Official Island Tree Lighting Tonight, Free Concert Tomorrow Night

If you are on Roosevelt Island tonight stop by Blackwell House at 7pm to take part in the island's annual Holiday Tree lighting. Then tomorrow stop by Good Shepherd Community Center for a free concert at 8:00 pm.

Concert This Sun. 11/22 at Good Shepherd

The Church of the Good Shepherd Sunday Concert series is sponsoring a FUNDRAISING CONCERT this coming Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 2:30pm. Please join your neighbors and help raise funds for a worthy part of our community.

Town Hall Meeting Tonight Re FDR Memorial Park

The folks from FERI will be making a presentation tonight at the Good Shephered Community Center regarding the proposed Louis Kahn design FDR Four Freedoms Memorial for Southpoint Park.

The meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm and will also include a presentation on behlf of the Roosevelt Island Disabled Association who are against the current design including its lack of inclusion of any element not recognizing FDR's disability

May 21st: Free Family Law Legal Clinic

News Release Received from the Office of Assembly Member Micah Kellner:

Are you facing the Family Court system without a lawyer? On May 21, 2009, from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m., my office will partner with LIFT (Legal Information for Families Today), to bring a free legal information drop-in clinic to the Church of the Good Shepherd (546 Main Street, Roosevelt Island). The clinic will offer Roosevelt Island’s parents and grandparents who have questions about child support, custody, and visitation cases the chance to meet one-on-one with LIFT staff for help.

LIFT is an award-winning nonprofit organization that operates community and court-based programs all of which empower vulnerable families to advocate for themselves in Family Court, ensuring that all families – no matter what their income level or ability to hire a lawyer – have the ability to access justice in the complex Family Court system.

There is no need to schedule an appointment for the May 21st event, nor must you be a Roosevelt Island resident. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information about any of LIFT’s programs call 212-343-1122 or visit www.LIFTonline.org.

Free Concert Tonight, Health & Fitness Day Tomorrow

There's a lot to do this weekend on Roosevelt Island starting off with tonight's FREE concert at 8:00 pm at the Good Shepherd Community Center and then onto tomorrow's RIOC sponsored Third Annual Health & Fitness Day !

Candidate Night Tonight - RIOC Board Nominees

Tonight at 7pm in the Good Shephered Community Center the Roosevelt Island Residents Association will be hosting a Meet the Candidates event for the five announced candidates for the open Board of Director seats opening up on the RI Operating Corporation Board.

WIRE Bulletin: Columbia Students to Present Transportation Study 7:30 pm Tonight at Good Shepherd

Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 4:09

Graduate students of Columbia University will brief Roosevelt Islanders on their study of the Island's transportation this Thursday night (April 16) at 7:30 in the Good Shepherd Community Center.

A limited number of residents who have had a preview call the students' work comprehensive and imaginative. It is strongly visualized and packed with facts about traffic, ridership, subway capabilities, destination data, and much more.

Led by Dr. Floyd Lapp, an adjunct professor of planning, the students considered a wide variety of transportation options and alternatives for the Island. A preview of their presentation indicates that the study has addressed issues like reconfiguration of Main Street traffic and the possibility of mixed use of the "channel" between Main Street buildings, pedestrian access to the Queensboro Bridge, a reworking of street-parking and Motorgate rates to free up Main Street parking, a long-term program of gradually discouraging use of cars, reduction of Main Street traffic signage, and measures to eliminate the bunching of red buses that leaves extended periods without service at rush hour.

The presentation will begin at 7:30 in the Good Shepherd Community Center, Thursday night at 7:30.

CB8M: Hurricane Preparedness Video Roosevelt Island

The above video is from a 2006 meeting regarding hurricane preparedness on Roosevelt Island. I stumbled upon it this evening and wanted obviously to post it here. The video was prepared by Manhattan Community Board 8 and was of a CB8M Public Safety meeting they held on Roosevelt Island in the Good Shepherd Community Center. The video is presented on a channel labeled CB8M Speaks.

I don't recall too many individuals feeling that the meeting answered all their questions but the video is clearly worth watching by all residents that were not there that afternoon.

The Bashful Bus and other Transportation Woes

This evening’s “Town Hall” meeting, sponsored by RIOC, to welcome and introduce Columbia University’s Urban Planning study, was moderately attended but clearly and quickly detailed the transportation issues confronting island residents.

