You're Invited To Sunday Afternoon Double Header At Roosevelt Island RIVAA Gallery Tomorrow - An Afternoon Of Baroque Chamber Music And Free Improvisation Followed By International Illustration Exhibition & Art Fair Opening Reception

According to the Roosevelt Island RIVAA Gallery: 

Double Header at RIVAA Gallery

Sunday, March 10th

3:00 PM Chamber Music & Improvisation

4:30 PM Silent Planet Opening Reception

RIVAA Gallery presents a new chamber music series, the only one of its kind offered to audiences in New York City with a specific focus on Baroque, Classical and Romantic chamber repertoire played on 18th and 19th century period instruments. The series is directed by Roosevelt Island resident Yiheng Yang, faculty at The Juilliard School of Music and leading historical keyboard player. Yang’s vision is for world-class music-making and creative collaboration between top historical performance artists, bringing the best of classical music to the Island.

The next concert “Baroque Chamber Music and Free Improvisation,” is on Sunday, March 10th at 3pm. It features sonatas and trios by JS Bach and Handel, interspersed with improvisations by flugelhorn and cornetto player Matt Lambiase, in dialogue with Dongmyung Ahn, Baroque violin, Max Zeugner, bass, and Yiheng Yang, harpsichord. Entry is complimentary, and the suggested donation is $25, $10 for students and seniors, to support the performing artists and RIVAA so we can continue to bring you these events and programs.

Stay for the opening reception of "Silent Planet”, an International Illustration Exhibition and Art Fair, which is on display from March 8 - 14. On Sunday, March 10th, the opening reception will begin at 4:30pm immediately following the concert.

Located at 527 Main Street on Roosevelt Island, RIVAA Gallery features art by local, national and international artists bringing diverse and exciting exhibitions to the community and greater New York City area.

SUPPORT RIRA

Enjoy a few minutes from the January 7 RIVAA Gallery Sunday Afternoon of Chamber Music.

More info on RIVAA Gallery at their website and Instagram Page.

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Roosevelt Island Tram Swing Dampeners Installed To Reduce Cabin Rocking Back And Forth After Sudden Stop - It Appears To Be Working, Watch Video From RIOC Meeting Describing How Tram Cabin Swing Dampener Works

In order to reduce the back and forth swinging of the Roosevelt Island Tram cabins after a sudden stop,  the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) announced February 26 that Poma, operator of the Tram: 

... installed the new swing dampeners on both the North and South Cabins. You can see the new blue dampeners on the outside of both ends of the cabin (pictured below)....

Image From RIOC

The Tram swing dampeners appear to be working. A Roosevelt Island Tram Rider Tipster shared this video and reported this morning:

Took the Tram at 8:10 this morning. Barely off the platform, it dipped and started swinging. It lasted approximately 1 minute before ascent resumed "normally". I started filming halfway through. The Tram Operator was quite good, asked people not to panic and give it a minute.

During the March 7 RIOC Real Estate Development Advisory Committee meeting, RIOC Acting Chief Operating Officer Mary Cunneen and interim co-leader of the leadership team Gerrald Ellis described how the Tram cabin swing dampener works.

RIOC has stated that a disruption in the wi-fi communications system between the Tram Cabin and station is the cause of the sudden Tram stoppage resulting in the cabin swinging back and forth. The cause of the communications disruption has been under investigation for several months but has not yet been found.

Here's some examples of the swinging Roosevelt Island Tram.

November 2023 

October 2023

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September 2023. 

and from April 2019.

During the November 14, 2023 RIOC Board of Directors meeting, POMA's Roosevelt Island Tram Head Of Operations Armando Cordova addressed safety concerns caused by the Tram's sudden stops and swinging back and forth. 

Watch Very Interesting March 4 Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee Meeting - RIOC Update On Red Bus Operations And Tram Swinging, Citizen Project New Tech Platform With Transportation App And Miyawaki Pocket Forest At Southpoint Park

The March 4 Community Board 8 (CB 8) Roosevelt Island Committee meeting, chaired by RI resident Paul Krikler, hosted a very informative discussion on a variety of important Roosevelt Island topics.

