Lappin Begins 2009 Campaign Locally with a Picnic

With no discernable Democratic or Republican challengers making themselves known on Roosevelt Island, City Council Member Jessica Lappin is hosting a BBQ picnic this coming Thursday, August 14th at Lighthouse Park from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.

The suggested donation to the event and to Ms. Lappin’s campaign is $15 and checks should be made payable to “Lappin for Council”.

Ms, Lappin represents District 5 on the City Council which includes Roosevelt Island.

No Parking Spots? Blame Zip Car Event

This morning while walking on my way to the Tram I noticed that Zip Car had taken up three to four spots on Main Street down by Southtown. I am assuming this is just for temporary promotion purposes. For RIOC and PSD to agree to give up these spots when parking is already tight on this island would make no sense.

According to Keith Guerra, Director of Public Safety, the spots used by Zip Car have not been permanently assigned to them. So for now SouthTowners excited about the possibility of vehicles being available nearby will continue to need to go up to the Octagon to rent these vehicles.

Update: Status of Former "Castle" Playground Site

The following response was received in regard to my recent inquiry about the former Roosevelt Island playground:

To: RooseveltIsland360@gmail.com
Date: Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 11:17 AM
Subject: Former "Castle" Playground

Eric,

For the past 8 months or so RIOC was working with Island Kids and KaBoom on developing a new playground for the site. KaBoom is anational non-profit organization whose mission is to identify potential playground sites and marry localities with corporate sponsors for the construction of playgrounds. The Blackwell Playground was selected as asite.

The site was prepped for a new playground by RIOC maintenance and grounds staff, and the installation for a new playground was scheduled for early June. However, at the eleventh hour the corporate sponsor backed out. We do not know who the sponsor was or their reason for backing out. KaBoom has made attempts to identify a new corporate sponsor, but RIOC has decided to proceed with the installation of a new playground without the assistance of any third party sponsorship.

A retaining wall was recently installed, and we hope to start work on a new playground by early Fall 2008.

Fernando Martinez
Vice President for Operations
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp.

-----

Prior to the old "Castle" playground a wooden playground configuration sat at the same site:

A Roosevelt Island Subway Sta. Bathroom?

According to a story in today's New York Post, July 30, 2008, the bathroom at the Roosevelt Island subway Station was found not only to be open but fully stocked with toilet paper. Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind conducted a study of 18 restrooms in three boroughs and found 10 were locked and four of the open restrooms lacked toilet paper. The Roosevelt Island loo was only one of two found to be open and stocked.

Fantastic. Great news! Yay for us!

The only question I have is where is this bathroom? Granted I have been on this island less than three years but I have never heard of such a bathroom and believe me with two young kids it would have been good info to have. No wonder it's fully stocked us parents with kids have not found it.

Just to be sure I am going to contact the Post reporter and the Assemblymember's office. I have a feeling they meant Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.

UPDATE 6:00 pm

According to a legislative aid working at the Assemblymember's office the Roosevelt Island station bathroom was inspected by a representative from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's office and the information was passed along to the Assemlymember.

According to the token clerk on duty this evening the "Station Toilet" pictured below is not available to the public and no pubic facility exists at this station so it is unclear why Scott Stringer's office reported that a restroom was available at this station.

Mystery Photo: Which Playground?

Can you tell what playground on Roosevelt Island this photo was taken in? The photo is by Catherine Grieco and be can be found on Flickr HERE.

Hint: Per Ms. Grieco, the photographer, the photo was taken in the mid 1990's.

Roosevelt Island Tram Crosses East River Twice in 12 Seconds

Watch the video and you will see that over the 12 seconds each tram crosses the East River twice.

I found this time lapse video shot from the Manhattan Roosevelt Island Tram station facing the Queensboro Bridge.

I am not allowed to show the video here but you can link over to the Getty Images Library video HERE.

Straphangers Report: F Train 13th out of 21

According to a report issued today the F Train which services Queens, Manhattan (including Roosevelt Island) and Brooklyn ranked 13th out of 21 total subway lines. Link HERE to see the report. For the overall State of the Subways Report link HERE.