The evening began with an introduction of Dr. Floyd Lapp who laid out the purpose of the study, or studio, as it called and that he will fade into the background and let the students hit the ground running. After delivering his introductory remarks he opened the floor to local residents and employees to each voice our major concerns and in many cases what we each believe will solve the major problems.

As expected the major culprits such as red bus schedules, subway overcrowding, and concerns what we will all do when the tram is out were raised. But also smaller issues such as switching the pedestrian yield signs on Main Street back to Stop signs and lighting along Main Street were discussed. Issues such as height differentials between subway platforms and subway cars were also brought up which greatly affect many of our wheel chair bound neighbors.

The location and efficiency of a possible ferry was raised but not dwelled by many attendees. The issue of an elevator to the Queensboro Bridge was brought up but the idea of a stair case, which would be the equivalent of 21 stories, was discounted by Dr. Lapp as unrealistic to be actually used by most residents.

One of the more amusing Red Bus tales told was by an Octagon resident regarding an Octagon Express bus that arrives when no passengers are ready at the Octagon which then swings through the stop and seems to park just out of view of the stop almost like it is hiding but still can be seen from the stop. Only after an Octagon Local swings through and picks up the then assembled mass of commuters filling the Local does the Express peek out and pick up the stragglers and then continues, almost empty, down Main Street to the subway and Tram. Is this Express really hiding or it just being bashful and shy? Who knows but it is indicative of a larger transportation system that is clearly out of sync and behind the greater need according to the residents that attended this Town Hall.

Town Hall Mtg Tonight re Transportation Issues….Columbia to Begin Focused Study

At 7:00pm tonight within the Good Shepherd Community Center, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is holding a Town Hall meeting to discuss transportation issues affecting the island. The meeting will also mark the commencement of a new urban planning study of the island with a defined focus on transportation.

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture’s Urban Planning program, under the direction of Dr. Floyd Lapp, a former Director of City Planning in the MTA’s Transportation Division from 1991-2000, will be examining the transportation alternatives and infrastructure.

The Columbia study will be the second study currently underway of the island by an academic institution. Hunter College's Urban Planning program is conducting a separate studio, termed AccessRI, with a broader focus on access to many issues including transportation, health services, shopping among others. That study is being sponsored by State Senator Jose Serrano.

Dr. Lapp has indicated that for any study to be worthwhile and effective it requires the participation of the public in the gathering of information and feedback. The Main Street WIRE in its last issue, dated Saturday, January 17, 2009, included a front page article about the study and included comments from Dr. Lapp.

Community Viewing of Inauguration Today at 11am

Starting at 11am watch the inauguration live with your Roosevelt Island neighbors at the Good Shepherd Community Center.

NYT: Focus on Dr. Resnick and Home Health Care

Today's New York Times blog "The New Old Age" profiled Dr. Jack Resnick's efforts to bring health care back into the home with a focus on the Community Health Forum he organizaed and moderated on December 29th at the Good Shepherd Church. Kudo to the doctor and please link through to the blog post on the NYT as for anyone who did not attend the forum it is well worth your time.

3pm Music Bach ; 5pm Menorah Lighting

First Snow of This December

Lilian C. Moreira has posted on YouTube a short one minute video of the first snow from earlier today here on Roosevelt Island. Lilian has a number of Roosevelt Island videos posted on YouTube that are worth checking out.

Access RI to Host Open House This Saturday

Access RI will be hosting an open house this Saturday at Good Shepherd starting at 10:00 am. See their post below or link directly to their blog HERE or via the above image.

Transportation Forum Produces Community Provided "Solutions"

The Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer organized Roosevelt Island transportation forum produced a list of short term and long term solutions as suggested by the attending audience as well as the priority of each solution. In an innovative method of collecting data via RF point and click technology, the organizers with the help of the Hunter College Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, turned what is usually a standard speech dog and pony show with the expected rantings of upset community members into an event where the public provided the content and the elected officials (Micah Kellner and Jessica Lappin) spoke minimally. RIOC President Steve Shane spoke but offered nothing new for the community that he had not already stated at the recent Tram info event.

