A Few Views of a Bridge

Just a few pictures from my walk home last night after I returned to Roosevelt Island

SEA Paddle NYC to Pass Roosevelt Island

No Virginia, those are not surfers looking for a gnarley wave in the East River passing Roosevelt Island. They are surfers paddling for charity today circling Manhattan. Go to their website to learn more.

If anyone shoots pics of the paddlers today and sends them to RooseveltIsland360@gmail.com I will post them here. Make sure to include recognizable Island points of interest in the foreground or at least Manhattan views we recognize in the background (i.e. the Queensboro Bridge etc).

Paddle Wheel Boat Passes Roosevelt Island

I am currently subletting an apartment here on Roosevelt Island and my apartment has a view of the East River so occasionally I get to see some fun stuff. Today it was a paddle boat. Have not seen this before. Made me smile.

Renewed Concerns re Choppers over Roosevelt Island?

Chopper View from Tour Site

The collision this past weekend over the Hudson River between a small plane and helicopter may or may not result in any changes to how air traffic is controlled or regulated along the Hudson or East Rivers.

As I have stated before Roosevelt Island residents have a vested interest in such regulations as there are always helicopters passing right over our buildings as opposed to traffic being regulated to pass only over the water on either side of the island.

As a result of the October 2006 Cory Lidle plane crash, federal officials "banned all aircraft except seaplanes and helicopters from the East River corridor without specific permission from air traffic controllers." which certainly helped to mitigate fears of another such incident as the Lidle crash but the helicopters continue to pass over head with few additional restrictions.

Island residents with deeper histories on the island will also recall the 1997 chopper that crashed moments after taking off from the heliport that used to sit just North of the Queensboro Bridge. I don't recall now how prominently that crash contributed to the eventual shutdown of that heliport but it had to eb factor. [It's most recent incarnation was as the Roundabout Dog Run which we all see daily from the Tram looking North on the Manhattan side of the QB Bridge.]

Should residents use the Hudson River tragedy to refocus our concerns regarding the safety of the skies above Roosevelt Island? How can we not.

Congrats to PSD on Subway Pier Rescue

Base Picture Courtesy Roosevelt Islander

This weekend Public Safety Director Keith Guerra sent the below message out to all of the Roosevelt Island media outlets, including both blogs and the Main Street WIRE among others regarding the rescue effort of a Goldwater patient who decided to take a dip in the East River and found himself sucked under and trapped by the Subway Pier.

Fellow blogger Roosevelt Islander had a great post on the rescue and included pictures taken at the scene that afternoon. Subsequent to the Roosevelt Islander posting on Twitter I "retweeted" his notice on Twitter.

PSD Director Keith Guerra:

Today was a good day. In addition to watching a couple of well played baseball games by our local Little Leaguers, there was also a well attended Roosevelt Island Reunion at South Point Park.

The excitement didn't end there as we also had a Goldwater Hospital Patient jump off the dock into the East River. Sgt. Raul Hernandez led the rescue effort by the Public Safety Department. Det. John Malone lowered him onto the rocks because they couldn't see the jumper. Apparently, he was trapped under the dock. The officers were able to throw a Life Ring to him and attempted to pull him to safety. He was a bit incapacitated and could not be pulled out, so Officer David Vernet maintained control of the line while Sgt. Ramon Azular held onto Sgt. Hernandez. They maintained control of him until members from the NYPD and FDNY could respond to complete the save. All in all, it was a great job by the Public Safety Officers, who aided the other agencies in the rescue. I had left the island, but received many calls complimenting the job the officers performed. I'm very proud of them for putting themselves in harm's way to rescue the hospital patient.

Sabrina Contemplates Her World View

I have written before about how Sabrina came to Roosevelt Island and her connection to the universe, Amherst College and Roosevelt Island and many photos have been shown of her but few of her view of the world from Roosevelt Island looking outward.

We thank Tisdale on Flickr for the above photo. My apologies as Blogger seems to be slightly distorting the image. Link to Flickr to see the original image.

Trolley Car on Roosevelt Island ?

When I first viewed the above photo on Twitpic I thought that the vehicle partially shown was a subway car or trolley but only after focusing on the buildings across the East River did I realize that the photographer, Kadiyah, took this picture at Goldwater Hospital.

Between the partial view and the fencing I thought I was looking at a vehicle on elevated tracks. OK, maybe it was just my eyes that saw this.

Everytime I see this view it is no wonder that real estate developers would love to get their hands on this property.

A Parkour View of Roosevelt Island

The above video is a Parkour practitioner's view and includes mashed up images of both Roosevelt Island and NYC's Central Park. For someone not used to quick camera work this video might be a bit strange to get used to but is quite interesting. I recognize shot outside Rivercross, behind Westview, along Island House among others. The last minute or so is a bit of out takes and just walking around.

As I have stated in past posts about Parkour, the actions taken would not be sanctioned by PSD and this video is not disagreeing that many of the moves seen could be dangerous.

Direct YouTube Link by Shadowgodny

Octagon Dock – Winter – 360º View

The above video was found on YouTube (by DIEGoMOL80) and is a 360º view shot from the "Octagon" dock across from the DaySpring Church here on Roosevelt Island. The video starts with a view of the East River (West Channel) and Manhattan. It's a bit clunky and quick but does what the videographer wanted to capture the moment.

