Two week ago I noticed two NYPD Special Victims detectives appearing to be
investigating an incident by the Roosevelt Island Riverwalk Commons area. I
asked the detectives what happened but they declined to comment.
Here is an updated picture of this man still wanted by the Queens Special
Victims Squad for a sexual assault that occurred on June 29, 2024, at 3:20
a.m. in the vicinity of Roosevelt Island. If you have any information, call
718-520-9277. https://t.co/zldV8B70Xipic.twitter.com/34sf0mCR6W
The NYPD Special Victims tweeted today about a sexual assault that occured
June 29 on Roosevelt Island which is in the jurisdiction of the 114 precinct
in Queens.
Here is link to the Tweet.
Please note that there is a subtweet which says the assault took place on
Roosevelt Avenue which is different from Roosevelt Island.
The picture of the suspect is from the Roosevelt Island subway station.
Do you have any more specific information on what happened?
A NYPD spokesperson answered today:
It was reported to police that on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at approximately 0315
hours, a 19-year-old female was walking in the vicinity of Main Street and
West Main Street, when an unknown male approached her and demanded a kiss. The
complainant asked the individual to leave her alone. The individual then
pushed her against a wall and, and forcibly touched the victim’s private
area.. There were no injuries reported as a result of this incident. The
suspect fled on foot. There is no arrest and the investigation is ongoing.
Last Thursday June 28, NYPD 114 precinct and Roosevelt Island Public Safety Officers responded to reports of a man wielding a hammer in the vicinity of Roosevelt Island subway station and Duane Reade.
🚨#Manhattan : Hammer Assault on Roosevelt Island. A man with a hammer injured two first responders. The man himself is also injured. pic.twitter.com/fC4MZv1epT
On Friday June 29, I asked RIOC Communications Director Bryant Daniels for info about the incident.
Image From Rachel Dowling
Mr Daniels answered:
Yesterday PSD and NYPD responded to an emotionally disturbed person at Duane Reade wielding a hammer. The officers deployed their OC spray to subdue him, and he was taken to the hospital following the incident. Important to note that he did not injure any officers or first-responders, though one officer did get OC spray in his eye and received medical attention.
No arrest, he was sent to the hospital given the mental health episode
I asked Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Communications Director Bryant Daniels:
Do you have any additional details regarding the assault arrest shown in
PSD Blotter below?
04/28/24 – 1040 – 560 Main Street – Assault – PSD, NYPD, and EMS
responded – Arrested by NYPD.
Mr Daniels answered:
At 10:40 AM Sunday an individual visited PSD and reported that they had been
the victim of a domestic assault at a relative’s residence at 560 Main
Street. The victim claimed the assailant, their sibling, struck them several
times with a cane. Prior to arriving at PSD, the victim had also called 911
and reported the incident, resulting in an NYPD response. NYPD officers
arrested the alleged perpetrator for assault at approximately 10:52 AM. No
other weapons were involved.
During the October 17, 2023
Roosevelt Island Public Safety Community Engagement meeting, PSD Chief Kevin
Brown reported that Roosevelt Island (I minute 22 second mark):
... has above average domestic violence issues. Half of my complaints a year
are attributed to some kind of domestic violence. It runs the gamut,
partners, spouses, children, parents...
04/06/24 – 1913 – 400 Main Street – Assault – PSD, EMS, and NYPD responded – Report filed/ Transported to hospital.
04/08/24 – 0451 – 688 Main Street – Assault – PSD, EMS and NYPD responded – Report
file
I asked RIOC Communications Director Bryant Daniels and the NYPD for more details about these incidents.
According to a NYPD spokesperson:
There is a report on file for a robbery, within the confines of the Transit District 20/114 Precinct. A 54 year-old female reported to police that on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at approximately 1900 hours, while on the northbound platform waiting for a train at the Roosevelt Island train station she observed two females that she had a prior dispute with. A verbal dispute ensued which became physical. The complainant was punched and kicked multiple times in the face ... She suffered bleeding and a broken nose. They also removed $20 and her wig. Both individuals fled the location in an unknown direction. There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.
