Donating Your Old Tram Tokens ?

Among the Roosevelt Island items that makes the rounds over at eBay are the old Tram tokens that were used prior to the Tram being connected to the MTA MetroCard system. I wonder how many of these old token are still in drawers across the Island.

If we set up one of those large water cooler bottles at the Visitor's Center once they re-open how many could we collect? Would be an interesting display. Perhaps then the Historical Society could sell them for $5 a token to the tourists.

Tony Vita Island Posters on Sale at Visitors Center

For all you residents and visitors alike that were blown away by Tony Vita's paintings that were made into the promo banners that are hanging up and down Roosevelt Island's Main Street you can now buy the posters at the Roosevelt Island Visitors Center kiosk by the island Tram station.

You can also contact Tony Vita directly at TonyVita@Earthlink.net. Tell him you got his address from the poster here at RI 360.

THIS This Weekend: Queensboro Bridge Centennial Festivities on Roosevelt Island

Somehow last weekend I ran the below post well I was off a week but here we are now.

Three events will be taking place this Sunday 5/31 on Roosevelt Island to commemorate the Queensboro Bridge Centennial:

"All Aboard to the past; the Queensboro Bridge Trolley" as photographed by Sid Kaplan

RIHS Visitor Center, Tram Plaza

1pm to 7ppm

<><><><><>

"Connecting Islands and Generations - the Queensboro at 100"

Gallery RIVAA, 527 Main Street

2pm to 7pm

<><><><><>

Grucci Fireworks

Viewable on the Island anywhere above Southpoint Park

(no barges but launched from Southpoint)

9pm

Have a great weekend everybody !!!!

This Weekend: Roosevelt Island Based Queensboro Bridge Centennial Events

Three events will be taking place this Sunday 5/31 on Roosevelt Island to commemorate the Queensboro Bridge Centennial:

"All Aboard to the past; the Queensboro Bridge Trolley" as photographed by Sid Kaplan

RIHS Visitor Center, Tram Plaza

1pm to 7ppm

<><><><><>

"Connecting Islands and Generations - the Queensboro at 100"

Gallery RIVAA, 527 Main Street

2pm to 7pm

<><><><><>

Grucci Fireworks

Southpoint Park

9pm

Have a great weekend everybody !!!!

R.I. Historical Society Exhibition: One Family's Photos from 1914-1919

Like many of us no one thinks that families were living on Roosevelt Island during the early 1900's. We all know about the prison, the alms and work houses, the hospitals and the lunatic asylum but few think of the island at that time as a home for a family as we do today. Yet the Effler family did just that and their family photos are on exhibition now at the Octagon through January 31, 2008.

I can truly say the photos will surprise you, make you smile and laugh. I know as I scanned them all for the Historical Society (the benefit or burden of living in the same building as the society's president). I am being good and not running any photos other than those in the press release.

Per the news release there is an opening reception this Sunday with special events including the following:

12 PM - Children’s Tour of Exhibit
1 PM - General Tour
2 PM - Dog Look-Alike Contest
3-6 PM - Reception and Refreshments

The Octagon, is an apartment building, located at 888 Main Street. DIRECTIONS: Take the Tram at 59th Street and Second Avenue or the F train to Roosevelt Island. Take the Octagon Local red bus for 25¢ or walk 20-minutes north on Main Street.

Coat Drive : Dec 27-28 & Jan 3-4

This weekend and next drop off your gently used winter coats at the Roosevelt Island Visitors Center from Noon to 5pm.

Extended Holiday Shopping on Roosevelt Island - Today, This Thursday Night

The Roosevelt Island Historiocal Society Visitors Center offers some great holiday shopping options right here without leaving the island. In addition to being open today, Sunday December 14th from Noon through 5:00 pm the Kiosk will be open this coming Thursday, December 18th from 5:00 pm through 9:00 pm.

Holiday Shopping Dec 4 at the Roosevelt Island Visitors Ctr

The Roosevelt Island Historical Society Visitors Center located at the old trolley kiosk is offering holiday shopping on the evenings of December 4th and December 18th from 5pm to 9 pm each evening.

So as you come off the Tram or out of the subway stop on by. A variety of gifts are offered from jewelry, cards, books, calendars and toys. Refreshments will be served..

