Past New Year Celebrations on Roosevelt Island

As is my custom on holidays such as New Year's Eve I like to present via the archives of the New York Times a glimpse into the history of Roosevelt Island when it was still known Welfare or Blackwell's Island.

The first of the two articles presented focuses on a charitable effort to aid the poor and crippled living on then Blackwell's Island. The second provides a detailed account of individuals visiting the Island to seeloved ones unlucky enough to be confined to its hospitals or deserving of incarceration here.

Restoring Roosevelt Island’s Past For the Future

A photographer, shanreb816, posted the above picture on Flickr of the old Emergency Call box located just South of Goldwater Hospital. Upon reading the caption you can almost hear the photographer asking why and how did this fire box end up here:

“Old fire box in obscure spot on south end of Roosevelt Island, NYC. Area in background fenced of, inaccessible to public.”

Based on the ornate design I am guessing the box dates back to when the lands South of the fence were accessible and the smallpox hospital and Strecker Laboratory were still in operation. Like many call boxes it was updated for modern use and not removed from its historical site. Whether its present location serves any real purpose today is debatable. I am guessing if there was a fire in Goldwater this box would not be the first used to alert the FDNY.

If plans proceed as reported in the news in the coming year, that same box may again provide protection to the lands surrounding and just North of the former smallpox hospital. It is my understanding that in the Summer of 2008, the Trust for Public Lands, expects to begin a project to restore and rehabilitate this land into park space which would include a stabilized Renwick Ruin structure partially accessible to the public.



The project is titled “the Wild Gardens/Green Rooms” plan and under that plan the lands would include many amenities, many I am sure due to funding may not happen (docks, additional comfort stations, etc), but most importantly the land would be returned to public access as park land. More details can be found at one of several web pages set up by the Trust for Public Land. Double click the above image to see it at 100 % or link HERE.

Who knows if the park becomes a destination beyond that of residents alone maybe the emergency subway access entrance (which sits just outside the Strecker Lab building) to the E / V trains can be opened up into a real station?

Looking into 2008, the possibility of this construction project holds promise that the old fire box will again provide protection and be appreciated for its convergence of the old and the new.

New Year's Eve Party to Benefit PS/IS 217

The PS/IS 217 PTA annually sponsors the above New Year's Eve bash to benefit the school. My apologies for not posting on this earlier as it appears reservations were only being taken through Dec 28th. But there's a contact number in the ad if you want to see if space is still available.

Encampment & Roosevelt Island Tower of Death Make “Curbed” Year End Lists

Kudos to the Roosevelt Islander for first posting about the Italian architectural student video about the fictional tower that would have been built at Southpoint. The Curbed post can be linked to through the below image.

The Blackwell’s Island Diner and Penitentiary ?

For the past few months the former martial arts studio that fronts Tramway Plaza on the Manhattan side of the Queensboro Bridge has been empty and looking for a new tenant. This week the owner finally placed a large “For Lease” sign over the property.

The question is why is that property not moving when it appears to have a built in consumer base with the local neighborhood and the Tram traffic that crosses in front of it each morning and night? I have toyed in my mind what type of store I’d love to see go in there. The answers have ranged from a specialty foods establishments to a good deli. Some establishment where you can either grab a bite or pick up something which can be prepared at home certainly sounds good. Deliveries to the location would be a real pain for the tenant.

For all I know the landlord specifically does not want a food related tenant and wants a standard retailer which would not invite all the food related ills that other local restaurants had had to deal with (i.e. Serendipity III). But one can dream. Yes a food establishment woudl be in competition to the planned food related space at 425 Main Street. But competition and more choices are a good thing.

If the RIHS did not set up the Visitor’s Center in the former Trolley Kiosk on the Island the location would have been perfect to start a Roosevelt Island Tourism Center from which tours and specialty goods could have been sold from. Perhaps a diner themed and named the “Blackwell’s Island Diner and Penitentiary”?