Links: FIOS, Performance Art, and Dutch Schultz

The most recent local RIOC PSD Police Report is available on the Roosevelt Islander and has something about dogs sending threatening email?

According to a PR Newswire press release Verizon is again listing neighborhoods where their FIOS service is available including RI.

Gothamist reports that Celia Rowlson-Hall, a writer-director-choreographer would love to perform at the Renwick Ruin, the former smallpox hospital if it were available.

Among a listing of top ten criminals is Dutch Schultz who at one time did time at the former Blackwells Island Penitentiary.

Island Kids Film Miley Cyrus Parody

The girls over at Island Kids must have been standing outside Rockefeller Center too long this morning watching Miley Cyrus such that upon their return to Roosevelt Island they filmed the above spoof. Cute.

Passings: Resident Richard C. Wade

Today's New York Times, July 25, 2008, includes an obituary for Roosevelt Island resident Richard C. Wade who passed away last Friday. Mr. Wade lived in the Rivercross building and is survived by his wife Liane Thomas Wade.

From the Times:

"Richard C. Wade, who helped put cities on the map as an academic subject and who advised Democratic candidates including Adlai Stevenson, Robert F. Kennedy and George McGovern, died last Friday at his home on Roosevelt Island in New York City. He was 87."

I will not try to recap the man's life here on this blog but his career included being a well respected historian that opened up the field of studying cities as a source of growth in this country. Two books he wrote or co-authored include Urban Frontier, and Slavery in the Cities. He was also involved in politics but was mostly known and respected for his work as a historian.

Crains: RI Bridge Construction Equal to New Yankee Stadium

Like many New Yorkers, Roosevelt Island residents would love to think of ourselves as the center of the universe but we know different.

However in a Crain's New York Business.com article, posted this afternoon on-line, regarding the appointment of Skanska as MSG's rehabilitation construction manager Skanska's work on the Roosevelt Island Bridge was labelled a "major" New York project right there along the building of new Yankee Stadium.

Amusing. Who are we to argue?

Jazzmobile on Roosevelt Island

The first of two Jazzmobile videos shot by Lillian Moreira was shown on the Roosevelt Islander so I figured I could present this second video posted to YouTube of the event that took place this past Tuesday on Roosevelt Island.

Your Choice Leather or Nylon Straps

Last week I ran a post titled "The Last Straphanger" referring to a drawing made of an individual holding a hand strap in the Roosevelt Island Tram.

My post stated that the straps in the Tram are probably the last leather strap hand holds in the NYC mass transit system. In response to that post one commenter was left wondering if the straps in the Red Buses were also leather. The above picture demonstrates that the Red Bus straps are some sort of synthetic nylon material and certainly not leather.

So if leather is your thing come by and take the Tram now as its possible once the Tram is overhauled in 2009 these last leather straps will probably end up as souvenirs of a lucky few RIOC employees.

If the tram straps are ever replaced I would hope RIOC would allow them to be auctioned off with the proceeds benefiting a local charity. In truth I'd rather see them rehung into whatever new tram cabin is built to add a bit of continuity from old to new.

Aug 25: Two More Escalators to be Taken Out Of Service - ES 413/416

See the below advisory re our escalators. The assumption is that Roosevelt Island escalators ES 413 and ES 416 are the additional escalators being taken off line. The MTA Press Office was not able to confirm this but it has to be as ES 411 and ES 414 were replaced already.

The possibility of having 2 sets of 3 off line at once is quite scary. Even though ES 411/414 will be in an up position at all times the morning rush will messy with more individuals looking to use the elevators.

Double click the below image to enlarge it.

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

From: RIOC Advisories
Sent: Wed Jul 23 14:38:32 2008
Subject: Subway Transit Advisory

Escalator work at Roosevelt Island

Beginning August 25th, two sets of escalators (four in total) will be taken out of service for a month as part of the escalator replacement project.