The meeting began with an update by Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Communications Director Bryant Daniels and Chief Financial Officer Dhru Amin on issues including:

Image From CB 8 You Tube Video

• Tram Cabin Swaying Dampeners,
• New Interim RIOC Leadership Reset of Community Engagement and Communications
• Red Bus operations,
• Z Brick street paving,
• Good Shepherd Chapel elevator repair
• and more.

Following the RIOC team, Roosevelt Island resident Kaushal Shah introduced The Citizen Project, an initiative to leverage technology to provide solutions for the daily needs of Roosevelt Island residents by building a web and mobile based platform. 

Image from CB 8 You Tube Video

Among the solutions being developed by The Citizen Project is a Roosevelt Island Transit mobile app 

Image from CB8 You Tube Video

providing schedule information for the Tram, Subway, Ferry and soon the Red Bus.

Stay tune for more info on The Citizen Project.

Also, Roosevelt Island resident and iDig2Learn Founder Christina Delfico reviewed the group's past projects 

Image from CB 8 You Tube Video

and  described her upcoming project creating a Miyawaki Method Pocket Forest in Southpoint Park.

Image from CB 8 You Tube Video

Here's the March 4 meeting of CB 8 Roosevelt Island committee.

The CB 8 Roosevelt Island committee meets via Zoom the first Monday of the month.

Contact CB8 if you are interested in more information about the Roosevelt Island committee.

Cherry Blossom Tree Starting to Bloom On A Rainy Day at Roosevelt Island Starbucks Patio - More Will Come Soon

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Roosevelt Island Revolt, Transparency, Community Engagement And Recent RIOC Management Turnover Received Citywide Attention Today In An Excellent Article By The City - Take A Look

Roosevelt Island revolt, transparency, community engagement and the recent management turnover at the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) received some citywide attention today in an excellent article by The City. The headline read:

Roosevelt Island Revolt: Residents Call for Governance Changes Amid Corporation Chaos

Following the abrupt departures of the last two leaders of the state authority that runs Roosevelt Island, residents are calling for more of a say in what goes on in the quiet, mostly residential strip of land on the East River. https://t.co/WXjk6K0fqv

— THE CITY (@THECITYNY) March 5, 2024

Click here for the full Roosevelt Island article from The City.

Many of the issues reported in The City article involving Roosevelt Island community engagement and RIOC transparency were discussed by residents, RIOC Board Directors and the new interim RIOC leadership of Deputy Counsel Gerrald Ellis, Chief Financial Officer Dhru Amin and Board member Howard Polivy during the February 15 RIOC Real Estate Development Advisory committee meeting.

During the discussion, Roosevelt Island Daily Publisher and frequent RIOC critic David Stone praised the new interim leadership team but noted:

... One of the things that RIOC has to do is ...  we  have to have some say of who the Board Members are. We had elections once with some really good members ... that were participating and had input. The next time it came around no elections and Andrew Cuomo just manipulated things to gain control. 

So what RIOC needs to do is guarantee some amount of power to the residents. You're giving it to us now. It's great of you, but you can go tomorrow and the Governor can just change the whole things....

Roosevelt Island resident Paul Krikler who is the organizer of a petition seeking to directly elect RIOC Board members that has over 1 thousand signatures and is the Chair of Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island committee added:

.. There a lot of people, including those in this room, and other people, numerous on this island who have had and do have some amazing ideas of what we could do with this island... 

... We'd like to have the residents have a much bigger voice in how all that stuff is done.  Another way of doing that is to have the residents have a say on what the direction of RIOC is, therefore have the vote on the Board. That's why the petition was asking for the residents to have the chance to vote in the Directors of RIOC.

I understand it's complicated beyond measure with State law. I understand that the first time all you had to do was throw some tea in the water and we gave you your freedom. So yes, it may be very difficult technically, but magically things have a a great way of actually happening when it's the right thing to do and if people say it loudly enough and together and I think that's what's going to happen here as well, so I'll stop making speeches

Here's the discussion.

  

Mr Stone speaking to the Interim RIOC leadership team also said:

I want to say thank you to you guys and what you're doing especially Howard.... I appreciate very much what you're doing. It is opening things up. I hope you stay forever. Nothing"s perfect but it's like walking into a new found land with you guys. I actually wrote to your Communications Director and got a response, oh my God...