CB 8 Meeting on Roosevelt Island Scheduled for January 22nd

The agenda for this Community Board 8 meeting includes the following:

1. Coler-Goldwater Hospital

2. Transportation: Tramway-F Train

3. Discussion regarding future development of South Point Park with participation by Roosevelt Island Residents Association Members, Trust for Public Land Representatives, RIOC, and interested citizens. (Joint item with the Parks Committee) Deirdre Breslin and H. Patrick Stewart, Co-Chairs

Meeting Location: Good Shepard Church Community Center, 543 Main Street, Roosevelt Island
Meeting Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

This meeting appears to be another opportunity for residents to express their views regarding the Kahn / FDR Memorial as well as concerns regarding transportation issues in light of the planned Tram rehabilitation in 2009.

Roosevelt Island Bridge – Status of Current Pedestrian Access ?

Based on the above photos taken earlier this week on Dec. 26th, it appears that the pedestrian walkway has not yet been closed forcing the movement of pedestrian traffic onto the temporary walkway on the roadbed. It is unclear from these pictures what the status is of the temporary walkway. As of a few weeks ago the temporary walkway had cement walls protecting pedestrians from traffic but the roadbed was still the grated base it has been for years. Pictures from December 6th can be seen HERE.

I am guessing with all the ongoing construction preparation that there will be no test openings of the bridge for some time to come. That is good news considering the recent occasions when the bridge would not completely close snarling traffic and preventing individuals and motorists use of the bridge.

The above photos were taken by “vty_nyc” and can be found individually on Fickr within the photographer’s Welfare Island set.

Does Roosevelt Island Lose Subway Service in One Direction Every Weekend?

Based on the year and a half that I have lived on the Island it sure feels like we lose partial service every weekend. I can’t say for sure as I only started this blog this past summer and I have only began keeping an image file of each week’s service advisory a few months ago.

The old year closes out and the new year begins with service disruptions both weekends just to be consistent and to make us appreciate the Tram even more. With all the track work being done that affects the 63rd Street Tunnel corridor they better be done by 2009, when theTram is off line, or RIOC and the MTA better come up with a plan of what to do.

I heard a rumor that if RIOC provides Red Bus (RI Surface Transit) off the Island for this Tram shutdown it will not be 60th Street but to another Queens subway stop. Theoretically that makes sense as the traffic over the 59th Street Bridge was sometimes terrible but I don’t like the idea of being deposited at desolate station late at night to only then wait for subway service at track level.

As noted on the above and below subway advisories I plan on keeping track throughout 2008 to monitor how many weekends Roosevelt Island loses service? All I can say is the MTA is smart not to archive these notices on line as I am sure it would show how badly they have disrupted straphanger lives by all these outages.

“Daddy Will the Pigeon Get Out?”

Two weeks ago I was on the Manhattan bound platform when we saw a pigeon stuck on the track level at the Roosevelt Island subway station. I was unsure what to say to my 5 year old when he asked the above question. Both of us knew the bird was not easily going to retrace its “steps” to fly back up three levels to the Roosevelt Island subway entrance. If the bird was lucky perhaps he got onto the next F Train. Flying through the tunnel to Lex and 63rd Street would be no help. According to the comment left on the Flickr page for the above photo that pigeon got out via the elevator.

The above photo was taken in Dec 2005 by da mad pixelist

State Senator Serrano - Roosevelt Island Office Hours - Jan. 8th

Roosevelt Island Subway Escalator Graphics – Take Two

It appears that my original Roosevelt Island subway escalator graphic was a bit confusing to some. So I have tried to clean it up to better state which end of which escalators and stairs connect the Lower Mezzanine to the two platforms at the station.

Double click on the image at the left to see a larger image of the updated graphic.

I have also posted below a graphic which depicts the escalators and stairs in a cut-a-way mode from a side view which perhaps will help some people understand the system. Double click on the image to see a clear copy posted on my Flickr account.