The escalators are located between the street and lower mezzanine. During this time, the remaining set of escalators will be running in the up direction.

The MTA Elevators and Escalators group will be on call should anything happen to the working escalators during the shutdown.

MetroCard Fare Hikes - A Roosevelt Island Break Even Analysis - $136 Monthly Fare Card

The news the last few days has been discussing possible fare hikes by the NYC Transit Authority and I once again wanted to see what effect that would have on my family's out-of-pocket costs as we live on Roosevelt Island. The reality of living on Roosevelt Island (or in any of the outer boroughs) as opposed to living in Manhattan are that for any trip off the island to Manhattan you rely on mass transit and that means spending money.

During this past year's fare hike the MTA held the single fare steady at $2 but increased the unlimited monthly fare costs from $76 to $81 which was still economical for us iin every way. I wanted to see now how much would it cost us if the MTA again held the single fare at $2 but increased the monthly unlimited to our break even point based on the average number of trips / fares we spend based on our lifestyle. Based on the current fare cost we are spending about $1.19 per fare.

Based on the above schedule the unlimited monthly fare card would have to increase to $136 from its current $81 before we woud be spending the equivalent of a single fare per trip. This schedule also assumes Parent B does not add any extra fares dring the day before returning home with both children at the end of each school day. I am not advocating certainly that the MTA use this as a guide to increase the fare that high but as long as the montly cost stays under that amount and the single fare is at $2 we are ahead of the game.

Jazz Tuesday Night at Good Shepherd Plaza

The JazzMobile is coming to Roosevelt Island tomorrow night, Tuesday July 22, 2008 at 7 pm with the Akiko Tsuruga Quartet. The event is free is being sponsored by Urban America. To see a clip of the quartet link HERE.

Local Roosevelt Isle Starbucks Spared

The full list of the 600 Strabucks locations nationwide was released yesterday, 07/17/2008, and it did not include the local Roosevelt Island Starbucks.

It is unknown if this location is making a profit or not but either way it is not being closed.

A full list of the NYC locations being closed is provided below and the entire list of nationwide closings can be found in PDF format HERE. Thanks to reader Daniel Chen for sending me a link regarding the announcement.

The Last Straphanger

In this City we use the term "Straphanger" to refer to bus and subway riders but in truth the City's buses and subways stopped using real straps many years ago. The last place to see real straps in place today are on the Roosevelt Island Tram.

Jason Polan, an artist captured the above image as part of a project to draw "Every Person in New York". Check out his blog to see other images of individuals from around the City.

In the meantime for all you Roosevelt Island residents was this you?

Move to Roosevelt Island - Add 4 1/2 Years to Your Life !

According to the "Measure of America Report", referred to in today's NY Daily News, Roosevelt Island residents as part of the 14th Congressional District live longer, on average 4.5 years longer, than many of our fellow countrymen.

Perhaps the the two kid's spraygrounds next to and behind Blackwell House are the Fountain of Youth?

ESDC Approves $15M Grant to Modernize Tram

As expected the ESDC approved a $15 million grant to modernize the Roosevelt Island Tram. This grant was a formality as the funds were already budgeted for this purpose. The complete of the press release is as follows:

7/17/2008

ESDC BOARD APPROVES $17.6 MILLION IN DOWNSTATE GRANTS

Empire State Development Corporation's Board of Directors met today in Manhattan and approved downstate grants totaling $17.6 million. Among the grants approved was $15 million to help modernize the Roosevelt Islandtram. The tram will contribute to the economic impact of Roosevelt Islandby ensuring a reliable form of transportation for residents to travel backand forth to the city.

The Roosevelt Island tram began operating in 1976. There are 20 other trams operating in the U.S. and Canada but the Roosevelt Island tram is the only aerial commuter tram in the country. Originally built as a temporary means of transportation for island residents by New York State's Urban Development Corporation, it has become a permanent part of the lifeof the island and a treasure for New Yorkers and visitors throughout the world.