The Grass is Greener on Roosevelt Island !

Our friends up at the Octagon, blogging as "retro info!" took a trip up to the Upper East Side's Carl Schurz Park this weekend to see how their slice of heaven looked from the other side of the East River and guess what ...their conclusion is the grass is greener on our side of the fence (validating their choice to live at the Octagon). Head over to see more pictures.

Asthma Alley, Playgrounds, & Roosevelt Island

This is a great little playground and one of only two public playgrounds on Roosevelt Island that have gates and locks but I am always amazed that this island does not have a higher percentage of asthma among our kids or the adult population.

The power plant in the background, in Long Island City, was formerly owned by Keyspan and known by many as Big Alis. For many in Queens it is believed to be the source of their asthma problems and hence the reason many in LOC refer to the area as Asthma Alley. If Roosevelt Island did not have the breezes associated with the river those issues might be ours as well. To my knowledge there has not been any kind of c omprehensive study of island residents or our kids in years, if at all.

The crazy thing about this picture, by Jerome Bailly on Flickr, is that if the picture was taken from the other side of the park you would see a great view of the Queensborough Bridge in the background.

Runaway Barge off Roosevelt Island

Our friends over at the Populuxe Books blog "Retro Info!" just informed us that this afternoon a barge must have gotten away from a tugboat just off Roosevelt Island in the East River (West Channel) just North of the Octagon. The funny thing is I was doing laundry this afternoon and my building's laundry room faces the West Channel and I think I saw this barge go by but from my angle I had no clue anything was out of the ordinary.

The above picture is from Populuxe Books. To see more shots link over that site.

Possibly 30 East River Turbines by Mid '10

According to a post by City Limits today if Verdant's application is approved there could be as many as 30 tidal energy capturing turbines by mid 2010 in the East River just off Roosevelt Island.

The article does point out concerns for the River's wild life which has reacted well to the three turbine array but whose reaction to a 30 turbine array is unknown. Erik Baard from the Long Island City Community Boathouse, is also quoted in the article regarding his views that the existing cables "are too close to the surface, presenting hazards to boaters and kayakers. "

“They have got to create a safer cable, rope and buoy system, because what they have now is not safe enough,” Baard said. “I also emphatically don’t want them narrowing or interfering with our navigation. The cables that go to the turbines can do that.” Neither Mr. Baard nor the Long Island City Boathouse filed comments with FERC, but he hopes that Verdant will redesign the 30 turbine array so that connecting cables have more slack, allowing them to drop deeper into the water. Taylor, however, said there will be adjustments to the cables, but no radical changes.

The current turbines partially supply power to the Motorgate Parking Garage as well as the Gristedes. The article does not define where the power generated will be used but earlier reports had the energy being used to power the local Roosevelt Island F Train subway station electrical systems.

French or Italian View of Roosevelt Island?

Apparently the text on this short 44 second video of Roosevelt Island is either French or Italian. The first sentence apparently describes the length and width of the island. The second island mentions something about the hospitals but I am unsure if it is saying there was or still is a penitentiary on the island. Amusing.

Direct YouTube Link by stephtraveler

East River Time Lapse from Roosevelt Island

YouTube Video by conorfuhduh

The above time lapse on YouTube features a view of Manhattan, the East River and the Queensboro Bridge from Roosevelt Island around dusk. The building that is centered in the video which is lit brightly at its top is the Bloomberg building owned by Vornado Realty Trust (not Bloomberg).

East Side Panorama

The above panoramas each include Roosevelt Island and are from the blog "New York Panorama". Go to theblog to see full size versions of each. The top half of the above image features the Queensboro Bridge with Roosevelt Island in the background and is the blog's header image and the lower half of the image features Roosevelt Island in the foreground with Manhattan in the background.

Additionally look for the night panorama in a future Main Street WIRE as Dick Lutz, the editor, appears interested from the comment and inquiry he left on the blog.

CBS News Video re Verdant Tidal Power

CBS News on line posted the above video and a related article about the Verdant Power Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy RITE project on Sunday December 14 , 2008.

Mystery Photo - Where is This ?

It has been a while since I have found a reasonable, much less, a good Roosevelt Island mystery photo to post so we got lucky finding this little gem (presented here in a cropped version of the original). Most residents are familiar with the 4 "moorings" that face Manhattan by the Octagon Soccer Fields but where was this photo taken?

To skip to the answer you can view the whole picture taken by WayneWHuang on Flickr.

Obama Vote Boat Off Roosevelt Island

Blogger Hayley in New York sighted the Obama Vote Boat off of Roosevelt Island on Friday while she was exiting the F Subway Station. It appears per the Vote Boat web site that the boat has images of each set of candidates, McCain and Obama, on reverse sides of the sails.

The above picture was by rendamay on Flickr of the boat off Dumbo.

Art Boats Anchored in LIC Looking for a Tow

A request has been posted on the blog Antlered Girls for a small boat to tow those Art Boats from LIC, across from Roosevelt Island, up the East River about 10 miles. You may have read about the Art Boats in the NY Times.

Now if we were an actual island with river access maybe one of us could do the neighborly thing and help these poor antlered ladies out. But alas we are nothing but a landlocked rock sitting here in the middle of the river.