Cornell NYC Tech Announces Forest City Ratner As Corporate Co-Location Building and Master Plan Developer For New Roosevelt Island Campus But Financial And Other Terms Not Yet Finalized - Agreement Must Still Be Reached With Roosevelt Island Operating Corp On Land Conveyance, Barging And Other Issues

Image From Cornell NYC Tech (credit Kilograph)

Received the following Press Release from Cornell NYC Tech this morning:

Cornell NYC Tech today announced a major advancement in its effort to bring industry and academia together on its Roosevelt Island campus with plans to develop its first “corporate co-location” building. This building will house a mix of companies at the heart of the campus, facilitating the interaction between academia and industry that is central to Cornell Tech’s mission. On Thursday, Cornell University’s Board of Trustees approved the plan to move forward with Forest City Ratner Companies as the developer of this building, subject to finalizing plans and terms. Forest City Ratner would also act as master developer, overseeing development of the first academic building, the open space and related infrastructure for the first phase of the campus.

“This level of private sector investment in the campus, and, upon completion of our finalizing the details, the participation of a great partner in Forest City Ratner, validates the campus’ enormous economic development potential for New York and ensures that we will have a vibrant mix of activities when the campus opens in 2017,” said Cathy Dove, Vice President of Cornell Tech. “We expect that leading-edge companies large and small will be drawn to the innovation and energy of Cornell Tech, helping to accelerate the already rapid growth of New York’s tech sector.”

“Cornell Tech is radically re-thinking how industry can collaborate with faculty, students and researchers, and corporate co-location is vital to making that a success,” said Cornell Tech Dean Dan Huttenlocher. “It was so exciting to launch our academic program this year and it’s equally exciting to see the physical campus coming together in a way that will advance our mission moving forward.”

"Forest City Ratner is thrilled to partner with Cornell Tech on the creation of a world class innovative campus that will drive the growth of New York's tech sector and economic development in the city for years to come," said Forest City Ratner Companies President and CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin. "From Metro Tech to Times Square to Barclays Center and Atlantic Yards, Forest City Ratner has always bet on the growth of our great city and we couldn't be more excited to play a part in this next exciting chapter. With the corporate co-location building Cornell Tech is charting new territory, and we look forward to exceeding expectations with an iconic architectural design by WEISS/MANFREDI.”

The award-winning architecture, landscape and urbanism firm, WEISS / MANFREDI will be the architect of the co-location building, which together with Cornell Tech's flagship academic building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis, will launch the Cornell Tech campus.

“We're excited to partner with Forest City Ratner Companies and Cornell to create a new architectural paradigm that fosters innovation and collaboration,” said Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi.

Cornell Tech offers a distinctive model of graduate tech education that fuses scientific excellence with real-world applications and entrepreneurship, rooted in the latest academic research. Students, faculty and industry experts learn and work together to develop ideas and create new ventures that have globalimpact.

The corporate co-location building will include up to 200,000 square feet of flexible office space, with a diverse mix of tenants including both start-ups and established companies. There will be a balance of incubator space, research and development labs, corporate innovation centers for bigger companies and rotating space for regional companies to spend time in New York City. The building will include flexible, open floor plans with common spaces to facilitate meetings and serendipitous, informal interactions between students and companies. Cornell Tech will also lease 50,000 square feet in the building, further cementing the connection between academics and industry on campus.

This is another major milestone for the campus. Cornell Tech’s “beta” class of computer science masters students completed its first semester in May in space donated by Google in Chelsea. Cornell Tech is rapidly rolling out new academic programs, recruiting star faculty, developing a distinctive new model of tech entrepreneurship, and designing its permanent campus on Roosevelt Island, which will break ground early next year. In April, Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, Founding Chairman and CEO Emeritus of Qualcomm, and his wife Joan Klein Jacobs, donated a $133-million gift to Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to create the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute (JTCII). The JTCII is a key component of Cornell Tech. The funds will help support curriculum initiatives, faculty and graduate students, and industry interactions in a two-year graduate program.

