NYPD K9 Unit Hopefuls Tested at Roosevelt Island Subway Station

For those of you that were wondering why the NYPD was visiting the local Roosevelt Island subway station this morning, in large numbers, the answer comes courtesy of RIOC Public Safety Director Keith Guerra:

"The Officers at the Roosevelt Island Station were from the NYPD Canine Unit. They were having their Agility Tryout for prospective candidates for the K-9 Unit. .... Running up and down the stairs & escalators. Dogs were not being used because the dogs are assigned to specific Officers and only they can train with that particular dog. These are candidates trying to get into the unit and receive a dog of their own."

It would have been fun to see a few of the dogs this morning but why make them sweat out the heat when its only the humans being tested.

4:30am Gunfire Outside 2-4 River Road

------Original Message------
From: Steve Shane
To: Roosevelt Island 360
To: Roosevelt Islander
To: Dick Lutz / The Main Street WIRE
Sent: Apr 14, 2009 12:58 PM
Subject: FYI:

FYI:

At approximately 4:30 AM on the morning of April 14, 2009, NYPD responded to a 911 call of shots fired at 2-4 River Road. The security guard placed the call.
There apparently had been 2 men arguing outside, one pulled a gun and fired 2 shots, one of which shattered the lobby door window.
NYPD apprehended the shooter and recovered the weapon. The other person involved fled the scene and remains at large.
There were no injuries.
Public Safety responded and assisted NYPD at the scene.

Stephen H. Shane
President & CEO
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp.

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Based on the above e-mail it is unknown as to what sparked the incident and until the police or PSD offers additional information it is all we will know.

During the last week I also received an email from PSD Director Keith Guerra regarding a separate incident that PSD responded to, that according to Director Guerra, is believed to have been a gang initiation hazing that took place within a building lobby here on the island and involved several youths that live here on the island.

Director Guerra has asked that residents report to his office any suspicious activity in this regard. While I have not seen evidence of this event I obviously agree with Director Guerra that residents should report any suspicious activity to the PSD or the NYPD and let these offices investigate accordingly.

RI Bridge Closure 4/15-17 & 4/21-22: Emergency Preparedness

Double Click Image to Enlarge.

Times affected 12:30 am to 5:30 am

------Original Message------

From: Steve Shane

To: Roosevelt Island 360
To: Roosevelt Islander
To: Dick Lutz / The Main Street WIRE
Cc: Fernando Martinez
Cc: Keith Guerra
Cc: Tom Turcic

Sent: Apr 7, 2009 5:26 PM

Subject: Bridge Closure

You have all received a copy of the DOT Notice of Bridge Closure.

1. It is absolutely necessary.

2. The Fire Department will station an engine (pumper) and a ladder truck on the Island during the outage to respond to any emergencies. In addition, there will be a fireboat available to deliver additional personnel if a big emergency occurs. An engine company (with 5 firemen) will be at the Vernon Ave. end of the Bridge to provide additional bodies as needed.

3. The Fire Dept. (EMS) will station an ambulance on the Island and an ambulance at the Vernon Ave end of the bridge. In the event of a medical emergency, the victim will be treated and taken to the RI end of the bridge and conveyed on a gurney to the other side where the other ambulance will be waiting to transport. In addition to the 4 EMS persons, there will be the 5 firemen there to assist. If the bridge is completely impassable (one of the procedures will require it to be 6'-8' above the connecting streets), then transport will have to be by Tram to a waiting ambulance on Manhattan side.

4. RIOC will run the Tram all night on 1/2 hour intervals (except in emergency) with the Red bus to match up. The Subway (F Train) should be available.

5.Only 2 nights are needed, and if the weather permits, the later nights will not be required. Steelworkers union contract and OSHA rules do not permit workers on exposed iron surfaces at heights when it is raining.

6. NYPD is also likely to station a squad car on the Island to assist.

We have coordinated all of this with NYPD, NYFD, EMS, DOT, HHC, etc. A necessary evil, but we should get through it. Please try to quell the hysterics.

Stephen H. Shane
President & CEO
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp.

NYPD Requests Help re Missing Man

As reported by the Queens Courier on line this afternoon:

"The New York City Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing person.

Dean Barnes is a 44-year-old male, six feet tall, and weighs 120 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and red pants with white sneakers inside of 900 Main Street [Coler Hospital] on Roosevelt Island.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS."

Fireworks Crowd Dispersal Offers Evacuation Lessons

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

As I mentioned in my post of yesterday evening I did not attend the fireworks this year but I purposely positioned myself to view the crowds when they arrived at the subway station to leave the island. My goal was to see how the MTA and the NYPD handled up to a few thousand bodies wanting to leave the island at one point in time. The picture I posted from Flickr confirmed what I fully expected that being a pile up. But what the picture does not show is how these separate departments worked together to funnel the attendees through and why it took for the last individual stragglers up until 11:10 pm to enter the subway station.

My goal was to watch what worked and what might have worked better with an eye towards a possible evacuation of Roosevelt Island if an emergency or weather condition force such an evacuation. There are only three ways off this island and only the subway has the capacity to transport large numbers of residents far enough off the island which would be needed. Sure the Roosevelt Island Bridge could accommodate a large number of residents to tranverse it by foot (few residents have cars overall) but that leaves those residents in the middle of nowhere with out a mass transit answer on the other side.