Gift Ideas from the Roosevelt Island Historical Society

Looking for a nice gift for a friend or family members that shows that you visited Roosevelt Island? Well look no further the RI Historical Society Visitors Center offers plenty of great ideas at reasonable prices.

Located in a converted trolley kiosk on the island side of the Tram the Visitors Center is open Wednesday through Sunday from 12 Noon to 5:00 pm. Each of the items in the above video is available as well as numerous other gifts and souvenirs.

Historical Walk - Update

It appears Roosevelt Island is getting closer to seeing new Historical Walk signs being posted around the Island. I have not yet seen what the new signs look like as Judy Berdy, President of the Historical Society, is still working on design issues regarding how the signs are manufactured. I did notice today that the broken sign that has been outside the subway station (picttured above) was finally removed presumably by RIOC.

The below slide show is of all of the signs existing as of this Summer. If anyone can confirm whether these other signs are still around or whether they have been removed that woud be appreciated.

As always the walk can be enjoyed electronically via its website linked HERE or via the photo button at the top right hand side bar of this blog. To see full size photos of any of these photos they can be found on my FLICKR set for the RI Walk.

Direct Bus Access from [Roosevelt] Island to Manhattan ?

It was proposed that [Roosevelt] Island residents and employees be afforded direct bus service to and from Manhattan. Of course the proposal was made in 1957 by the entity that operated the last trolley line across the Queensboro Bridge with the goal of such service replacing their trolley operation with buses to then Welfare Island. This last trolley operated solely between 59th Street and Second Avenue to Queens Plaza in Long Island City

The above and below images accompanied a March 20, 1957 NY Times article discussing the proposal. According to the article 80 to 85 percent of the trolley’s riders were City employees either getting off or on the trolley at the mod point of the Queensboro Bridge to take the then elevator down to Welfare Island where they were employed at either Coler or Goldwater Hospitals. Under the proposal to switch to direct service, the trolley-goers were to be afforded door to door bus service to and from each hospital.

I am unsure if this is how the last trolley came to its end but I am guessing the full story can be found in the Queensboro Bridge Images of America book now being sold by the RI and Astoria Historical Societies.

Update: 5:32pm

On April 7, 1957, the last trolley, Car 602, rattled across the Queensboro Bridge, making one last stop mid point across the bridge at Welfare Island and proceeded across to Queens Plaza. According to the NY Times article of that day, riders were not afforded direct bus access prospectively to Welfare Island but were able to take the Q101 from Second Avenue in Manhattan to Queens Plaza, as you can still do stoday, and transfer to the Q102 onto Welfare Island.

For pictures of what happened to those last trolley cars (Car 601 etc) link HERE.

Walking Tours: Roosevelt Island's Magnolias and Cherry Blossoms

The Roosevelt Island Historical Society is sponsoring two short walking tours this month both with an added focus to enjoy the fauna in bloom at this time of year.

The first is this weekend, Saturday April 5th, starting at 11am, outside the Octagon and proceeding North to the Roosevelt Island Lighthouse. This tour includes the many magnolias at that end of the island. The suggested donation to the RIHS for the tour is $5.

The second tour, on Sunday April 20th, starts out at the RIHS Visitors Center Kiosk located by the Tram and proceeds South along the promenade to enjoy the cherry blossoms. You don't need to travel to DC to see these flowers each year just a quick visit to Roosevelt Island.

I am guessing part of the tour will discuss how these trees came to the island as I don't believe they are indigenous to the space. I have pictures in my mind of the inmates lounging under the trees between their daily line-ups for the warden. I am assuming the trees were planted during the early years after Goldwater was constructed. To learn the real answers come on down to the tour.

Watch for posters and announcements regarding the start time for the April 20th tour.

New York Landmarks Conservancy to Honor Judy Berdy & RIHS

The New York Landmarks Conservancy will honor Judy Berdy and the RIHS, among others, with the prestigious Lucy Moses award for the organization's work bringing the former Trolley Kiosk to Roosevelt Island and restoring / transforming it into the Visitor's Center.

The Awards recognize preservation leaders, public officials, organizations, owners, builders, architects, and craftspeople who restore the beauty and utility of New York’s great architecture.

The ceremony will take place on April 30, 2008 at the historic Eldridge Street Synangogue.

