Political newcomer Collin Thompson is challenging incumbent Julie Menin in the June 24, 2025 NYC Council District #5 Democratic Party primary. Mr Thompson was on Roosevelt Island Saturday March 22 talking to residents and I met up with him at the Farmers Market for an interview.
When asked why he was challenging the incumbent Council Member from his own party, Mr Thompson replied:
Like a lot of people I've talked to in District 5 during the petitioning process, I feel very passionate about bringing Public Service back to this office and creating an atmosphere where people can get answers out of their City Council person, where people can contact their City Council person's office and receive quality information and being visible...
.... I don't claim to have all of the answers but what I am passionate about is ensuring that people in District 5 have the opportunity to be heard, be seen and their challenges and issues with our city government at least being heard by the person that's representing them.
I don't think you can lead people you don't listen to. I have nothing personal against my opponent but I don't believe that residents in District 5 have really been represented in that way and and I hear from a lot of people that they call this current city council person's office or share concerns and they just kind of fall on deaf ears. I believe we've got to return back to a time when when public office was working for the public...
The Roosevelt Island Farmers Market returns to it's Spring/Summer Fall Home at
Good Shepherd Plaza this Saturday April 5.
from it's Motorgate Plaza Winter home.
The Roosevelt Island Saturday Farmers Market is a beloved member of our
community - a place to purchase locally grown, healthy and deliciously tasting
fresh fruits, vegetables and much more. It's also a gathering spot to meet
with our neighbors and learn about the latest neighborhood news and gossip.
The Roosevelt Island Saturday Farmers Market at Good Shepherd Plaza is open
early morning to mid afternoon on Saturdays in good weather and bad.
Support your Local Farmers, Eat Healthy!
See you Saturday at Good Shepherd Plaza for the Roosevelt Island Farmers
Market.
Last week I spoke with the Khalfani, the new Café @ Cornell Tech Executive Chef about a new feature at the Café.
According to Khalfani:
Every Tuesday and
Wednesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m.
to 2:00 p.m. we want to bring something
new and fresh to the Café so we created
the Action Station where once a week we're going
to choose a different style of Cuisine to do live cooking in front of
the students and the public so they
can get a little bit more excitement out
of the Café and also bring out something
delicious as well as the other Café offerings.
For example today we're
doing Vietnamese Crepes...
I asked Khalfani what's scheduled for this week and he replied:
... It's always a surprise - I have to leave it as a surprise...
Stop by the Café @ Cornell Tech this week and see what surprise Khalfani has cooked up for us.
Also, check out the the March 31 Cornell Tech Café weekly menu for breakfast, lunch, coffee, daily specials, fruit smoothies and much more.
Today, Ms Seawright shares this letter she sent to Senior Vice President
Department of Buses/MTA Bus Company Frank Annicaro.
Dear Vice President Annicaro:
Thank you very much for your leadership at the MTA.
On behalf of my constituents on Roosevelt Island, I am writing you today
to request that a mobile sales vehicle return to the Island.
As you know, Roosevelt Island’s over twelve thousand residents have
limited public transportation options. The Tram’s recent, well-chronicled
overcrowding has only intensified these challenges.
Over twenty percent of residents are older New Yorkers and thousands are
people with disabilities. Both groups are eligible for reduced fare
and would benefit from the mobile sales vehicle. As Chair of the
Assembly’s Aging Committee, I request the return of the Roosevelt Island
mobile sales service providing access to reduced fare applications, OMNY
guidance and other customer services, that would otherwise be inaccessible
to older people and people with disabilities.
I remain thankful to your department for providing these vehicles to my
district on the Upper East Side. I have witnessed firsthand the benefits
they provide, especially during the current MetroCard-to-OMNY transition.
Thank you for your consideration. I appreciate your attention to this
important matter of accessibility. If we may provide additional
information, please do not hesitate to contact my Chief of Staff, Courtney
Ferrissey, at 212-288-4607.
I'm grateful to Speaker @CarlHeastie for this incredible opportunity to champion New York's nearly five million older adults. pic.twitter.com/ZMWDZr1pCf
— Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (@SeawrightForNY) January 9, 2025
Here's Assembly Member Seawright as Chair of the Committee on Aging,
speaking with the New York State Office for the Aging's Acting Director,
Greg Olsen, during a February 25 joint budget hearing on Human
Services.
The 2025 Roosevelt Island Cherry Blossom season has begun with trees blooming
next to the Roosevelt Island bridge on the east side of Capobianco Field
but not yet in most other areas of Roosevelt Island.
The blooming of the Roosevelt Island Cherry Blossoms will bring back the
hordes of tourists to Roosevelt Island with long lines for the Tram and
overcrowded cabins. During yesterday's beautiful warm afternoon weather, we
got a small taste of the long Tram lines to come as shown in screenshots from
the
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp
(RIOC)
Manhattan Tram station livestream cameras.
The warmer months always result in an uptick in visitor and pedestrian
traffic to the island. With Cherry Blossom season fast approaching, the
following controls have been activated and will remain in place through
the end of April:
Overcrowding Safety Controls:
Large crowds on the island will be managed by PSD officers with the
assistance of the 114th Precinct.
Parks will be monitored by PSD throughout the day. Please note that
parks will close in the occurrence of overcrowding on the island.
Additional signage will be placed near the entrances and exits of the
Tram on the Manhattan side to help ensure an orderly travel process.