A Coler Hospital Clinical Rotation: Christina’s Memory of “Joe”

I have noticed that when I find stories regarding Coler-Goldwater Hospital I feel bound to share them. Mostly because this part of Roosevelt Island tends to be forgotten and residents and visitors alike should be aware of this “other” Roosevelt Island and that we should take extra care to not forget that the hospitals came first and serve a greater purpose than those of us just living here. I guess I feel this as these residents did not ask to live here but due to medical reasons beyond their control simply ended up here.

The story I am posting about today is from a young woman, Christina, a dental hygienist, who served a clinical rotation on Roosevelt Island at the Coler Hospital Campus and recounts that experience in her blog and in particular her interaction with a patient named “Joe” she will not soon forget. Like many of these stories it is worth checking out and only will take a few moments.

Santa Flies by Helicopter to Roosevelt Island

The following are two articles from the New York Times Archive reporting events on what was then Welfare Island related to Christmas. The first from 1952 reports that Santa had to deliver presents to Welfare Island via helicopter as vehicle traffic was not possible. The second from 1927 addresses a gift of carillon bells to the Church of the Good Shepherd which were rang for the first time on that Christmas eighty years ago today.

Merry Christmas from Roosevelt Island

Just to repeat a couple of holiday related pictures that I took over the last month….

Merry Christmas to those that celebrate the holiday !

Roosevelt Island Escalator Outage Reporting Tool

Do you sometimes want to report an escalator that is out of service but can't recall which one it was or what the "official" reference is for that escalator? No worries. Introducing the handy reference reporting tool. Just print it out, trim it to size and keep it in your wallet. When you see a problem circle the offending escalator and drop it off at the booth or phone it in when you get to work.

No fuss, no muss. Happy Holidays.

Will NY Water Taxi’s Dropping of it’s East River Route Cancel the New Octagon Dock?

As reported today by the Roosevelt Islander (via Curbed and others) and the New York Times, the struggling New York Water Taxi company is cancelling its service on the East River route for the next four Winter months. What impact that has on the construction / refurbishment to the Octagon dock is unclear. But it can’t be a good thing if Octagon LP was expecting to receive year round service from NY Water Taxi and was going to be footing the bill for the construction. At least the Octagon residents did not lease their units with the promise of such a dock and the ferry service.

Update 5:00 pm

According to e-mails received this afternoon from Bruce Becker of Octagon LP the plan is to provide year round ferry service from the dock once constructed with the initial stop being 34th Street. Mr. Becker acknowledged that “long term feasibility of water taxi service is dependent on a larger network of routes so any reduction of service elsewhere is not helpful”.

Mr. Becker also informed me that a meeting was held today with representatives from both Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s office and the NYC Economic Development Corporation, which were “encouraging” in that the EDC is “studying how they can [aid] our efforts”.

According to Mr. Brice Peyre, of the Congresswoman’s New York City office, the staff member who attended the meeting had already left for the long holiday weekend so he could not add any comments regarding the aforementioned meeting.

Space Exists to Add Lane at Subway Sta. Bottleneck

A little more than a week ago, on December 13th, I pointed out the obvious that at random points of many morning rush hours the Subway Station portion of Main Street simply becomes a bottleneck and all traffic comes to a stop.

My suggestion was to widen the Southbound lane of the road. It appears that the space exists based on the above photo. It would require moving a few electrical poles and creating / enlarging the current barriers so vehicles could not hit the subway tunnel air vent (or whatever that ugly structure is) but it appears possible.

Real Escapes from Roosevelt (then Blackwell’s) Island

I must admit I was delighted when my Second Dock post of two days (Dec 19) ago was picked up and featured under the Daily “Blog Talk” post by the New York Times City Room Blog. I was more amused by their summarization of the piece as “Escape from Roosevelt island” focusing in on my concerns of needed transportation alternatives if the Tram, subway and Bridge were all out at the same time.