Regarding the April 8 Motorgate assault incident,
RIOC Communications Director Bryant Daniels reports:
At approximately 4:51AM PSD responded to a call of a reported assault at 688 Main Street. Upon arriving at the scene, they spoke with a victim who stated he had been assaulted by an adult male. The victim sustained minor injuries and was examined by EMS. PSD officers took down a description of the assailant, located and detained the individual also at 688 Main Street. NYPD also responded and placed the individual under arrest. There was no weapon involved in the incident and both individuals were non-residents.
Mr Daniels added that he believes the victim was a homeless individual.
RIOC PSD Chief Kevin Brown, Deputy Chief Anthony Amoroso, Deputy General Counsel/Interim Leadership Team member Gerrald Ellis, Communications Director Bryant Daniels and about a dozen Roosevelt Island residents attended the almost hour long meeting.
Among the issues discussed were:
Overall low level of crime on Roosevelt Island but there are incidents of domestic violence and mental health issues,
Issuance of parking summons and towing,
Crowd control during Cherry Blossom Season and on the Roosevelt Island Tram,
Shoplifting at Duane Reade,
Missing packages at Roosevelt Landings
Keeping communications open between PSD and the community,
Lack of bathrooms,
and more.
Here's full video of the March 12 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Community Engagement Meeting.
On November 5th at approximately 1:02AM, PSD responded to a complaint at 546 Main Street from a resident who said the apartment above was making an inordinate amount of noise. When PSD investigated the noisy apartment, they encountered an individual who advised they had just been the victim of a home invasion. The victim offered a detailed description of the events and was physically unharmed, but reported the perpetrator did display a firearm upon entry. The NYPD was notified and arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. At approximately 1:44AM, PSD officers were able to access video footage which showed the subject leaving the building shortly after the incident. NYPD took a photo from the video and began a level one mobilization of the entire Roosevelt Landings. The subject, who was identified as a resident of 460 Main Street, was then apprehended by NYPD officers and arrested without incident—no firearm was recovered. The alleged perpetrator is a juvenile and now faces several criminal charges.
According to a NYPD spokesperson:
There is a report on file for a robbery that occurred on Sunday, November 5, 2023 at 0030 hours inside of 546 Main Street, within the confines of the 114 Precinct. A 33-year-old male complainant reported that the suspect knocked on the door, and when he opened it , the suspect attempted to push his way in and struck him multiple times with a closed fist causing bruising and swelling to his face. During the course of the altercation a mirror broke causing minor scratches to the complainant. The complainant reported that he believed that he saw what appeared to be a firearm. The suspect attempted to take the complainant’s cellphone After a short canvass, the suspect was taken into custody. No weapon was recovered.
The following individual was arrested and charged.
14 year-old male
Charges:
Robbery
Grand Larceny
Burglary
Criminal Possession of a Weapon
Criminal Mischief
Assault
Yesterday I asked RIOC PSD Chief Kevin Brown:
On Friday evening November 3, a Roosevelt Island resident sent me the following message:
"Have you seen that large group of teenagers jumping on car hoods and stopping traffic on Main St?
I
saw them on my way to the commons. It was rather quick and took place
roughly between the church and Blackwell house. Removing plants from
planters, screaming, stopping traffic, throwing road cones across the
street, that sort of thing. A couple of other people were on the street
too and we kept switching from one sideway to the other to avoid them.
Just general idiot adolescent behaviour, but the sheer number of them made the whole thing weird.
It was about 9:20.
We
found it a little surprising because there was no one from the PSD
anywhere despite it taking place right in front of their office."
The RIOC Public Safety Department blotter appears to describe the incident as follows:
11/03/23 – 2147 – 531 Main St – Disorderly Youth – PSD responded – Condition corrected.
... as far as violent crime on the island, we've had three robberies this
entire year.
