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.

Lighting Improvements Continue - Thanks Tom !

I have learned that if you don't ask here on Roosevelt Island for an improvement or repair it may not be known to be broken. In the last two years I have never known the sign at the bottom of the Bridge Ramp to have ever been lit and it has always been a source of amusement that we, as an island, could not get this first piece of public relations right with respect to welcoming our vehicular guests.

Well I think we should thank Thomas Turcic, RIOC's Director Engineering, and his crew, for either installing new lights or fixing whatever lights were there but the ramp sign is now wonderfully illuminated. The lights also remove any shadows ensuring that pedestrians are fully visible to drivers looking to drive up or down the ramp at that crossing. Less than a month ago the Engineering Department repaired several lights under the Motorgate Deck brightening the area between the bridge ramp and the entrance to the Motorgate Garage elevator lobby.

So the next time your Uncle Phil is coming around to pick you up and drive you to the airport expect he will finally be on time as he can now clearly see which building addresses are to the right and which are to the left.

Single Report of Light Pole Shock

The Roosevelt Islander yesterday evening reported an incident where a resident received a shock from a light pole somewhere on the island.

No serious injury was reported and Operations quickly turned off power to the pole.

If any additional incidents are found please report the to RIOC's main number 212-832-4540 or to Public Safety at 212-832-4545.

The light standard pictured may not be the pole on which the report is based and is shown only for demo purposes.

Let There Be Light - Motorgate Deck Lights

A few weeks ago, on June 4th, I posted a piece about the lights under the Motorgate Garage deck being out between the bus stop and the bridge ramp. In response to that post I received an email from Steve Shane, our RIOC President, and later on from Tom Turcic, RIOC's Director of Engineering.

I am happy to report that RIOC has corrected the issues that were keeping the lights from shining and as the above slide show shows almost of the lights are operational. Thank you to Tom and his team for bringing the lights back on full.

Light Please?

A few nights ago, on Sunday June 1st, I was walking to and from Gristedes on the Eastern side of Main Street. After crossing over the ramp up to the bridge it was apparent that we need more light under the parking structure along that section of sidewalk between the ramp across to the old escalator entrances near Gristedes. The lack of light in that section is bordering on unsafe.

On my walk home that evening I stopped in at the Public Safety office and registered my request and concern with the officer on duty. He indicated he would file a report and that it would be reviewed by his supervisors. I will have to check back tonight to see if any additional light has been added or bulbs changed as I was unable to do so these last two nights. Both the officer working the desk and a fellow officer agreed that section is pretty dark.

Update 12:00 Noon:

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I was contacted this morning by Stephen Shane, RIOC's President, that it would have been quicker for me to contact RIOC directly so that their Engineering Department could attend to the lighting issue rather than my stopping in on PSD. As I replied to Mr. Shane, at that moment, I thought of the issue as a safety issue and thought it appropriate to go to them.

I will also admit by Monday morning I had forgotten about the issue until I saw the above picture in my camera. In the end Mr. Shane is correct that issues concerning Island operations and facilities should be reported to RIOC's offices directly for more appropriate action.

Hey the Farance kids got that sidewalk fixed real quick after sending Mr. Shane their letter so he is apparently ,aking sure such things do happen.