The City's Applied Sciences NYC initiative was designed to capitalize on the considerable growth presently occurring within the science, technology and research fields in New York, and builds on the Bloomberg Administration’s dedication to creating a more diversified and competitive economy for the future. In December 2011, the Cornell and Technion partnership was selected by the City as the first winner of the Applied Sciences competition. When completed, the Roosevelt Island campus will house approximately 2,000 full-time graduate students.

In response to my inquiry about the agreement between Cornell NYC Tech and Forest City Ratner (FCRC), a Cornell NYC Tech Press Spokesperson added:

Financial terms are being finalized ...

FCRC would own the corporate co-location building and be responsible for leasing the space, with Cornell committing to be an anchor tenant essentially.

On the rest of the first phase FCRC would have a fee developer relationship, overseeing development of the first academic building, open space and infrastructure.

What is not widely known about the Cornell NYC Tech project is that it is not yet a done deal. Although NYC has approved the Cornell NYC Tech ULURP application, Cornell NYC Tech must still reach an agreement with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC).  As previously reported:

... Many issues still need to be resolved before Cornell NYC Tech can take possession, begin demolition of the existing Goldwater Hospital and start construction of the new applied sciences and engineering school. Among the issues still to be negotiated with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) are an agreement with RIOC for land controlled by RIOC that is part of the proposed Cornell campus, the use of barging and temporary concrete plant during the construction process, air and noise pollution monitoring and much more....

Below is an aerial view of the existing Goldwater Hospital campus that is scheduled to be demolished in early 2014 to make way for the Cornell NYC Tech campus. NYC controls the land that is beneath the hospital buildings and extending a perimeter of 5 feet from the buildings. RIOC controls all the other land on the Goldwater campus site between the roads on the outside of the campus (East and West Channel Roads).

Image From Google Maps

Click here for a satellite view of the area.

NYC is giving away for free the land they control to Cornell NYC. RIOC, whose Board of Directors have fiduciary obligations to maintain the financial stability of Roosevelt Island, hopes to receive fair compensation for the land they control which Cornell NYC Tech desires to be part of their campus.

Roosevelt Island's NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin and Cornell NYC Tech VP Cathy Dove addressed this issue during May 8 press conference announcing Cornell's ULURP Application approval. Here's what they had to say.



RIOC has a new President, Charlene Indelicato, who has the backing of NY State Governor Cuomo. She is reportedly a tough, resourceful, experienced and competent real estate negotiator. We will soon know if Ms. Indelicato and the RIOC Board are able to protect the interests of Roosevelt Island as they negotiate with Cornell NYC Tech.

Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC) Status Update On Cornell NYC Tech Project - Will RIOC Heed Advice And Suggestions From RICC?

Reported yesterday on plans for Cornell NYC Tech collaboration and "adoption" of Roosevelt Island's PS/IS 217 with video presentations by PS/IS 217 Principal Mandana Beckman and Cornell NYC Tech Vice President Cathy Dove to the Community Board 8 Youth & Education Committee.

Many issues still need to be resolved before Cornell NYC Tech can take possession, begin demolition of the existing Goldwater Hospital and start construction of the new applied sciences and engineering school. Among the issues still to be negotiated with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) are an agreement with RIOC for land controlled by RIOC that is part of the proposed Cornell campus, the use of barging and temporary concrete plant during the construction process, air and noise pollution monitoring and much more.

The Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC) addressed some of these concerns in the following statement reacting to last month's NYC Council approval of Cornell NYC Tech's ULURP application. According to RICC:

RICC has worked closely with Cornell for over eight months to negotiate community amenities (such as computers, educational programs, meeting space) which we, and our member organizations, felt would be appropriate and appreciated in consideration of the many years of construction which the community will endure in order to make the Cornell complex a reality. Cornell has responded favorably to many of them and RICC is gratified that this would not have happened without the relationship which we have formed with them.