I've heard some people say that we've had a lot of crime issues. We've had
three robberies and of the three robberies, two of them were young people,
one was a student from the Child School and he robbed another student, took
his Airpods. Another one was two kids from a a group home. Again they took
the Airpods. The third one was a person that took some property from
Wholesome. It was a larceny but turned into a robbery because they bit the
person at Wholesome... Those are our most violent crimes on Roosevelt
Island...
A Roosevelt Island eyewitness Tipster reported yesterday, August 13, at approximately 5 PM:
An
older gentleman sitting outside of Starbucks got punched pretty hard by
a young man. The two continued to argue with the younger man
retreating to the subway. I didn't see the whole thing but Public Safety arrived right away and spoke to
both. NYPD is here too.
He got punched really hard because there is blood all over his chin.
... Does RIOC have any comment to the Roosevelt Island community on this incident and any more details of what happened?.
There has been no response from RIOC.
Today, I asked the NYPD:
Yesterday, August 13 at approximately 4:30 pm an older male was
punched in the face by a younger male at the Starbucks outdoor patio on
Roosevelt Island 455 Main Street. The younger man escaped into the
subway. I'm told that NYPD 114 officers arrived, spoke to the victim and
took a statement.
Do you have any info on this incident?
Also
on Thursday August 10 at approximately 9 AM a teenager was robbed by a
masked wearing suspect at 465 Main Street (which is nearby to the
Starbucks) and ran into the subway as well. The 114 precinct responded
and took statements.
Do you have any info on this incident?
Are the incidents related?...
The NYPD spokesperson replied:
There are no complaint reports on file with information you’ve provided.
A Starbucks worker confirmed today that an older man was punched in the face by a younger man yesterday outside Starbucks and that the victim's face was bloodied and scratched.
... will address issues when they come before us and we will do 100% to be transparent...
Unfortunately, answering public safety questions from the local Roosevelt Island press in a timely, or at all, is apparently not part of RIOC's transparency definition.
I understand there was a mugging this morning on Main Street near
the subway station and suspect escaped into the subway station? The
victim was a teen?
Is that true?
Was the victim injured ? Were any weapons used?
Do you have any more info on the incident?
There was no response from RIOC.
I followed up today with another email to Chief Brown and Mr Jamal:
As you may recall, during the July 25 PSD Community Engagement meeting,
Kevin said that PSD wants to be 100 percent transparent in reporting
Roosevelt Island public safety incidents. Being timely with reporting
PSD incidents is part of being transparent.
I am following up on the email below about a mugging near the Roosevelt Island subway station yesterday morning.
08/09/23 – 1019 – Rear of 465 Main St – Robbery – PSD, NYPD and EMS responded – Gone on
arrival/ Report filed.
I
understand the victim in yesterday's robbery was a male teenager and the
mask wearing suspect escaped into the subway station?
Is that true?
Was the victim injured ? Were any weapons used? What was stolen from the teen?
Were
there any PSD officers in the subway at the time. During the July 25
PSD community meeting, Kevin mentioned that PSD officers are often
stationed in the subway station.
07/07/23 – 1824 – 400 Main St – Robbery – PSD and NYPD responded – Gone on
arrival and refer to NYPD.
Please provide details as to what happened regarding these incidents.
Also, last evening about 9:15 PM witnesses observed a Food Delivery worker
being arrested by PSD on Main Street across from 520 Main Street. According
to the witnesses, it was unclear why the Delivery Worker was being arrested
as he was receiving a parking summons.
However the July 10 PSD Daily Report
does not show any indication of an arrest at that time and place. It
does show a towed vehicle in the area an hour later.
07/10/23 – 2229 – 510 Main Street – Towed Vehicle – PSD responded – Towed.
What happened with the Food Delivery Worker last night? Was he arrested and
why?
I plan on publishing a story on these incidents later today. Please let me
know if there will be any comment from RIOC.
Thank you.
A Roosevelt Island resident who witnessed arrest of the food delivery driver
last night
shares this video.