Transportation & Island Services:
NOTE: Please plan your travel accordingly. While delays in Tram travel are
to be expected due to increased ridership, the Ferry is a viable option;
the F-Train remains a quick and efficient option for travelling to and
from the island.
Subway: F train service will run on normal weekend hours. Please plan your
travel accordingly and visit
mta.info/weekender or call 511 for
more information. For electronic updates on F Train service, sign up for
MTA Alerts at mymtaalerts.com.
Q102 Bus: The Q102 is also available to help riders traveling on and off
Roosevelt Island. You can check the
Q102 schedule here.
RIOC Weekend Mini-Shuttle Buses to Manhattan: RIOC’s Transportation
Department will once again run a Mini-Shuttle Bus from Roosevelt Island to
Manhattan on weekends during the month of April. Shuttles will run hourly
(traffic permitting) from 11AM to 7:30PM. The shuttle will depart at the
top of every hour from the Roosevelt Island Tramway. The shuttle will then
depart on the half hour from the Manhattan Tram station, from the corner
of 60th Street and Second Avenue to the Tram. The last shuttle trips will
depart from the Roosevelt Island Tram at 7 PM and Manhattan at 7:30 PM.
Tram: PSD officers will be present at each station. Passengers should plan
accordingly as they may experience long lines. Before traveling, make sure
to check the Tram cams on the RIOC website to see up to the second
conditions at the Manhattan station:
https://rioc.ny.gov/673/Roosevelt-Island-Tram-Station-Livestream
Ferry Service: Ferry service will run on normal weekend service hours. For
schedule info, visit: Ferry.nyc
Vehicular Traffic: In the event of overcrowding, vehicular access to the
island will be restricted to island residents and workers only. PSD and
NYPD will be stationed at the entryway of the bridge (Vernon and 36th
Ave.) to monitor and redirect, if needed.
Bicycles: Citations will be issued to any cyclist/motorized scooters who
do not adhere to NYC bike laws.
Garbage Removal: There will be an increase in waste management this
weekend to address any littering caused by overcrowding.
For more information, please call PSD at 212-832-4545.
A Long Time Roosevelt Island resident shares this message to RIOC Director of Communications and Community Affairs Bryant Daniels:
Is that Mini-Shuttle you refer to that same, awful, not completely
barrier-free & accessible vehicle that looks like a truck? If it is, it
is not usable for a variety of folks with physical challenges ... Why can’t
RIOC use one of the Red Buses, especially now with 2 new buses (and the rest
in pretty good condition). They are safe, barrier-free and accessible....
Mr Daniels replied:
Thanks for the feedback. Yes, it’s the shorter bus—taking a 40-footer
off-island right now is a bad move. Maintaining Red Bus service on the
island has to be the priority, and the amount of people who utilize this
shuttle generally doesn’t exceed what the shorter bus can accommodate.
The shorter bus is also much easier to navigate for our drivers on Queens
and Manhattan roads, and with the roadwork going on just off the island,
that’s an important consideration, too.
I also think, generally speaking, we need to be thoughtful about not
repeating history with the Red Buses. That’s a lot of extra wear and tear
going off-island, just when we got our fleet back into shape.
Two of the buses are also about to have mid-life overhauls which will take
them out of commission for a few weeks each.
Following the release of our
2025 Island Travel Advisory, RIOC will be hosting a special online community meeting to discuss
preparations for the upcoming Cherry Blossom season on the island.
This online meeting
will be held next Tuesday, April 1st at 6pm via Teams.
The meeting will include a discussion about operational adjustments made
to help accommodate for the added foot-traffic to the island during the
busy spring season, and will offer residents an opportunity to provide
feedback and suggestions to RIOC leadership.
During the March 11 2025 RIOC Public Safety Department (PSD) Community
Engagement meeting, Chief Kevin Brown spoke about how PSD will handle the
large crowds at the Tram with the warmer weather arriving.
According to Chief Brown:
... Warm weather is coming. With the warm weather there's long lines at the
Tram. We will be out there. Public Safety will ensure that people are
safe on the Tram. We've limited to 50 persons on the platform so that
everybody can be safe....
... if you need the elevator for any reason you are allowed to take
the elevator. You don't have to prove that you're a certain age.
Whoever you are, if you need the elevator you will be allowed to take the
elevator and if anybody stops you tell them that you spoke to Chief Brown...
When asked, Chief Brown added that people will have to wait on the long line before
using the elevator although PSD Officers have discretion to use "common
sense" to allow some people to skip the line and go directly to the
elevator.
Here are Chief Brown's full remarks on the subject from the 24 minute mark
until 33 minute 50 second mark.
This fills a longstanding need, and thanks to all the leaders who pulled it together. For balance now, we need resident leadership to come up with something similar. RIRA is a wreck waiting for...
Jesus Christ. Give it up. The priority boarding is not going to happen. If the line is too long, take the subway. It's not that far from the tram station on either end of the trip.
The protections from Public Safety for tram safety diminish the man hours of protection that Roosevelt Islanders pay for to protect us right here in our community. While It's necessary,...
It good idea but need to think about a limit number of passes per person or some other control to stop people trying to grab multiples for sale. Also have to think where/when do you get the daily...
There is no extra fee for the annual Fast Line Pass. The idea is the same thing as what your are calling Priority Boarding. The idea that is different is that anyone (residents/workers/visitors)...
Re. the 8:30 update: The Roosevelt Landings Residents Association determined that at least 22 heater sparkings and fires had taken place in our building in recent months. I personally experienced 3...
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.