Overall I believe the MTA and NYPD did a good job of ensuring that the flow of riders did not result in one continuous burst of individuals trying to access the escalators, elevators, stairs and platforms all at once which could have lead to accidents at any of those points. The flow of individuals was staggered to allow for easy access down to the platforms and also to ensure the platforms were never overly crowded.

The first thing I noticed was that the MTA set up three defined entrance points (1) Metrocard holders (2) individuals with strollers, and (3) Roosevelt Island residents. The Metrocard holders entry point snaked a bit off towards the East / right away from the entrance and then back to the entrance to prevent the line from simply being a straight line back from the door to ensure no straight rush could be made for the doors. The RI residents line allowed residents immediate access no matter what with no delays which was a great feature.

The man in charge was Mr. Clayton W. Conaway Sr. who holds the position of New York City Transit General Superintendent for District #4 – Parsons Archer Stations Operations. In addition to about a 8 to 12 uniformed officers at the station I counted about another dozen MTA personnel directing traffic flow in and outside the station all apparently deferring to this man’s direction. He and his staff constantly were viewing the monitors gauging the flow of individuals once they passed through the turnstiles to determine when and how many more individuals to let enter the station.

As Mr. Conaway states in the video the MTA’s primary focus was safety and not speed and upon watching this applied in action from the many vantage points afforded me that evening I belief it worked well. Sure there were many individuals that would have like to get through faster but in most cases I believe the MTA staffers handled themselves and the crowd well. Sure at the initial choke point there were a few instances of riders that climbed over the wall that tested the MTA staffers patience but the woman I saw at the forefront of the line appeared forceful but never disrespectful despite everyone dealing with the rain which thankfully was never truly a downpour.

At one point there were in effect two Metrocard holder lines one which snaked towards Duane Reade and a second which bordered Main Street. Entrance from these lines alternated and neither line seemed favored. The MTA staffers were quick to let families with strollers and elderly through and in most cases the Superintendent with an eye towards keeping traffic flowing directed these individuals through the gate entrance rather than through the turnstiles. I also noted that for the few minutes I wandered down to the track level that MTA reps did indeed hold trains in response to rider needs and traffic flow.

The only suggestion I heard from both MTA staffers and NYPD officers that perhaps two distinct lines should have been created for Manhattan/Brooklyn bound riders versus that of Queens bound riders to better control line movement with that of platform levels and train arrivals. It seemed the logical step and an idea for next year.

From the many people I spoke to and observed most seemed in reasonable spirits and no one seemed truly put out. I do believe many had no clue what they were going to encounter when they left but to those individuals I say what else could you have expected as you either came in with the crowds or watched the fireworks with them next to you unless they though the event’s attendance was mostly residents.

Overall I believe the MTA met its goal of processing everyone through but with the overriding goal of safety first. I can’t think of anything else that could have been done to make it less painful that it had to be. Processing 2000 to 3000 persons through between 9:30/9:45 pm though 11:00 pm did not seem overly burdensome or unfair to anyone that passed through that station.

As for whether these same tactics could be applied to an evacuation it is unclear as then one would expect a lot more irritation and underlying fears on the part of the residents trying to enter the station and the MTA personnel and in addition to individuals evacuating would be carrying a mountain of belongings etc which always clogs up the works. Given enough time though if residents heed warnings to leave early if proper staffing was present at the station a good chunk of residents could get out this way. If an emergency came out of nowhere timewise and that is main option open to us we may have a big problem.

Fire / Police Call Boxes : Existing and Former

There are many items on the Roosevelt Island landscape that tend to blend into the background as we go about our daily lives. Much of our street furniture such as the FDNY / NYPD Call Boxes fall into that category. They tend to simply exist unless you need them and then they become all important.

Most of these boxes these days tend to be of the grey steel variety that blend exceedingly well into the background on actual streets. Walking home from the Tram last night I noticed what appear to be two "stumps" and I began to wonder what the requirements are for such boxes relative to population growth. I know that building laws require that new construction include fire control centers in each residential building so I am sure the Riverwalk buildings have built in call boxes within their lobbies etc but it still seemed strange that the City would remove existing boxes from the street where there are still plans to build even more structures.

The "stumps" I noticed were along Main Street / East Road across the street from the line of Riverwalk buildings. One is directly across from 465 Main Street and the other is also on the soccer field side of the street across from approximately the 415 / 425 Main Street buildings. These two stumps must have appeared like the Red FDNY box pictured below.

It's strange what you sometimes notice and think about. But as a local blogger I am always intrigued by what I see on our streets.

UPDATE:

According to RIOC Public Safety Director Keith Guerra the boxes are taken off line by the City as each box no longer functions. Meaning a box is not replaced once it stops working. Boxes were added to our streets at a time when cell phones were not common and this allowed the public to report a fire or the need for the police in a free and expedient manner.

FDR Isle Reverts to Welfare Isle During Pope Benedict's Visit to NYC

According to a NY Daily News article posted today that the NYPD website upon posting a street closure map this past weekend used a 1960's era map where Roosevelt Island was still listed as Welfare Island.

Maybe the Pope was not a fan of FDR or the City just wanted to look like it did more for those in need?