According to the Public Safety Officer, the food delivery driver was illegally parked and:
... smacked my hand while I was writing the summons. That's why he was arrested...
The witness reports:
A friend of mine and I just watched a food delivery driver get arrested
for running food up to an apartment. He had his hazards on and was upset
upon getting a ticket on his return. It seemed totally uncalled for and
insane to witness.
We watched the whole thing and don’t see a smack or any kind of contact
at all. We were across the street just leaving Island Om, so not the
best vantage point but still. He was upset and pleading with the officer
that the ticket would cut into his earnings, it was very sad. Once we
saw him being arrested, we couldn’t believe it and started taking
pictures and filming.
The arrest itself—and the 4 or 5 officers that showed up, seemed
excessive. He did not resist but I truly believe if he hit the officer’s
notepad, it was by mistake as he threw his arms up in exasperation, if
anything. Just disturbing, the whole thing felt wrong.
There has been no response from RIOC as of 8:40 pm.
UPDATE 6/2 12:15 PM - The NYPD 114 precinct informed me a few minutes ago that the Roosevelt Island Build The Block meeting is being rescheduled for 5 PM Thursday June 8 at Cornell Tech.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
In recent weeks on Roosevelt Island there's been an increase in criminal
activity including:
On Saturday, May 27, 2023, at approximately 8:24 PM, the Roosevelt Island
Public Safety Department (PSD) responded to a report of a group of juveniles
harassing adults to the rear of 500 Main Street at the Blackwell House Park
basketball courts. PSD arrived on the scene at approximately 8:26 PM and spoke
to a male victim who stated he was involved in a physical altercation with one
of the juveniles following a verbal dispute. The victim sustained minor
injuries and was able to identify the perpetrator, who fled the scene of the
assault before PSD arrived. On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, at 9:38 AM the
perpetrator was arrested by PSD without incident at 550 Main Street. The
perpetrator will be processed as a juvenile.
Residents are asking "what's going on" with recent crimes on Roosevelt Island
which has previously always been thought of as
one of the safest neighborhoods in NYC.
You can discuss these incidents as well as any other Roosevelt Island Public
Safety issue with
NYPD 114 Precinct Neighborhood Coordination Officers Friday June 2 at Cornell Tech
Bloomberg Center.
Sparks Fly At May 2 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department Community
Engagement Meeting - Residents Tell RIOC PSD And NYPD 114 Precinct About
Assaults, School Bullying, Harassment & Fire Setting By A Group Of Teens
Here's video of the May 2 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department meeting which had been a typical Roosevelt Island meeting until :
... interrupted by Roosevelt Island father who stood up, said he loves Roosevelt
Island and then reported his son had recently been "jumped, beat up, filmed
and put on Instagram", and is "scared to death". ...
05/18/23 – 1810 – 645 Main Street – Assault – NYPD, PSD Responded – Arrested
This morning, I asked Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Shelton
Haynes and Public Safety Chief Kevin Brown:
I was told there was an incident last night 5/18 near PS/IS 217 and 10 River
Road involving an assault and weapons were involved.
The Parents Network has a report that someone may have been shot.
I heard a gun was involved in the incident. Is that true?...
... Does RIOC have any comment to the Roosevelt Island community on what if
anything happened?
RIOC Vice President of Communications Akeem Jamal replied quickly:
We are actively getting details on the incident with the NYPD. I can confirm
there was no gun involved in the incident. I will provide a further update as
I receive more information.
I asked the NYPD about the incident. They had no info.
PS/IS 217 Principal Mandana Beckman sent this message to the school parents.
I asked the NYC Department of Education about the incident. A spokesperson
replied:
The safety and well being of our students and staff is our number one
priority. NYPD’s outstanding School Safety Agents responded to an incident
that occurred outside of the school building after dismissal yesterday and
no weapons were brandished during the incident.
There were no arrests made on school grounds.