We have been assisted in our endeavors by, and are grateful for, recommendations and negotiations through CB8, the City Planning Commission, the Borough President's Office, and the City Council - especially Council Member Jessica Lappin. We wish they could have done more to help us but realize this project is something the entire City is behind because of the benefits it will bring.

There are many issues not yet resolved, however, or not addressed to our satisfaction, and these are the most critical because they involve health and safety. We want trucking to be the exception because of the pollutants, noise, traffic, possible damage to our helix they could cause - Cornell has only agreed to reduce trucking by about 40% through barging. We want an on-site cement plant to reduce numbers of cement trucks - Cornell is no longer considering it due to claimed deterents which RICC thinks could be mitigated. We want them to contribute funds to add officers to the Public Safety Department because of the increased population Cornell will bring and the presence of Technion, an Israeli institution - they will contribute only to security for their campus.

Because of these issues and others which are still of concern, RICC will continue to meet with Cornell, RIOC, elected officials, and whoever or whatever body can assist us in meeting our goals. We will let the community know when and how you can assist us and trust that you will rise to the occassion, since the issues we continue to be concerned about will affect the health and well-being of our Island community far into the future.

These issues were discussed in great detail during May 21 RICC Board meeting. Here's what happened.

Part 1



followed by questions and answers.



The RIOC Board Directors and new RIOC President Charlene Indelicato would be wise to consider the advice and suggestions of the RICC Board on many of these issues when negotiating with Cornell NYC Tech.

Report From Cornell NYC Tech VP Cathy Dove, ULURP Application Approved By NYC Council - Cornell Intends To Adopt Roosevelt Island PS/IS 217 And Minimize Construction Impact As Much As Possible She Says

Ms. Dove Speaking at May 8 NYC Council Approval of Cornell NYC Tech ULURP Application

Cornell NYC Tech Vice President Cathy Dove sends this report to the Roosevelt Island community.

I am so pleased to report that last week we reached a significant milestone – the completion of the formal land use review process (ULURP) for Cornell NYCTech.

We are very grateful to so many members of the Roosevelt Island community for the constructive and meaningful input throughout the process. Ultimately, your great support for the vision and mission of the campus set the tone for the entire process, reflected in very strong endorsements from the Community Board, the Borough President, the City Planning Commission and finally the City Council. We all owe a special thanks to Council Member Jessica Lappin for her tireless work in ensuring community needs were addressed.

We worked diligently throughout the public review process to incorporate feedback from the community into our approach – your input resulted in a more meaningful set of commitments from us. As a result of this constructive process, we were able to understand and address those topics that are most important to Islanders, resulting in a plan that maximizes the campusʼ benefit for all. The faculty, staff and students of Cornell Tech are looking forward to being an active partner in so many ways: researching ways that technology can enhance the lives of the many Island populations; providing computers and training to senior center members and the disabled community; providing a tech fair to advance technology education for the disabled; and working with the community to program outdoor space for children, among many others.

Many of you know that one of our primary goals is to help advance science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in New York City public schools. Of course, the Roosevelt Island school is of special interest. Recently, Council Member Lappin made a wonderful suggestion during the land use review process that we embraced immediately – we will “adopt” PS/ IS 217! That means that we will engage with teachers and students in many ways, such as providing training and support, after school programming, tech events, career day options, and hardware and software programming development.

We canʼt wait to start this relationship and engage the Islandʼs young people in embracing innovation and tech. Itʼs just one piece of a larger commitment to working with schools around the City on exciting new programs. Our initial focus will be on middle school students. We will kick off the effort this summer with an immersion program for middle school girls (including some from PS/ IS217) to learn coding, web design, robotics and mobile development under the mentorship of some of the industryʼs top engineers and entrepreneurs. Classes will be held on Roosevelt Island, with special thanks to our friends at Urban American for providing space at Roosevelt Landings and logistical support for this great program.