I believe many of the added visitors I received that day were looking for prison escape stories. I figured I should oblige as Roosevelt Island was once the home of New York City’s Penitentiary, the famed “Big House” that criminals were sent up the river to, before it moved to Riker’s Island. So courtesy of the NYT here are partial accounts of two such escape attempts (from 1875 and 1894) and the headline referring to the transfer of inmates to Rikers in 1903

Expect Fewer Fresh Direct Deliveries Onto Roosevelt Island

Residents who rely on Fresh Direct for their groceries should expect that deliveries may take a day or two longer than usual despite our proximity to Fresh Direct’s Borden Avenue, LIC warehouse. This is according to one unnamed driver referring to the ongoing immigration / unionization vote turmoil discussed in today’s New York Times.

It is unknown how many deliveries / week Fresh Direct makes on Roosevelt island but many residents recall that the Island was one of the initial test neighborhoods when they started 5 years ago and the service has developed a strong following ever since based on the prevalence of their trucks at all times of the day on Main Street.

If the "food related" store planned for 425 Main Street was already in operation or if the currently empty RIOC controlled storefronts on Main Street were filled I am sure more residents would not rely on Fresh Direct as an alternative to Gristedes. All I can say it is a wonderful thing that Costco is within walking distance from the Island.

Update: 12/26 - 6:00 PM

As of today each of our scheduled deliveries have arrrived in the time slots we reserved with no disruption in service. So the previous statements of expectant delays appear to have been unfounded. Great news for residents.

Blackwell House Brick Fencing Demolition Began Today

As reported this past October 15, 2007, RIOC had put out bids for a company to demolish the exterior brick fencing that surrounded Blackwell House's Southern garden / patio area. Well by this 8:00 am this all the brick work had been taken down. I must admit last night as I walked home it may have already been gone as I did not notice. As far as I know the garden area and brick work was not subject to the City landmarked status of the building.

Double click on either of the below thumbnails to see the planned changes and work being done.

I do know that over the years various couples had been married on those patios when the building was in good condition in years past prior to the current restoration. I guess the memories of those events will be relegated to personal memories and pictures as the dance floor has been removed.

Update: 1:30pm
The Roosevelt Islander posted a picture HERE of the now demolished grounds surrounding the structure. I admit I was not happy when I left my house without my camera.

Should Roosevelt Island Have Two Docks?

As reported last week the Army Corps of Engineers has given its approval to plans to build / reconstruct / strengthen a dock to be located up by the Octagon to water taxi traffic. My question is whether two such docks should be operationally available. Yes, I know the first is not even operational but still I want to pose the question for the below reasons.

The first is not so much for daily commuting needs but to have in case of an emergency where a backup egress point would be necessary if the Tram, subway and Roosevelt Island Bridge were all out of service. The likelihood of this trifecta is quite small, although it has happened, but if for some reason the only way off the Island was via the water it would be helpful if more than one location was available for boats to dock.



The second reason involves the planned Tramway rehab and the need for additional transportation resources to cover the added commuter congestion on the subway. If the planned Octagon dock is successful as a commuting point we may actually see commuters traveling North in the morning to get of the Island. If there was a second dock perhaps the water taxi could make two stops with the second one closer to Southtown and the existing transportation hub.





Could the existing pier be modified so that a water taxi could dock there? Was that pier ever used as a true dock? It does not appear to jut far enough out into the channel but the size of the pier would lend itself to passengers boarding and de-boarding with ease.

The concept or a desire for ferry access or a water taxi is not new by any means and the December 1980 New York Times article provided below show that such service was discussed at a level above mere water cooler conversation after a Tram line had fallen causing the Tram to be off line at that time. With the pending Tram rehabilitation scheduled for 2008 or 2009 the issue again bears thought. Granted in 1980 there was no subway service on the Island and I believe the Upside Down Building and its stairway to the 59th Street Bridge might have been gone as well.

Perhaps the Octagon pier (if completed) will pick up the slack from the Tram but with only two stops planned in Manhattan and the only pick up point being up at the Octagon it is still questionable how many residents will take the water taxi as opposed to crowding onto the F Train.


Updated: 10:11 pm

As noted in the comments the “Subway Pier” has been used as a temporary dock for police boats depending on the need. The below photo, courtesy of the Roosevelt Islander, shows once such instance when the police were investigating a floating body that was nearby the Island. See the Roosevelt Islander’s post linked Here for that story.