Tonight, RIOC issued this statement on the incident:
On Thursday, May 18th, 2023, at approximately 6:10 pm, the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department (PSD) was notified of an assault in front of PS/IS 217. Responding PSD units included members of the NYPD School Safety Unit and 114th Precinct. Upon arrival, an immediate investigation was launched. It was determined that three juveniles were threatening members of PS/217 with a knife. Swift action was taken by the NYPD and PSD, which led to the arrest of three juveniles who were charged with misdemeanor offenses with assault and criminal possession of a weapon, among other charges. All three were issued a desk appearance ticket returnable to Family Court and were discharged to the custody of their parents. The victim sustained minor injuries.
The Roosevelt Island Operation Corporation (RIOC), Public Safety Department, New York Police Department, and New York City School District place the highest priority on the safety and protection of our students and school community. RIOC is in constant communication with the Roosevelt Island New York City Public School, PS/IS 217, and will continue to work with the public school to address these issues, as violence of any kind will not be tolerated here on Roosevelt Island.
According to a PS/IS 217 parent:
A student was being disruptive in class yesterday and told the teacher to "suck his dick" repeatedly. The student was taken out of class but nothing was done. The student came back to school in the evening with 2 older friends, pulled a knife and assaulted the teacher's husband while he was picking her up from school.
Sparks Fly At May 2 Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department Community
Engagement Meeting - Residents Tell RIOC PSD And NYPD 114 Precinct About
Assaults, School Bullying, Harassment & Fire Setting By A Group Of Teens
a resident told the assembled group, including Roosevelt Island Operating Corp
(RIOC) President Shelton Haynes, PSD Chief Kevin Brown and NYPD 114 Precinct
Commander Kenneth Gorman that he was the victim of a hate crime assault last April. According to the resident, he was targeted and kicked in the head while sitting on the waterfront promenade with his girlfriend by a group of teenagers.
A few days later on May 8, the NYPD Crime Stoppers tweeted:
🚨WANTED-ASSAULT: 4/14/23, approx. 7PM, rear of 575 Main St
@NYPD114PCT
Queens. The suspects kicked a 35-yr-old male victim in the head & made
anti-white remarks. Any info call us at 800-577-TIPS or anonymously post a
tip to https://t.co/TRPPY5zHV2 Reward
UP to $3,500
pic.twitter.com/AlEoaRSETM
In response to my inquiry, a NYPD Spokesperson added:
The NYPD is seeking the public's assistance in identifying the three
individuals depicted in the attached media in connection with an assault
that occurred within the confines of the 114 Precinct. The details are as
follows:
It was reported to police that on Friday, April 14, 2023, at approximately
1900 hours, in the rear of 575 Main Street, a 35-year-old male victim was
approached by three unknown individuals. One of the individuals kicked the
victim in the head and two of the individuals made Anti-White remarks. The
individuals fled towards the Roosevelt Avenue MTA 'F' train station. The
victim sustained pain to the head but did not require being removed to the
hospital.
This incident is under investigation by the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force.
I asked the NYPD for an update yesterday. According to a NYPD
spokesperson:
A 14 –year-old male was arrested on May 16, 2023 and charged with Assault as a
hate crime.
But RIOC has been silent on this matter, not saying a word about the incident
to the Roosevelt Island community.
On May 9, I asked RIOC President Shelton Haynes and PSD Chief Kevin Brown:
The NYPD Tips is reporting a Hate Crime Assault on Roosevelt Island
occurring on April 14.
Does RIOC have any comment on this matter?
Why is the Assault not listed in the RIOC Public Safety Incident Blotter for
April 14
or any other day that I can find?
During a meeting last night with Congressman Jerry Nadler, several Roosevelt
island residents claimed that RIOC is deliberately failing to publicly
report crimes on Roosevelt Island in order to make Roosevelt Island appear
safer than it is. As you are aware, a similar charge was made at the May 2
Public Safety Community Engagement meeting.
Does RIOC have any comment on that charge?
To date, there has been no comment from RIOC on the hate crime assault
incident or their failure to disclose any information about it to the community.