In addition to hearing a great deal about ways our programs can benefit the community, throughout ULURP we were asked to find ways to minimize the impact of construction as much as possible. I appreciate your patience as we worked through the analysis around some very complex issues, as we did not want to disappoint the community by committing to approaches that we would later discover would not be feasible. One of the most challenging topics was to identify methods for reducing the number of trucks – especially the heaviest trucks – in order to limit the impact of construction on residents and on the Islandʼs infrastructure. Consistent with Cornell Techʼs focus on innovation in everything we do, Iʼm very proud to announce that we will be undertaking the most aggressive voluntary barging program in New York City. As a result, we expect to reduce truck trips by more than half as compared to traditional building techniques. The barging will specifically target the heaviest materials, further lightening the load on Main Street and the Helix .

Soon we will be creating a construction task force with residents and other stakeholders to keep the community updated during construction, to answer questions, and to discuss topics that arise. We will also launch a website with project and construction information as we get closer to our start date, and will provide contact information so all community members can reach us directly with questions and comments. We are committed to being accessible throughout this process.

Thereʼs still a lot of work to do before we break ground in early 2014, but we are on schedule and building momentum toward a real presence for Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island. We canʼt wait!

Below are questions and answers following May 8 announcement of NYC Council Cornell NYC Tech ULUPR approval.

Report From RIRA President Ellen Polivy - Roosevelt Island Cornell NYC Tech Concerns, Expired RIOC Board Seats, New President Welcomed, Web Site & Blood Drive

Ms Polivy Speaking at May 8 NYC Council Approval of Cornell NYC Tech ULURP Application

Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) President Ellen Polivy sends the following Report To The Community:

Welcome and Thank you

As RIRA President, I want to extend a warm welcome to our new RIOC President Charlene Indelicato and a huge thank you to Acting President and General Council Don Lewis and VP/Chief Financial Officer, Steve Chironis who both held together the leadership of our operating corporation while it was missing its President and Vice President of Operations. This was a rather large responsibility that they gamely handled as they both also managed to do their regular jobs at the same time. Garden Club, these two gentlemen deserve fresh flowers every week for whole summer. Thanks also to the unnamed heroes on the RIOC Board and the RIOC staff who stepped into the void and took on extra responsibility.

Communications committee

A big part of what RIRA does involves community outreach, and the best way to do that is on the web. We took a close look at our existing web site and decided it wasn’t up to the challenge, so our Communication Committee set out on building a replacement. Big thank you to Co-chair Jeff Prekopa for the web page design and construction. I just got a sneak preview of the new website, and I’m excited about what I’ve seen!

The new web site is much more dynamic, thanks to the addition of blogs for events we sponsor, issues we participate in, and work our committees do. Many of the blogs will be open for comments from the community. There are also new galleries of images and videos, updated document archives, a newsletter sign up and much more. All of this is done in a way that’s easier to navigate, and much more engaging. Like family albums, we expect that the archives and photos of the events we sponsor will be fun to look back at many years from now.

As far as community polling goes, we are still working up the best way to reach out to everyone and are still asking for

The new site will go live this week, so be sure to check it out at http://www.riraonline.com. This is very much a work in progress for us. We plan lots of new content and features over the coming weeks and months, and we will continue to make improvements to better serve you, the Roosevelt Island community.

Blood drive

Roosevelt Island Day is June 15, the day we all come out to improve our community. As we have done for years, RIRA will continue the tradition of our annual blood drive on that day. RIRA members will be recruiting donors at the farmers market for three weekends before the big day, May 25, June 1, 8 and the morning of Roosevelt Island Day.

We hope you will find it in your heart and veins to donate some of your valuable red stuff. The New York Blood Center has some reasons why:

Someone needs blood every two seconds.

Surgical, trauma and cancer patients and those with blood disorders need blood.

Every summer the blood supply in New York City shrinks.

There is no substitute for human blood.

Only 2% of the eligible population donates blood each year.