Tribute to Hank Carter of Wheelchair Charities – Goldwater Hospital’s Personal Angel

Over the short period I have lived on Roosevelt Island I have come to admire the efforts of two men who have made a difference. Jim Luce of Orphan’s International Worldwide, which is based here on Roosevelt Island, is one and due to that organization’s efforts many children in far off lands are better off today. The other is Hank Carter of Wheelchair Charities for the work he and his organization have done to benefit many individuals much closer to home, specifically here on this Island.



The following video was loaded on YouTube (by digicisco - direct link) a short week ago and deserves greater coverage as most residents of Roosevelt Island have never stepped foot into Goldwater Hospital and should know of this man’s work on behalf of our neighbors in this facility.




I think the following text taken from United States Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s website only begins to summarize this one man’s contributions to humanity, specifically the patients at Roosevelt Island’s Goldwater Hospital:

“Roosevelt Island is home to Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility, which is a national leader in long-term and sub-acute care with centers of excellence in areas such as: geriatrics, rehabilitation and ventilator dependence. In fact, Coler-Goldwater maintains the maintains the highest number of ventilator beds in the United States. One of the forces behind Coler-Goldwater’s success is the determination of one man – Hank Carter – who has single-handedly transformed the Rehabilitative Medicine Department of Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility into one of the best-equipped facilities of its kind, giving more wheelchairs to patients than any other facility in the nation.

Mr. Carter formed Wheelchair Charities, which raises money to give state-of-the-art wheelchairs, speech-rehab equipment, suction machines, imaging chairs, TVs, VCRs and many, many more life-enhancing medical devices to patients. He has given the lame mobility, the mute a voice, and the severely compromised the opportunity to engage in a fuller and richer life. To date, Mr. Carter and Wheelchair Charities have raised more funds than any charity for any public hospital. That is why I joined other elected officials in calling on the City and the Health and Hospitals Corporation to recognize his remarkable work by renaming the Department in his name. At the dedication of the Hank Carter Rehabilitation Center in 2004, Mr. Carter was presented with an Extension of Remarks that I placed in the Congressional Record celebrating his achievements.”

Will Roosevelt Island’s Elevators and Escalators Be Part of the Planned MTA Automated Monitoring System?

The New York Times is reporting today, December 17, 2007, of an MTA project to “hook up more than 300 elevators and escalators in the subways to a computerized monitoring system that would allow it to respond more quickly to breakdowns.” The plan still needs the approval of the full Authority but the prospect is encouraging. Reading through the articles it appears the plan is focusing on elevators first.

According to the article “[t]here are 158 passenger elevators in the subway system, including 138 in 61 stations that are fully accessible to disabled people, according to the transit agency. There are 169 escalators. The subway system has 468 stations.”

Using simple division that means the two elevators on Roosevelt Island account for just over 1% of the total elevator population no matter which figure is the denominator. Not much percentage wise but at least we are on the board. Since we have a higher percentage of wheelchair residents than most neighboprhoods anytime these elevators go out of service we should be yelling louder.

Our 10 escalators account for just under 6% of the total escalator population. At 6% that is nothing to sneeze at. What bugs me and most residents is why are the new escalators already are out of service as often as they are. If they are being “rested” during off hours can that be posted at the track level or at the lower mezzanine before individuals start heading up to find that the escalators from Upper Mezzanine to the street are out of service? Can we automate those fancy LED lights at the bottom to inform us of these outages?

Based on these percentages and our resident population I would hope that our elected representatives work to ensure our elevators and escalators are included in the final MTA automated response plan once it is approved earlier than later.

Skyscraper Enthusiasts Discuss Roosevelt Island's Riverwalk Construction

I have never thought of the buildings on Roosevelt Island as skyscrapers but apparently the folks at the online forum “SkyscraperPage.com” thought the current construction at Southtown worthy of discussion.

Lecom: “Roosevelt Island is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. A truly unique area, even for a city as diverse in locales as New York.”