Nursing Education Has Returned to Roosevelt Island

This past October 2007, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited Goldwater Hospital to celebrate the opening of a new on-site nursing program. This past week Judy Berdy and the Roosevelt Island Historical Society visited the program and found the young women not dressed in scrubs but in uniforms similar to those worn by nurses of years ago.

An article is posted on the RIHS website describing the visit in detail. The above picture is from a set of four available on Flickr and within the article. The book pictured below can be ordered via the RIHS website.

The article begins as follows:

"A new Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) initiative created the Nurse Career Ladder Program for 400 mainly poor and low-income New Yorkers to enter and advance in the nursing profession over the next four school years. The program fills two needs: it creates a career ladder program in a growth industry, and it provides healthcare facilities with nurses who are currently in short supply. Ten of the students at the new school already work for the municipal hospital system and are advancing their careers to become LPN's."

2008 Toy Fair - Solar Powered Tram

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Each year I am fortunate enough to be able to attend the International Toy Fair. It is always an interesting event and has lead me to find some cool toys that I have recommended to others or purchased ourselves.

Later this year we hope that the Roosevelt Island Historical Society will be able to bring the above solar powered tram to market at the Visitors' Kiosk. The product is not yet available to the market and the boxes shown were just prototypes. Perhaps the RIHS can sell the toy with additional stickers so that the purchaser can add the Tram logo (old logo or new?) plus the distinctive Roosevelt Island name to the model's body.

This tram is cardboard and has no floor so it is best viewed from above or at eye level. The age range is ten and up based on the mechanical parts needed to be assembled.

Daily News Reports $7M Needed to Stabilize Smallpox Hospital

The NY Daily News ran an article in today's paper, February 12, 2008 which focuses on the funding needed to stabilize the former smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island. Double click the article at left to see the entire article.

From the article:

"We've been told by the engineers that to really do an adequate job, we need somewhere around $7 million," said Steve Shane, chief executive officer of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. "We have $4.5 million to spend on preservation. The rest of the money is slated for the parks, and I don't want to pit the preservation people versus the parks people."

"We're starting a campaign for another $3 million to make the stabilization better," said [Judy] Berdy [of the Historical Society]. "Four and a half million is not enough to make it stable."

It just seems crazy to me that the public must directly raise funds to support this stabilization when the state has years to ensure the collapse would not happen while the hospital was under its stewardship.

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 !

Announcements: Visitor Center Hours, Environment Event, MSTDA Open House, Christmas Trees

Since the Main Street WIRE is only published every other week many Roosevelt Island residents learn of Island events via the poster kiosks scattered across the Island or their own building announcement boards. For many of the adults this is reminiscent of our days in college before the Internet.

As such please find below announcements for the RIHS Visitors Center, an Environmental Awareness Event, the Main Street Dance and Theatre Alliance, and the local Boy Scout Troop Christmas Tree Sale:

RI Historical Society Holiday Celebration – Thursday Dec. 6th

The Roosevelt Island Historical Society is hosting a Holiday Celebration & sale this coming Thursday, December 6th from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Visitors Center Kiosk located at the Tram Plaza on the Island.

The RIHS will be providing free refreshments and holiday gifts will be for sale including holiday cards featuring the above holiday painting of the kiosk painted by Yvonne Smith and photographed by this blog’s author.

Linkage - Roosevelt Island: Good Luck Charms, Neighborhood Adoption, & Cormorants

The following tidbits are simply links I found from individual blogs where the writer has recently visited or happened upon Roosevelt Island.

Nov. 6, 2007

Bearfins in New York in a post titled “Good Luck Charms” mentions that “when I'm blearily heading home from one of many late nights on medicine in a guilty cab and I see the tram, I'm convinced tomorrow will be a good day.”

Nov. 5, 2007

Miss Banana visits RI and chronicles her visit in a post tilted “Adopt a Neighborhood”. She recommends visitors stop by the “small history center” [the former trolley kiosk now operating as the RIHS Visitors Center] where you can learn a great deal about the island and its buildings.

Nov. 4, 2007

David Byrne was detoured onto RI when the pedestrian lane of the Queensborough Bridge was closed during the NYC Marathon and he took the opportunity to visit Southpoint and snapped a photo of cormorants resting on one of the rocky islands just South of the island (in addition to a Tram shot of the marathon). A closer picture of cormorants on the same island came be found on Flickr HERE.