If only 1% more of Americans donated, blood shortages would disappear.

This year’s New York Blood Center coordinator Elisa Cavaliere informed me that many people have misinformation about eligibility. Prospective donors are prescreened. She urged people to please sign up even if they think they cannot donate. Even if they couldn’t give before, they might be able to donate now. Donating blood is easy and takes only ten minutes.

Let’s make this drive the best year for blood donations yet .

Cornell project is approved by City Council:

You might have already read David Stone’s article on the final land use vote on the CornellNYC Tech project. The Roosevelt Island Community Coalition will be having it’s quarterly membership meeting on Tuesday to review the final agreement the City made with Cornell for the approval of the land use deal. In my next column, I will give more specifics of our gains. Right now we have mixed responses to the ULURP agreements.

Nine months ago RICC created a lengthy term sheet compiled from the 35 organizations that are now in the coalition. Those terms made up the requests and discussions that took place since then. Some were negotiated by RICC directly with the Cornell team and some were championed by Jessica Lappin, Community Board 8 and Borough President Scott Stringer. To their credit, Cornell looked at each of the items on our list and studied them carefully sometimes going to the relevant City agency to discuss the feasibility. We did not get all of our terms. Some refusals were disappointing. Some of the items Cornell championed were surprising, like the walkway to the Queensborough Bridge. The City said no. They also looked into being a local shelter in emergencies. The City said no. But we did get many good programs for the community that we hope will build town gown relationships.

In the final down-to-the-wire negotiation, Jessica Lappin made sure that Cornell’s promise to “adopt” PS/IS 217 would create a long term and ongoing partnership with the school. Cornell has agreed to give extra attention and teacher development to the school starting small this summer and larger when they have a physical presence on Roosevelt Island in 2017. Although their ultimate promise sounds awesome, this start date is not soon enough for us. We would like to see planning start now for a start date next fall when the demolition of Goldwater starts. The people affected by the construction should get the benefits.

Cornell’s agreement to barge the bulk and heavy construction material is pretty big. At their barging presentation to the Community Board back in October, they said that the best they could work out with barging would be 40% to 50% by bringing in two types of mutually exclusive docks. At the last minute their construction guru figured out a way to have both systems work without a dock by some sort of magical levitation. Hence they will now be reducing their truck traffic by 40 to 50%. Best as I can figure, this means that their remaining trucks will be passing through Main Street one every ten minutes. If they can do this, perhaps they can do better and cut out trucking entirely. This is Cornell after all. They are the experts in technology. We will be finding out more about the barging when we meet with Cornell folks shortly.

We are passing the baton to our new RIOC President to get the remaining very real requests from Cornell like sharing the costs of infrastructure and services so community residents don’t subsidize Cornell through our ground rents. We are particularly disappointed in no money for our public purpose fund. RICC plans to continue talking to Charlene Indelicato just like we spoke to Don Lewis and all our other elected officials and boards.

President Indelicato came just in time. Although former Acting President Don Lewis is incredibly smart and capable, an elected President with a background in planning recommended by the Governor has more clout in negotiations than an Acting President. We look forward to working with her.

RICC’s role in collaboration with the Community Board is to keep our eyes and ears open to community concerns and continue an open dialogue with Cornell into the future.

Expired RIOC Board needs reappointment

Right now on the RIOC board, there are three Board members sitting with expired terms and two more soon to expire. Many of them have been reelected but not yet reappointed. Now that we have our RIOC President in place, when will the Governor seat the Board members elected by the community? Governor?

Roosevelt Island Cornell NYC Tech Approval Announced Today By City Council Member Jessica Lappin With Cornell Reps and Roosevelt Island Residents - Next Step For Cornell To Conclude Ongoing Negotiations For Land With RIOC

Today, the NYC Council announced approval of the Roosevelt Island Cornell NYC Tech ULURP application. As previously reported:

... The Cornell NYC Tech ULURP application will now proceed to the full NYC Council and Mayor Bloomberg for expected approval.  However, even after final approval from NYC, Cornell NYC Tech still  needs to negotiate and come to an agreement with the Roosevelt Island  Operating Corp (RIOC) for the approximately 3 acres of land controlled  by RIOC within the planned Cornell NYC Tech campus on the site of the  current Goldwater Hospital....