Former RIOC Board member Margie Smith shares this message she sent to RIOC Board member Howard Polivy following the REDAC meeting:

I want to congratulate you on last night's meeting. I'm vocal enough when I don't like the way these things are handled, so I want to be just as vocal when they're handled as well as they were last night.

I sincerely hope it will continue this way, and all indications are that it will.

It is the broad consensus of many Roosevelt Island activists that since RIOC President Shelton Haynes and General Counsel Gretchen Robinson were placed on paid administrative leave last December, pending the latest of many investigations, RIOC has been doing an excellent job under the new interim leadership team of Mr Ellis, Ms Amin and Mr Polivy, together with new RIOC Directors Ben Fhala, Lydia Tang and Dr Michal Melamed.

So far, I agree.

Does Roosevelt Island Want Or Need A $7.9 Million Motorgate Bike Ramp From Bridge Helix To Promenade And $7.3 Million Queens Side Bike Lane? What Are The Roosevelt Island Spending Priorities?

Image From RIOC

During the February 15, 2024 Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Real Estate Development Advisory Committee (REDAC) meeting, Acting Chief Operating Officer Mary Cunneen described the planned $15.2 million Roosevelt Island Helix Bike ramp and East (Queens) Side bike lane project.

Image From RIOC

Former RIOC Board Director Margie Smith was one of the residents attending the meeting and asked:

... Is this a done deal? Every time it came up we asked about it we were told oh don't worry we're just discussing it. It doesn't sound like we're just discussing it anymore. Of all the things we have to do on the island we're going to spend this kind of money on a bike ramp? Seriously?

... If we had a ton of money and we were just flush, great. Meanwhile the nonprofits are dying, we're tripping and falling all over the sidewalks. What the hell are we spending this kind of money for?...

Roosevelt Island resident, Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee Chair and bike rider Paul Krikler said:

... I'm not here to argue exactly what this should look like and you're right about certain features of this and also the cost. I get that and I'm glad to see the federal grant money will be applied for and hopefully we'll get that.

What I really want to register with the RIOC board and RIOC itself is that we do need to examine exactly where we are right now, in the middle of six months of Transit Hell.

It's not just people who live here. Other people who come here as well would want to use a bike, not just visitors to cycle around but to come and visit people or to do things here. We should be using every opportunity we have to get as many options as we can for people to do lots of things, again not withstanding specific objections...

RIOC Board Director Howard Polivy reported:

... We're going to be talking about priorities...

... We'll keep these comments in mind. The reason I originally wanted to have a ramp like that...  we were working on the main Helix I wanted there to be a Plan B...

Mr Polivy is referring to access from the Roosevelt Island Bridge to Main Street while work was being done on the helix ramp repair in 2018.

RIOC Deputy Counsel Gerrald Ellis, representing the new interim RIOC Leadership added:

...  I can't vouch for all those decisions made by our prior predecessors...

Here's the full February 15, 2024 REDAC Bike Ramp/Lane discussion.

In December 2020 the projected budget for the Bike Ramp was $4 million.

Image From RIOC

Here's more on the proposed Roosevelt Island Motorgate Bike Ramp from RIOC.

You're Invited To Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee Zoom Meeting Monday March 4 - RIOC Update, Intro To New Citizen Project Solutions Platform & Southpoint Park Pocket Forest On Agenda

You're invited to attend the March 4 Manhattan Community Board 8 (CB 8) Roosevelt Island Committee meeting via Zoom.

According to the CB 8 Roosevelt Island Committee March 4 meeting Agenda:

1. RIOC Update

2. Introducing The Citizen Project, whose aim is to leverage technology to better serve our community. The technology platform they are building is based on a community-driven, bottom-up approach, where RI residents are an integral part of designing and developing solutions to urban challenges.

• A. The Citizen Project vision
• B. Overview of the platform
• C. Ways to get involved or stay informed

3. Creating Miyawaki Method Pocket Forest in Southpoint Park, Roosevelt Island (presented by iDig2Learn) Old Business New Business

4. New Business

5. Old Business

For access to the Zoom meeting, sign in by clicking this link.