The only real problem was the transportation experts did not speak at all and the public was not given the opportunity to put these folks on the spot. Also while the solutions offered are nice in theory we heard nothing from the elected officials or the transportation officials as to the reality of any one solution being actually attainable or not.

Scott Stringer closed the event stating that this event was only the beginning of the discussions and tonight was more a gauge of where he and the other politicians should start on our behalf. The only problem is we only have until the Tram goes out to start determing what can be improved in the short term. Lets schedule the next meeting soon to keep the feet of these pols to a deliverable fire date to answer the realities of the solutions offered otherwise what was the point of taking away a particular good opportunity to simply rant.

The short and long term solutions and prioritization are below and each can be linked through to Flickr for larger views.

SHORT TERM SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS per the COMMUNITY

SHORT TERM VOTE

LONG TERM SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS per the COMMUNITY

LONG TERM VOTE

Transportation Forum Tonight at Good Shepherd

At 7:00 pm tonight, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is hosting a Roosevelt Island transportation forum that is billed to include several elected officials as well as representatives from several NYC and MTA agencies that will update us to the current state of our transportation alternatives and also be available for questions and problem solving.

FDR Memorial Town Hall Meeting Tonight 3/25 at 7pm

Come down tonight at 7:00 pm to the Church of the Good Shephered to a Town Hall meeting to hear a presentation from the folks at the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (FERI) regarding the Four Freedoms FDR Memorial.

The folks at RIRA are I believe sponsoring this Town Hall meeting and I hope to bring down a portable DVD player or that one will be available (thanks to Frank Farance) to play the YouTube videos showing the current 360 degree views I have downloaded.

Many of us see this memorial as more to its architect Louis Kahn and FERI has come to change that notion and to demonstrate that the memorial will enhance the space rather than some (myself included) destroy the inherent beauty of the park as it stands now.

Link HERE to to the Roosevelt Islander blog to read his most recent comments regarding the Kahn - FDR Memorial specifically that the memorial was designed to block the current 360 degree views so as to focus on the views available at the "Memorial Room" which will sit at the Southern most point of the memorial.

FDR Memorial Mtg 3/25 - Cartoon Images vs Same Old Images ?

As of today the only "memorial", on Roosevelt Island, to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as far as I know, is the simple bust of him sitting within the local NYPL branch as pictured above. Should we have a more substantial memorial? Certainly. Of course.

Do we all agree on what that memorial should be? Should Island residents get a say on a memorial plan that was decided before any residents step foot on the Island? Rick O'Connor, of the Roosevelt Islander, wrote a great article that appeared in this weekend's Main Street WIRE which I encourage interested parties to read.

For anyone who has anything to say on the matter please show up at the Town Hall meeting planned for March 25th. I have put together a new poster which should in the next day or two start appearing around the Island. It again plays with imagery I created for the CB8 meeting of two weeks ago where using MS Paint I added trees to an existing (via Flickr) Southpoint view of Manhattan showing what I fear will be obstructed views of the City. One of my major issues with the planned FDR Memorial.

Double Click to Enlarge

The folks at FERI and the architects took exception with my artwork labelling it as a cartoon. I am not arguing that point as it was. The top half of the above poster was created by FERI but shows the same old image we have seen and presnts nothing new. Certainly I look forward to the new images they indicate they will be bringing to the March 25th meeting. But I am doubtful they will win me over as even at the CB8 meeting it was stated that images can only go so far as compared to what the real thing will look like. Yes, my image is a cartoon but this is my fear and it is the best way I know to convey that image to others.

Come down to the meeting and see for yourself. There will be a survey distributed at that meeting and supposedly in the next issue of the WIRE. Show you care what happens on this Island and complete the survey and suibmit it accordingly. Your view may differ from mine and I respect that. I will respect it more if you participate in the process.

Update 3/17 at Noon (Cartoon View Source):

The picture immediately below is of the current view looking West towards Manhattan. The picture was found HERE on Flickr. Note that your eye does not only look straight out at a zero degree inclination but also upwards at varying degrees to take in the entire skyline. The picture below that is my version of the picture once the Linden Trees really start bearing their full leaf growth.

RIRA Meeting - Tonight - March 5th at 8 PM

The Roosevelt Island Residents Association will be holding its March meeting tonight at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd starting at 8:00 pm.