Matty: “Only 16 stories? Kind of small for such a prime locale. And I second your motion, LeCom. Roosevelt Island is a fantastic place.”

Antinimby:” You should be happy they'll even let you build those 16 stories. By the way, they're all ugly.”

The below picture is per RoldanTTLB within that forum which includes a number of images of the current construction as well as others of the site being built upon not to mention a few of the Roosevelt Island Bridge

Rudeness Must Always Be Confronted

I read a post in a blog this morning where the Blogger witnessed an incident that occurred on the Tram. It is unclear if the young women involved were residents or not or whether the man in the wheelchair was a resident or not but these facts do not have any bearing on the fact that the incident and incidents like these should not happen and individuals witnessing such rude behavior should feel free to say something then and there.

“This was not even the first time I saw something like this happen. The first week I was in New York, I got on the tramway from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island. There was a man sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of the tram. He was African-American, and had slightly unkempt looks. Three Caucasian girls got on the tram and immediately moved away from him like he had the plague.

“EEEWWWwww…!” one of them loudly exclaimed. “I wonder why they let people like this onto the tram!”

I wanted to ask her, “I don’t know, why do they let people like YOU onto the tram?” However, I was too intimidated by my new surroundings to speak up.”

So as the saying goes, if you see something say something. It should not take the fear of terrorism to make New Yorkers stand up and be heard. A little politeness goes a long way. Respect and courtesy goes even further.

While on the topic of rudeness it is has been a pattern of the writers of the blog Daily Intel to continually dismiss Roosevelt Island as a community. Almost every time they have linked to a post of the Roosevelt Islander they have made remarks basically belittling the Island and the news that is reported by the Roosevelt Islander about the Island. When the Blogger again referred to the Island as bland and we were not worth further comment I finally had to say something. I am sure it fell on deaf ears but I had to say something and so should others.

New Water Taxi Dock - Comments from Bruce Becker & Steve Shane

The following are e-mails I received today upon specific requests for comments to both RIOC President Steve Shane and Bruce Becker of Becker and Becker and Octagon LP.

From: "Stephen Shane"
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:30:42

"RIOC Is delighted that another mode of transportation will be available for Roosevelt Island and will do whatever it can to promote its successful implementation.

The design for the dock facility has not been reviewed by RIOC but we will require obtaining the neccessary permits, licenses and approvals from the various City, State and Federal authorities having jurisdiction.

We have only had a support role so far. We approved the concept and urged the City Office of Emergency Management to get behind the application, which it did. We encouraged Congresswoman Maloney*s support."


- - - -

From: "Bruce Becker"
Date: Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:27:21
To:
Subject: RE: Octagon Dock Approval

"Hello Eric,

Yes, we are very pleased to be near the end of an exhaustive permitting process. The Army Corp permit was the last in a series of permits which were difficult to obtain, including a tidal wetlands permit from the DEC, a Coastal Zone consistency determination from the New York State Department of State, as well as a permit from New York City department of small business. This has been more than a two and a half year process including about six months spent designing dock improvements. Representative Maloney was very helpful in moving this process forward. We still have to work out funding agreements with the NYCEDC to utilize Federal funds which were secured for the purpose of making dock improvements by Representative Maloney, and arrange for required operating support for the water taxi operations.

We've been in discussions with New York Water Taxi for the last three years about bringing service to Roosevelt Island and adding our stop to planned routes up the East River. When service is established we expect to have service running to 34th Street and Wall Street. Eventually we hope there are many more options.

-Bruce "

Congresswoman Maloney Announces Approval Roosevelt Island Water Taxi Dock

For a link to the press release link HERE to Congresswoman Maloney’s website. This is major transportation news for the island. Check back here for updates and I am sure on related Roosevelt Island sites as more info is learned.

Apparently the dock will up at the Octagon. Presumably the new dock will replace the current dock, pictured below, which I posted about recently here on this site within a post about the "Prow". By having the dock at the Northern end of the Island it will be interesting to see how this would affect morning commutes off the Island and if such service is provided at what cost would it be offered to interested residents.