a beautiful wonderful place still to live.
Roosevelt Island was built by government in the 1970's as an experiment in
developing affordable housing for a multi-income, multi racial and disabled
population. What happened to the Roosevelt Island housing experiment from the
1970's to today is the subject of an excellent piece of journalism by the
Plot Of Land Podcast. The reporters of this 2 part series are Melissa Fundira who grew up on
Roosevelt Island and Jameela Hamond....
NY’s Roosevelt Island was imagined as an idyllic, multi-racial, multi-income
community. In episode 6 of
#PlotofLand
we talk to current-day & displaced residents & look back at the
decisions that created & dismantled housing as a human right. 🎧
https://t.co/4p7vHlZpzapic.twitter.com/yscZVIGfhH
You Tuber
Black In The Core
visited Roosevelt Island recently and made an excellent video report on
Roosevelt Island history and current issues of affordability and
gentrification....
One does not necessarily have to agree with all of the reporting in this video
but the issues raised of gentrification and affordability are real....
In October 2020, developer Hudson Related opened Riverwalk Park which had over 70 thousand lottery applications for a rental apartment in the 340 unit affordable housing building.
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.