... RIOC's relatively new Vice President of Communications, Akeem Jamal, has
made it extremely difficult for the local Roosevelt Island media to obtain
information about important issues of concern to the Roosevelt Island
community. In response to a prior Public Safety incident last October, Mr
Jamal replied to my inquiry:
... In the event of community concern in the case of such an incident,
RIOC would work to advise the public should there be a need. In the
future, if you would like information regarding any incident or have other
inquiries, please submit a FOIL request.
This email serves as notice that RIOC will no longer respond to these
incidents or other matters unless a FOIL request has been submitted.
I've asked Mr Jamal why he refuses to answer press inquiries on issues of
concern to Roosevelt Island residents.
Mr Jamal's answer was:
RIOC wants to control the narrative....
During the
April 4 RIOC PSD Public Safety Community Engagement Meeting
I asked RIOC President Shelton Haynes and PSD Chief Kevin Brown why RIOC will
not respond to press inquires about Roosevelt Island public safety incidents.
Both deferred answering my question to Mr Jamal who said:
Communications on Roosevelt Island is a complex issue. During my 6 months here I've learned we are a very unique Island community but more importantly we have a communications structure that is fractured...
... to ensure that the communication and more importantly,
transpire what happened in an instance is correctly reported and making sure that it's
seen and heard and making sure that it's articulated in a way that is accurate, the Roosevelt Island Corporation will be issuing Public Safety department alerts in the immediate future.
Here's the question and answer.
Mr Jamal is right to the extent that RIOC communications is fractured.
But it has been fractured since Mr Haynes became RIOC President.
It was not fractured under former RIOC Presidents Charlene Indelicato and Susan Rosenthal who understood the role of local media in providing accurate, timely and independent news to the Roosevelt Island community.
01/21/23 – 0120 – 22 North Loop Road – Assault – EMS, NYPD, and PSD Responded – Report
22 North Loop road is the address of The Graduate Hotel and Panorama Room on the Cornell Tech campus.
On Tuesday January 24, I asked RIOC PSD Chief Kevin Brown and Assistant Vice President of Communications Akeem Jamal:
What were the circumstances regarding the Assault listed in the Public Safety Blotter below? Did an assault actually occur?
Were there any injuries or weapons used?
There has been no response from RIOC.
In response to my inquiry, a NYPD spokesperson reported:
34 year old female aided found unconscious at the location. 911 was called. Aided has bruising to face and was removed to Cornell hospital for treatment. Aided does not know how she sustained injury.
A Graduate Roosevelt Island Hotel spokesperson adds:
We are aware of this very serious situation and are working closely with authorities as this remains an open investigation. The safety and well being of locals, guests and associates is our greatest priority at Graduate Roosevelt Island.
It's not clear if the incident occurred inside or outside the hotel.
Chief Brown participated in the January 17 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Safety Committee (PSC) meeting discussion about various community issues. Chief Brown advised the PSC that RIOC President Shelton Haynes and Communications VP Akeem Jamal will not allow him to attend future meetings but instead RIOC will conduct their own Public Safety meetings.
Yesterday, I asked Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) President Shelton
Haynes, Public Safety Department Chief Kevin Brown and Assistant Vice President
of Communications Akeem Jamal:
Will RIOC comment on the sexual assault incident listed in PSD Incident
Report above?
What happened? Was there an arrest?
This incident will be of great concern to the Roosevelt Island community and
I want to make sure that the reporting is accurate.
Will RIOC comment on this matter?
Did not receive any response and followed up again this afternoon to RIOC
asking:
I’m following up on yesterday’s email below regarding a December 21
sexual assault at 540 Main Street reported in the PSD daily blotter.
This is of great concern to residents. Will Rioc provide information about
what happened including if there was an arrest?
Today, a NYPD Press Spokesperson told me they had no information on the
matter.
I’ve also asked several residents who usually know or can find out and they
had no info either.
