Earth Hour 2009 - March 28th 830pm-930pm

I only just sent an email a few hours ago into the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation asking if they have any plans to participate in Earth Hour 2009 by turning off non-essential lighting so I have not yet received a response. Like many people I am guessing they did not even hear of this effort. I only heard my self a few days ago.

Didn't the Earth get a whole day a few years back? This year Earth Hour is from 830pm to 930 pm on March 28th , Saturday night in your time zone.

Anyhow I was wondering if RIOC were to participate what lights would they turn off? My assumption would be the Lighthouse and Renwick Ruin.

I am not sure regarding the Lighthouse as I thought it was no longer working in the true sense of its original purpose,(yes the lights works but I thought it was decommissioned due to radar etc) but obviously if it it prevents any ship from running aground I am guessing we would not want to turn it off.

Just random thoughts.

Lighthouse picture via Flickr and Renwick ruin via Bowery Boys.

15 Years Plus of Lighted Ruins

The night time lighting of the former smallpox hospital, on Roosevelt Island, started as a party favor from Arnold Scaasi, a Sutton Place resident, to his guests. It was then later picked up as a treat from an island based group to the larger city as a reminder that "we're part of the City".

Today the lights that shine upon the Renwick Ruin are a nightly fixture, with the cost borne by RIOC, and while the lights may be taken for granted by most of the City, they have become a fixture of the City's night time sky and still to this day a nice reminder that we are here.

Picture via Flickr by Mortbats.

Midnight Bingo Tonight at the Renwick Ruin

Ok, I lied we will not be bringing in the New Year playing bingo at the Renwick Ruin. I am trying to sell the idea to OpenHouse New York though. But don't the stones from the former smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island, which is currently undergoing a restoration and stabilization effort look like giant bingo tiles? The stones are being removed and numbered in order to put it back together again at a later date.

The above picture is on Flickr by Trixiebedlam. The below pic is also on Flickr by embeedub. For a full size version which is readable link through the picture.

Roosevelt Island - A Water View - Bottom to Top

I had been wanting to film the island from one end to the other ever since seeing the Edison 1903 video filmed from the East Channel looking West. I have already filmed and posted the Island from that view but from Southpoint to Lighthouse where the Edison video starts at the North end and heads South.

I am now presenting the following video from the West Channel looking East at the Island starting at Southpoint and finishing at Lighthouse Park.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

WNBC Video: Gabe Pressman's Roosevelt Island Report

This below video segment on Roosevelt Island aired, this evening June 20, 2008, during the 7pm local WNBC newscast. It was filmed during the last week of May 2008.

It is always interesting to see how news segments are edited down to the final product. As expected the result of the interview Mr. Pressman conducted with us ended up summarized as one or two sentences. Matt Katz, RIRA President, likewise ended up with one sentence on the air. Ms. Judy Berdy is highlighted for a few more sentences as much of the segment focuses on the past history of the island.

I am guessing the aerial shots are courtesy of the News 4 helicopter. All in all not bad. And I said earlier meeting Mr. Pressman was fun and he is definitely a professional cut from the best.

For a cleaner viewing link HERE to the WNBC site itself.

GTA IV Includes Renwick Ruin / Smallpox Hospital

Apparently Grand Theft Auto IV in addition to representing Roosevelt Island as Colony Island includes a recreation of the former Smallpox Hospital / Renwick Ruin. According to the "blah-blah-blahg" it is that recreation that is:

"officially my favorite location in the new GTA. they've even replicated ther planks supporting the window bays."

If anyone is able to snag an image of the recreated smallpox hospital or any other locations on "Colony island" I would love to post them here.

Renwick Ruin Profiled in NYT Geometries Series

Today's NY Times, Wednesday, May 14, 2008, included a photo and brief intro regarding the former smallpox hospital designed by James Renwick.

The photo is part of the NY Times photo series titled "Geometries".

PressHD: Vandalism at Southpoint

Kim Lengle of PressHD.com is reporting of a new atack of vandalism down at Southpoint Park and upon the former smallpox hospital. Her post will link you through to a series of 34 pictures on Flickr taken on Sunday, April 6, 2008. PressHD was the first to report two weeks ago of the brush fire that took place at Southpoint.