Roosevelt Island's NYC Council Member Jessica Lappin tweeted:

Hi-tech coming to #NYC ! @nyccouncil approves Cornell Tech on #RooseveltIsland cc @cbsnewyork cbsloc.al/10GNIcj
— Jessica Lappin (@JessLappin) May 8, 2013

This morning, Ms Lappin, NYC Council Speaker and Mayoral Candidate Christine Quinn, Cornell NYC Tech Vice President Cathy Dove, Cornell Dean Dan Huttenlocher, Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC) Co-Chairs Ellen Polivy and Jonathan Kalkin as well as Roosevelt Island resident and Community Board 8 Member Larry Parnes appeared at a Press Conference to announce the vote to approve Cornell NYC Tech coming to Roosevelt Island and to congratulate each other on working together to bring the project to this stage of the process.

Here's what happened beginning with Ms. Lappin



followed by questions about barging construction materials, ferry service, ongoing negotiations with the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) for land controlled by RIOC, financial contributions to Roosevelt Island by NYC and more.



Click here for the Letter Agreement detailing the commitments made by Cornell NYC Tech to City Council Member Jessica Lappin, the entire City Council and the Roosevelt Island Community which are included as part of the lease agreement between the NYC and Cornell for the Goldwater Hospital site.  In addition to the commitments included in the lease agreement, NYC Deputy Mayor’s Robert Steel sent this letter dated May 2 2012 to Ms. Lappin regarding NYC contributing operating funds for a  pilot Roosevelt Island ferry service and NYPD monitoring security concerns for the new campus.

Here's the Press Release from Ms. Lappin's office:

Today, City Council Member Jessica Lappin, Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Cornell NYC Tech Vice President Cathy Dove, Cornell NYC Tech Dean Dan Huttenlocher, and Roosevelt Island community members announced that the City Council will vote to approve the Cornell NYC Tech campus on Roosevelt Island.

“Cornell NYC Tech is about the future of New York—it will drive innovation and economic growth for generations to come. When this idea was first proposed, I formed a community coalition to champion building the campus in Manhattan, and specifically Roosevelt Island. The new school will be a tremendous boon, not only for my City Council district, but for the entire Big Apple,” said Council Member Jessica Lappin, whose district includes Roosevelt Island.

Today’s City Council vote is the final step in the city’s land use review process for Cornell NYC Tech, two million-square-foot applied sciences and engineering campus that will be located at the Goldwater Hospital site on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan. The project is expected to have a $33 billion economic impact, creating 48,000 new jobs and 1,000 spin-off companies over the next three decades.[1]

Council Member Jessica Lappin negotiated to secure many commitments from the Administration and Cornell NYC Tech. The city has pledged to contribute funding to a one-year summer ferry service pilot program and has designated an NYPD liaison to ensure continued safety and security on Roosevelt Island. The university has committed to:

· Undertake the most aggressive voluntary use of barging in New York City, which will reduce the number of construction vehicles on Roosevelt Island by more than half, as compared to traditional building techniques.

· Partner with New York City middle schools to create Science, Technology, Education, and Mathematics (STEM) programs, with a special focus on girls. Initial pilot programs will begin at P.S./I.S. 217 on Roosevelt Island, M.S. 406 in East Harlem, and I.S. 204 and P.S. 111 in Long Island City, Queens. Starting this summer, Cornell NYC Tech will sponsor an immersion program for girls in these schools to learn coding, web design, robotics and mobile development under the mentorship of some of the industry’s top engineers and entrepreneurs.