At 4:14 pm today, RIOC sent out this advisory:
Dear Roosevelt Island Community,
This is an update in response to community inquiries concerning an alleged
sexual assault incident on 12/21/22 at 10:18 PM. Emergency Medical Services
responded to an unknown individual in the area of 540 main street. Upon
arrival, the individual on the scene declined to provide their information
and declined assistance from NYPD. After further investigation – there was
no police report filed, and the NYPD 114th precinct Detective Squad was not
notified of an act of sexual assault.
The Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department and NYPD take any allegations
of sexual assault or general wrongdoing seriously. Should you wish to make
an anonymous report, please get in touch with the NYPD Crime Stoppers tip
line at 800-577-TIPS or submit an
online tip.
Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department
Upon reading the advisory, one resident asked:
How did this get on their blotter if nothing took place?
I try to give Chief Brown & PSD the benefit of the doubt on some
criminal activity but they continue to test us. And this Advisory tests
their credibility.
Does “... In the area of 540...“ mean In the Building Lobby? Near the Cultural Center Staircase? Poorly lit Dark Space Further down the road to the river?
Wondering who exactly called 911 if the victim didn’t?
540 Breezeway is hard for PSD to miss. Doubt any PSOs were out at that
crosswalk but is possible. Even when they are there they miss stuff...
And, most importantly, isn’t this the 2nd time this year this kind of assault was reported & nothing happened?
The PSD & RIOC have the responsibility to be transparent & report critical events related
to
the SAFETY of the PUBLIC. Chief Brown can remind us, at those Public Safety meetings &
other settings, how low the crime rate is & how safe we are ... But
they never send out or post some reminders about our personal safety.
RIOC's relatively new Vice President of Communications, Akeem Jamal, has made it extremely
difficult for the local Roosevelt Island media to obtain information about
important issues of concern to the Roosevelt Island community. In response to
a prior Public Safety incident last October, Mr Jamal replied to my
inquiry:
... In the event of community concern in the case of such an incident, RIOC
would work to advise the public should there be a need. In the future, if
you would like information regarding any incident or have other inquiries,
please submit a FOIL request.
This email serves as notice that RIOC will no longer respond to these
incidents or other matters unless a FOIL request has been submitted.
I've asked Mr Jamal why he refuses to answer press inquiries on issues of
concern to Roosevelt Island residents.
Mr Jamal's answer was:
RIOC wants to control the narrative.
Roosevelt Island public safety issues were discussed with RIOC PSD Chief Kevin
Brown during the December 22 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA)
Public Safety Committee meeting. Among the issues discussed were:
Very low crime rate on Roosevelt Island,
Shoplifting at Duane Reade,
Problems at the new Hudson Related Riverwalk Park affordable housing
building (Hudson Related is bringing in a social worker to try and solve
some of the problems among tenants),
Main Street Traffic and parking issues, including truck and bike
deliveries,
PSD staffing, two officers are joining NYPD,
Dog poop,
and more.
Watch the video of full meeting.
These meetings are open to the public to participate.
Under RIOC President Shelton Haynes new media information policy, Chief Brown is no longer allowed to answer questions directly from the the local Roosevelt Island media as he and his predecessors, Chief Jack McManus and Chief Keith Guerra, had done for more than 10 years providing information to the community.
On Wednesday, May 12, RIOC Public Information Officer Amy Smith responded to my inquiry about the May 6 assault. According to Ms Smith:
On the evening of May 6th, two Roosevelt Island residents
engaged in a verbal dispute over an unleashed dog. The dispute escalated
to a physical assault which resulted in an arrest where a
desk appearance ticket (DAT) was issued.
I replied asking Ms Smith:
As a follow up, was the person with unleashed dog the one arrested or the other person.
What were the approximate ages of people involved and male or female.
The location is described as East Loop Road. Was it on the Cornell campus or hills?
I was working on a story about RIOC dog policy so this incident is very relevant.
Ms Smith answered today:
While we can’t comment on the residents’ gender, we can inform you that
they are aged 58 and 30 years. The incident took place at 11 East Loop
Road.
