Roosevelt Island Day This Saturday - June 6th

This Saturday, June 6th, is Roosevelt Island Day. As always the day will begin with volunteers planting flowers, childrena d adults waitiing on line for t-shirts, children having a ball at the petting zoo. We have not even got to the rides, free food and concert later that evening. And did I mention it is all FREE.

Lilian Moreira of Lateral Window gives us the below preview of this year's shirts.

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

Tree Splits Next To Rivercross

While Roosevelt Island has many trees it does not have that many that are as tall and old as those around Rivercross and the Church Plaza. Even the partial loss of one of these trees is a loss.

Roosevelt Island's 9-11 Memorial Service

Each year Roosevelt Island holds its own 9-11 memorial service behind the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. This year the service, sponsored by RIRA, begins at 7:30 pm. Please bring your own candle. As noted in the picture below the memorial placque memorializes both residents and members of the FDNY Special Operations Command that were stationed here on Roosevelt Island.

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.

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.

Roosevelt Island Day - 2008

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The following video is just a short snippet of the sights and sounds of Roosevelt Island Day which is held annually. Due to the rains the evening's concert was cancelled but all in all everyone had a great time. Certainly the kids did.

Another Red Bus Video: From the Octagon South

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A while back I began videotaping various aspects of life here on Roosevelt Island and for some reason one of the more popular topics has been the Red Bus. I can only surmise is that it provides the viewer a quick view of the island and at a quarter per trip it is seen as a bargain which “mainlanders” can’t believe. The above video was taken about two weeks ago and is of a bus ride from the Octagon South to the Church of Good Shepherd Plaza.

The video is hot facing the Western side of Main Street for the most part with a few quick shots looking East capturing views of the FDNY Special Operations Command, the Gristedes when the bus turned left into the circular pick up drive.

I thought about traveling further South to make it a complete trip down to the Tram but at four minutes the video is long enough and I have captured those views in earlier videos.

Video of Roosevelt Island’s 9-11 Memorial Service Held 9-11-07

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As I mentioned in last night’s post I videotaped the Roosevelt Island 9-11 Candlelight Memorial Service. The memorial started at around 7:15 pm and lasted about 20 minutes and which time the sun had gone down and the lighting behind the Church of the Good Shepherd was not enough to fully light up the faces of the participants for my camera to pick up anyway. For those viewing this that were not in attendance I hope the video does the event justice and not take away from the experience. I will try to edit the video and lighten it up. If successful I will repost the video here.

A 9-11 Ceremony for Us Each to Remember in Our Own Way

This evening’s 9-11 memorial here on Roosevelt Island included several readings of poems, three songs and a presentation of a tree sapling by a representative from a group of Oklahoma City bombing survivors who traveled to NYC to take part in various 9-11 events. The entire ceremony lasted less than a half hour and concluded with those assembled singing “Amazing Grace” and those individuals interested walking from the Church plaza to the East River Promenade to view the Pillars of Light.

By my count there were approximately 200 people or so in attendance. The opening speaker stated that it was important to come together each year so that knowledge of this event is passed on by those that were there to those that were not so that they never forget.

I filmed the entire event with my little camera and am currently converting the file now so I can upload it onto the Internet. The ceremony started in the light and finished in the dark so I am unsure how clear the back end of the video will be. The audio will be fine as RIOC provided microphones and speakers amplifying the event so that even my little camera picked it all up.

Before leaving the plaza I was approached by Tahira Khan, the mother of Taimour Khan, who is one of the individuals we had all come together as a community to remember. Ms. Khan politely introduced herself and indicated that she had forgotten to bring a camera this evening and wanted to ask if I would share the video I had shot. My response was of course yes and I look forward to hearing from her again to give her copies of the base footage.

After separating from Ms. Khan I realized that the ceremony included no words from family members or friends, nor did it include any speechifying by local representatives or clergy. The ceremony simply included a selection of readings and poems meant for us to think and remember those lost, from Roosevelt Island and the whole city, each in our own ways. It succeeded and those individuals who planned it as such should be thanked.

A Taste of Jazz at The Trellis….

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I will admit that part of this blog’s purpose is to promote this island and portray it positively as it is our home and is a great place to live. As part of that goal I present videos spotlighting the facets of living here that makes the place fun and enjoyable.

On that note I present a short video focusing on the return of weekend music to the Trellis Restaurant. The sound could be a bit better but it gives you the feel of what it is to sit on the plaza outside the restaurant and to enjoy the music being presented along with any food or refreshments patrons of the Trellis are enjoying.

So if you like what you hear or see come on down to The Trellis.

07/17/2007 - Music on Good Shepherd Plaza

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