· "Adopt" the local school on Roosevelt Island, PS/IS 217, by providing programming such as teacher training and support, after school programming, tech events, career day options, and hardware and software programming development.

· Conduct air monitoring throughout the project, including demolition, excavation and construction. The results of this monitoring will be posted on the construction website.

· Engage extensively with the Roosevelt Island community by creating a construction task force with residents and others; researching ways that technology can enhance the lives of the disabled and the older adults on the Island; providing computers and training to senior center members and the disabled community; providing a tech fair to advance technology education for the disabled; working with the community to program outdoor space for children.

Speaker Christine C. Quinn said “Cornell NYC Tech is a win for the City of New York, Roosevelt Island community and our local economy. This campus will help New York City continue to attract more of the brightest minds, which in turn, will attract more of the best businesses. The City Council is proud to approve the final steps necessary for construction to commence, and we look forward to the completion of this new state-of-the-art campus.”

Cathy Dove, Vice President, Cornell NYC Tech said “We are extremely grateful for the leadership of Council Member Lappin and Speaker Quinn, for the support of the City Council, and for Mayor Bloomberg's vision. We worked throughout the public review process to incorporate input from the community into our approach– that input has resulted in a stronger campus plan. We are confident the result is a Cornell Tech campus we can all be proud of and that will benefit both the Roosevelt Island community and the entire city. We look forward to breaking ground next year and continuing to work closely with the community as our campus develops.”

Ellen Polivy, Co-Chair of the Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC) said “Council Member Lappin did an amazing job fighting for us. Cornell NYC Tech’s “adoption” of our local school was much appreciated by everybody. I want to thank Cornell for all their work to plan for the future, and we look forward to a successful partnership going forward.”

Jonathan Kalkin, Co-Chair of Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC) said “It’s been exciting to work with Council Member Lappin and Cornell. Cornell NYC Tech will be a game changer for Roosevelt Island and for New York City. We can’t wait to see what innovations will come from the school, and we look forward to greeting our new neighbors.”

Roosevelt Island Cornell NYC Tech ULURP Application Approved Last Thursday By NYC Council Land Use Sub Committee - Full NYC Council and Mayor Bloomberg Next Then Final Determination by RIOC

Cornell NYC Tech Proposed Campus (page 23 CB 8 Presentation)

The NYC Council Land Use Committee approved the Roosevelt  Island Cornell NYC Tech ULURP application last Thursday May 2. The Cornell NYC Tech ULURP application will now proceed to the full NYC Council and Mayor Bloomberg for expected approval.  However, even after final approval from NYC, Cornell NYC Tech still  needs to negotiate and come to an agreement with the Roosevelt Island  Operating Corp (RIOC) for the approximately 3 acres of land controlled  by RIOC within the planned Cornell NYC Tech campus on the site of the  current Goldwater Hospital.

Click here for the Letter Agreement detailing the commitments made by Cornell NYC Tech to City Council Member Jessica Lappin, the entire City Council and the Roosevelt Island Community which are included as part of the lease agreement between the NYC and Cornell for the Goldwater Hospital site.  In addition to the commitments included in the lease agreement, NYC Deputy Mayor’s Robert Steel sent this letter dated May 2 2012 to Ms. Lappin regarding NYC contributing operating funds for a  pilot Roosevelt Island ferry service and NYPD monitoring security concerns for the new campus.

As previously reported, the NYC Land Use Committee held Public Hearing on the Cornell NYC Tech application on April 30. Witnesses at the hearing were representatives from NYC, Cornell NYC Tech and Roosevelt Island residents. Click here for the full video of the hearings. (the video is from the NYC Council and includes all Land Use Committee hearing for the day. The Roosevelt Island Cornell NYC Tech hearing begins at the 2 hour 28 minute mark).

Just about everything you want to know about the Cornell NYC Tech project and how it will impact Roosevelt Island is discussed in the video. Watch it.

