Roosevelt Island resident Paul Krikler has a favorite bench.. Mr Krikler
reports:
I like to come to a bench by the Blackwell House fountain when the weather is
nice. I like to come when I've finished client work or other things I have
going on. It's great to sit under the trees and look at the greenery. I do
some of my best thinking there.
Manhattan Community Board 8 (CB8) Roosevelt Island Committee
Chair Paul Krikler moderated an interesting
Zoom meeting
last night with Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Communications Director Bryant Daniels, NY State Senator
Liz Krueger and NY
State Assembly Member
Rebecca Seawright
talking with residents about a variety of local issues. The meeting began with
Mr Daniels providing a RIOC update and answering questions on the:
RIOC interim leadership changes
- (Deputy General Counsel Gerrald Ellis left RIOC for a job in the private
sector. Acting Chief Operating Officer Mary Cunneen and Associate General
Counsel Lada Stasko will join Chief Financial Officer Dhru Dhruvika on the
interim leadership team),
Red Bus service outages
- Of the 4 Red Buses, 2 buses are currently working on Main Street. 1 Red
Bus is out of service and is expected to be back in service this week
which will restore Octagon Bus Service. The 4th Bus is out of service for
maintenance and no date yet for when it will be fixed. 2 new Red
Buses are on order.
Red Bus Real Time Schedule Tracking service will be working soon and
integrated in
NY Transit app
as well as the soon to launch Roosevelt Island
Citizens Project platform.
Weekend Volleyball Players
at Firefighters Field taking over entire area with no room for others to
use the field - RIOC is aware of issue and will look more into it.
NY State Senator Krueger and Assembly Member Seawright then discussed Roosevelt
Island governance issues including:
According to Ms Krueger, any Governor is unlikely to give up the power to
appoint RIOC Directors by way of a direct election. Ms Seawight said that
Mayor Adams has agreed to use direct elections for appointment of the two
Mayoral appointments to the RIOC Board.
Governor Hochul has previously vetoed legislation requiring residency for
RIOC President and for resident
Board members who move away
from Roosevelt Island.
Watch the very interesting discussion on these issues.
CB 8 Roosevelt Island Committee meeting are scheduled for the first
Monday of every month except August. The
next meeting will be on September 9.
You're invited to attend, share your thoughts and ask questions.
The Star Award is given biannually to a member of the Roosevelt Island community in recognition of their extraordinary service. We postponed the scheduled 2023 event to this year because of our 40th anniversary celebration in December. The honoree is nominated and the Board of Directors and Executive Staff vote for their choice.
For decades Wendy has been an indispensable part of the Roosevelt Island Community. She has provided friendship, help, counseling, aid, and comfort to the people on this island who need it the most. When COVID hit, Wendy knew that many of the people were going to have trouble feeding themselves. Today a large assortment of nutritious food is given out for free every Friday afternoon at the Cultural Center. The hours involved are tremendous, and all are voluntary. Her good friend Mary Coleman has been with her every step of the way.
Wendy has been director of the RIDA since 2015. Her predecessor, the late Jim Bates, personally asked Wendy to assist shortly before his passing. RIDA organized the Hope Memorial near Four Freedoms Park which celebrates the life of our first disabled US President, Franklin Roosevelt. RIDA has received grants from a dizzying array of agencies and foundations thanks to her efforts.
Here is a partial list of what RIDA provides.
the weekly Food Pantry & home delivery of groceries
educational events to raise awareness of disabilities
workshops to build skills
Friday night entertainment & Tuesday night Pilates
cultural field trips & trips to see friends in rehab facilities
resources for referral to local agencies • providing disability equipment.
RIDA also partners each year with Public Safety and the Youth Center to collect and distribute toys to island children during the holidays.
After a long and distinguished career in the retail sector Wendy suffered an accident which damaged her spine. She had to rethink the direction of her life. In 2002 she became a certified rehabilitation counselor. Later she obtained her license as a mental health counselor. Her path was then paved toward a life of service for the disabled and those in need.
Wendy joined the MSTDA Board in 2007 and served for 7 years. During that time, she with the board’s backing instituted the successful and incredibly valuable scholarship program. Today we award over $25K in scholarships to families who would not otherwise be able to participate. Wendy's daughter Lauren, a very talented actress, performed for many years in MSTDA productions.
Wendy has touched thousands of lives and for that MSTDA is honored to recognize her as our 2024 RI Star, at our 2nd Star Award Gala fundraiser on July 11, 2024.
COME TELL YOUR STATE ELECTED REPS YOU WANT A BIGGER SAY IN HOW RIOC IS RUN
The next CB8RI meeting is on July 1 at 630pm on Zoom.
We will be joined by State Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright.
Our State elected representatives are the only ones who can help us with the imbalance of power many of us feel in dealing with RIOC.
Almost 1,100 people signed our petition demanding direct election of all Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) board members; this is a very significant number out of 12,000 residents. We need this for two reasons:
(i) Better oversight of RIOC
(ii) A bigger say in how things are done for the betterment of the community.
RIOC Communicaitons Director Bryan Daniels is also expected to attend and available to discuss Roosevelt Island issues.
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.