According to Ms. Lengle, during the entire time she was at Southpoint yesterday Public Safety was not aware of the vandalism and no patrol car appeared on scene. In fact Public Safety was not aware of the incident, according to her, until she reported the incident. If this attack took place overnight one would hope and expect that when the park was opened this morning that a PSD officer would make a patrol of the park to determine if there was any such activity or danger before allowing the public access.

One of the concerns many residents have regarding the future of the entire Southpoint Park (including both the Trust for Public Land Gardens and the proposed FDR memorial) is security. It has ben stated that once these projects are completed that security would be increased down at Southpoint.

LIC Development: Views from Roosevelt Island

Ok, I admit I have not been down to Southpoint Park in a few months since it started getting cold but did I miss the building pictured here being constructed over in Long Island City? Or is this one of those oddities where an object looks bigger from a distance? The building just appears too close in proximity to the smallpox hospital than I expected.

The original picture by Martine266 can be linked to HERE and was shot and posted to Flickr on Feb. 18th.

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.

Greater Security Needed at Collapsing Smallpox Hospital

The below video slide show starts like many videos by teenagers visiting Roosevelt Island and even includes a dozen or more pictures of the kids gaining access to the smallpox hospital (at about 2 minutes into the 4 minute video)and exploring its ruins even climbing among the structure on support beams. If a further collapse happened while they were inside and someone was hurt you can be sure their families will be suing RIOC, NYS, and NYC. Posting danger signs every 15 feet on the fence posts will never stop anyopne who wants to gain access.

We need greater security around this site now and through the upcoming stabilization project. If we don't someone is going to get hurt. I have heard no say "no one has been hurt yet" as I know our officials are good caring people but can we really wait until a tragedy happens. I know other than adding razor wire or posting a PSD officer at the site 24 hours / day there is not really much we can do but someone must be smarter than me in this regard.

Emergency Declaration Expected by Shane re Collapse at Renwick

Steve Shane is expected to declare an emergency regarding the collapse at the former smallpox hospital allowing RIOC to move forward immediately to stabilize the remaining structure. RIOC received the above letter from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Receipt of the above correspondence was required prior to RIOC's declaration.

Will Red Tape Bind RIOC From Stabilizing Smallpox Hospital In Time?

According to Steve Shane, President of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, before he can legally declare the recent North wall collapse an emergency he must first be notified by a second State department / authority to notify him that an emergency exists. In this case it is a fact he already knows that without immediate stabilization the entire landmarked ruin could be in danger of collapse.

The agency RIOC is waiting for is the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (SHIPO). A quick check of their website offers no indication or even a news release that this agency is evaluating the current collapse.

Meanwhile plenty of other preservation websites have already sounded the alarm including Preservation Nation the online blog of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Yesterday this blog ran a story regarding the status of the collapse. Within that very article President Shane is quoted as stating ““We can’t do anything without getting a lot of admin approvals because it’s on the [state and National] historic registers.” Now I realize that the National Trust and the National Register of Historic Places are two different organizations but one would think they are one and the same. More red tape.

If the National Register declares an emergency will that trump SHIPO and speed things up? Would a barrage of phone calls to SHIPO help things along?

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.

Renwick’s Connection to Welfare Island – More Than Just the Smallpox Hospital

Most Roosevelt Island residents and other interested parties know that James Renwick was the architect behind the former Smallpox Hospital (link to RI Historical Walk) now known as the Renwick Ruin (RIHS link) but few people realize he also was in charge of the planning and construction of two other structures which no longer exist on the Island.

The structures Renwick designed, in addition to the Smallpox Hospital, were the Workhouse and City Hospital. Each was eventually razed and no longer has any footprint on Roosevelt Island today. But each was a major part of life here on the Island in their day.

The above image was found on a NYC Department of Corrections webpage regarding its history and connection to Blackwell / Welfare / Roosevelt Island.

Renwick’s NY Times obituary (shown below) discussed all three structures near the bottom of the article in addition to listing each of his major accomplishments. For a full version of the obit double click the image.