Don't Truck Roosevelt Island Is Message of Roosevelt Island Community Coalition To NYC Council - Show Up And Support Roosevelt Island At April 30 NYC Council Public Hearing On Cornell NYC Tech Campus

Cornell NYC Tech Proposed Campus (page 23 CB 8 Presentation)

A message from the Roosevelt Island Community Coalition (RICC):

RICC NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Show Up - Show Support - #'s Count!

TUESDAY APRIL 30 - City Hall - (located in City Hall Park)

City Council Open Meeting (Land Use Subcommittee)

Session from 9:30 am - throughout the day

The Cornell NYC Tech project has reached the last step in the ULURP process to which the public is invited to testify: review for approval by the Land Use Subcommittee of The New York City Council.

Tuesday, April 30th, RICC and Island residents will use this last chance to testify -- although negotiations on many items will continue.

The hearing begins at 9:30 am -- but projects other than Cornell will be discussed and there's no way to know exactly when Cornell NYC Tech will be presented.

We want to get as many people out to fill the room.

RICC Speakers will testify on topics familiar to all of you, including:

• the use of barges/ferries in place of trucks that pollute our air and congest bridge, helix and street
• creating cement mixers on site -- or some alternative -- to reduce or eliminate presence of especially noxious cement trucks

Please email friends, alert neighbors: find a few hours to come to City Hall on Tuesday, April 30th!

Note: City Hall informs us that taking the 4, 5 or 6 train is best. Get off at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Stop. Emerge at City Hall Park and go to City Hall (no address -- the only building in the Park). Police will direct you to the Council Room. Bring ID -- you will go through security.

Hope to see you there! Thank you.

RICC members raised many of these issues and more during the February 6 NYC Planning Commission Public Hearing. RICC's main message to the NYC Planning Commission was:

 Don't Truck Roosevelt Island

as it will be to the NYC Council.

Here's what RICC had to say about truck traffic, barging construction materials, on site cement mixers, financial support for Roosevelt Island services and more.

Part 1



and Part 2.



Following the March 20 NYC Planning Commission approval of the Cornell NYC Tech application, Cornell NYC Tech's Director of Capital Projects and Planning Andrew Winters reiterated Cornell's position on barging and temporary cement batch plant for the Roosevelt Island campus. According to Mr. Winters:

BARGING: Cornell is actively exploring the feasibility of utilizing barging techniques to help limit construction traffic on to the Island. We are considering two barging techniques: a floating harbor barge for bulk materials and a fixed platform for driving trucks directly from barges to the site. The use of barges in the construction process will require approvals and permits from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the US Army Corps of Engineers. As part of this investigation, we have been meeting with NYSDEC to discuss regulations regarding temporary installations and to determine pre-application procedures for expedited review. NYSDEC has requested a series of studies, including water depth, sea-wall conditions, and preliminary engineering, which we have initiated. In addition to working with the regulatory agencies, engineers, and others, in the Final Environmental Impact Statement we have included an assessment of the environmental consequences of barging as an alternative construction measure to make sure that all effects have been fully considered in the event that barging proves to be feasible.

CEMENT: We do not believe that hosting a batch plant on site is the most effective way to limit impacts of construction and have a number of specific concerns about the feasibility of a batch plant for this project. The volume of concrete that we're going to be using, particularly in the first phase, is very small. Two of the first four buildings will be steel frame buildings, limiting the total amount of concrete construction to 400,000 square feet at a maximum. We've researched other projects in the City and found that even on dramatically larger projects, including the World Trade Center and Hudson Yards, construction managers have found the challenges of using a batch plant overwhelming and have chosen not to use them. Finally, DEC has noted additional concerns, including the possibility of runoff due to the site's proximity to the edge of the island, which is only 800 feet wide at its widest. Though we are still looking at it, the feedback we've gotten is that the combination of the volume, the industrial issues and the cost, make it an extremely challenging route for this project.

Come out and show support for Roosevelt Island at the April 30 NYC Council Public Hearing on Cornell NYC Tech.