We've been gathering Roosevelt Island residents, employees &
students' pandemic stories from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Many of you have already been generous enough to share your unique
experiences with us.
We ask the same 3 questions to each person:
1.) Do you have a memory of the first day and/or months of the lockdown & how did that feel?
2.) Was there any routine or anything specific you did to help you cope during this time?
3.) What do you want to make sure is recorded and not forgotten from what you experienced in the pandemic?
We're having our final Community Circle Gathering with light refreshments this Saturday 12//18/21 at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd from 3--4:30pm.
It will be an informal time of sharing within the circle of what we've
& other's have been able to do in the community. We also welcome
any of your personal experiences as well! Feel free to pop-in or stay
for the duration.........We look forward to seeing you Saturday--
Most sincerely:
Thom Heyer & Peter Yearwood
*PLEASE NOTE--
Mask & proof of vaccination or negative test required to enter event
Here's more info on the Pandemic Island: Creating An Archive project.
Leonardo Suarez Paz and Olga Suarez Paz are Roosevelt Island residents and
artists.
Leonardo is the Artistic Director and Olga the Executive Director of
the
PIAZZOLLA 100 Festival:
... an interdisciplinary performing arts project that showcases a
groundbreaking new style, which draws on the common roots of Tango, Jazz and
Classical Music, as shaped by the culture of African and European migration
to the new world. Celebrating the centennial of Leonardo
Suarez Paz’s mentor and family friend, Astor Piazzolla, who was born in Mar
de Plata, Argentina in 1921 and grew up in New York City, the project
honors the legacy of this revolutionary composer by demonstrating the genre
as a complex, evolving art form, while challenging artistic
and sociocultural constructs. Our missionis to further the genre of Nuevo Tango by elevating its artistic standards
through live performances, recordings, publications and education, by
demonstrating its evolution as an entire culture through every form of
expression - music, dance, interdisciplinary work, visual art, literature
and cinema. We celebrate Latin, African and European cultural
heritages, the contributions of immigrants and women to the genre,
while relating its history to Buenos Aires and New York City and affording
an opportunity for artists across generations, cultures, genres and
disciplines to create new work and express through a renewed artistic idiom
of cultural unity and inclusion....
According to this September 2 press release from Piazzolla 100:
on the four major NY broadcast network affiliates over Labor Day weekend to
bring attention to and raise funds for underserved New Yorkers who have been
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Standup comedian, actor, singer, and lifelong New Yorker, Robert Klein
narrates the television special which showcases four JAR grantee
organizations, including the New York Foundation for the Arts with sponsored
artists and directors of the
PIAZZOLLA 100 Festival
in New York, Leonardo Suarez-Paz & Olga Suarez-Paz.
Other grantees include EMS FDNY Help Fund, Harlem Girls Cheer, and John Jay
College."Dear New York” can be viewed on Saturday, September 4 at 12:00 pm ET on WNBC
and 7:00 pm ET on CBS2, and Sunday, September 5 at 5:30 pm ET on WABC
and 6:30 pm ET on FOX
“Artists and immigrants are vital to the culture and the economy of New
York City. We are grateful for the support we’ve received and we are giving
back by creating free, multidisciplinary arts programming in New York that
builds community and supports dozens of artists. My hope is that New York
will once again be a mecca for the arts,” explains composer, violinist,
vocalist, and choreographer Leonardo Suarez-Paz.
Leonardo & Olg Suarez-Paz, are Roosevelt Island residents who focus
their projects on cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaboration. This
fall they will present multiple performances and educational programs
on the island in collaboration with FDR 4 Freedoms Park and RIOC.
For more information on Leonardo Suarez Paz’s PIAZZOLLA 100 event on RI go
to:www.piazzolla100.com
The John A. Reisenbach Dear New York television special is back! New York is coming back!
Watch Dear New York:
WNBC 4: Saturday, September 4 at 12:00pm EST
CBS2: Saturday, September 4 at 7:00pm EST
WABC 7: Sunday, September 5 at 5:30pm EST
FOX5: Sunday, September 5 at 6:30pm EST
Dear
New York is a 30 minute televised fundraising and digital campaign
airing on Labor Day weekend across local New York City network
affiliates. Dear New York will tell the narrative of New York City’s
resilience, recovery, and rebirth, as the tide is finally turning, 15+
months into a global pandemic. The once epicenter of COVID-19 is seeing
economic recovery; businesses are back, restaurants are operating at
full capacity, hotels are booked, tourism is alive, live events are
returning, the housing market is off the charts, school buildings will
welcome students in the fall. New York is here, New York is here to
stay.
Watch Dear New York and hear uplifting stories from New Yorkers -- all grant recipients
-- all a part of the JAR family - all working towards a better and
safer city. We have overcome adversity, together; let's celebrate,
together, by supporting our fellow New Yorkers.
I'm writing to let you know about a
project I will be working on this Fall with Pete Yearwood from Open Doors. The project is called Pandemic Island: Creating an Archive.
COVID-19 affected each of us on Roosevelt Island in unique & highly
personal ways. With support from Humanities NY and other Roosevelt
Island allies, we are devoted to capturing our local stories &
experiences in a centralized archive. We feel that the recording of our
personal experiences--including those at Coler Rehabilitation &
Nursing Care Center--are important enough to be saved for posterity's
sake for future generations' analysis. What better place to store this
archive than at our very own branch of the NYPL on Roosevelt Island?
The Performing Arts
Library has its own specific archives at Lincoln Center. The Schomburg
Center for Research in Black Culture has its own archives in Harlem's
branch of the Library. Roosevelt Island deserves nothing less as part
of its diverse and fascinatingly sordid history.
Come
join us for snacks at our project launch. Feel free to bring an
object, story or poem to share that speaks to your COVID-19 experience
during 2020 on RI........We will answer questions and welcome your
thoughts on what an archive on RI could look like for us all!
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.