During the April 20 Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) Public Safety Committee meeting with Chief Brown, a resident questioned the Chief about problems caused by the increasing number of unleashed dogs on Roosevelt Island,
Chief Brown said that PSD was about to begin enforcing a policy of no unleashed dogs on Roosevelt Island and no dogs on Roosevelt Island ball fields.
05/07/21 – 0758 – 20‐30 River Road – Unleashed Dog – PSD responded – Condition unfounded
05/07/21 – 1215 – 540 Main St – Unleashed Dog – PSD responded – Condition corrected
05/04/21 – 1125 – 755 Main St – Unleashed Dog – PSD responded – Condition corrected.
A Roosevelt Island resident told me today about a recent experience being verbally abused and cursed at for politely asking a dog owner to put a leash on his dog and parents have expressed concerns over unleashed dogs running towards their children.
Another resident added:
Unleashed dogs all over island, not just Cornell Campus!
A Roosevelt Island dog owner has another perspective:
My daughter was approached by Public Safety today for having our puppy off leash near the soccer field. They said that someone calls Public Safety daily to complain about dogs off leash.
Public Safety recently changed the language on the website- it used to say that PS abides by NYC leash laws which are more flexible between 6 and 9 AM.
Anyway, I think the problem is that the dog parks are awful. We go to both of them but they are just gross and dangerous- Do you know how one would go about having RIOC pay attention to the condition of the dog parks so there is a safe place for dogs to be off leash and play?
But not last Saturday afternoon according to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) Public Safety Department 24 hour blotter. Yesterday morning, I asked RIOC Public Safety Department Chief Kevin Brown:
The Psd incident report lists an assault at what appears to be the Garden Club.
10/03/20 – 1831 – 755 Main St – Assault – PSD/NYPD responded – NYPD Arrest.
What happened? Anybody injured, weapons used. Do you have any more details?
Chief Brown replied:
On Saturday October 3, at about 1640 hours PSD responded to a dispute at 755 Main Street. Two people were involved ... Vaugh... and ... Amad.... Both were arrested. Vaugh arrested and charged with menacing for brandishing a pocket knife and Amad arrested and charged with assault.
This was a dispute between two members of the garden club. (They are friends) They had a disagreement. One person pulled out a pocket knife and the other struck that male with a 2x4 piece of wood.
A NYPD spokesperson added that the complaint stated Vaugh was hit with a piece of wood by Amad and suffered pain and lacerations. Amad was charged with assault. Vaugh was charged with menacing as a hate crime for threatening Amad with a box cutter but no other specific information for including element of hate crime to the charge.
A Roosevelt Island Garden Club spokesperson replied to my inquiry about the incident:
On the afternoon of October 3rd, there was an incident outside the northwest gate of our garden involving two garden members who previously were friends. This incident ended in a physical altercation. Public Safety was called and an ambulance came for one person. The injured individual was discharged from the hospital later that same day. The Executive Board of the Roosevelt Island Garden Club is taking immediate action to vote on the membership status of the individuals involved.
The Lexington Ave/63rd Street F & Q subway station is often used by many Roosevelt Island residents traveling back and forth to Manhattan. At 11 AM yesterday morning, a young woman getting off the F Train was the victim of a brutal sexual assault on the platform before the attacker was scared away by other passengers.
The suspect was arrested today by NYPD.
According to the NYPD
ARRESTED: The suspect in this case has been apprehended and the investigation by @NYPDDetectives continues as we move forward to prosecution- We continue to encourage anyone with information on this or any other crime to contact @NYPDTipshttps://t.co/sytZngDeaS
... Police allege Jose Reyes exited the same train as the victim at the aforementioned stop Saturday morning. It was there they say he grabbed the victim from behind, then threw her down and got on top of her....
“Some good Samaritans pulled out the cellphones to video his face, which was very informational,” the chief said. “A couple of them started screaming at him to get off her, which was helpful in scaring him away.”...
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.
