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 !

No More Main Street Bicycle Storage

5/15 update at 430pm See new post.

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Update: Re Roosevelt Island Impounding of Bikes Left Out Overnight:


5/15 330pm:

What I have been told is that the complaint has been that the racks are being used as long term storage by residents who don't want to take their bikes inside and that those bikes are preventing commuters and others from using the bikes on a daily short term basis.

There is some logic to this.

-----Original Message-----
From: RIOC Advisories
Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2009 3:27 PM
To: RIOC Advisories
Subject: Bicycle Storage Addendum

While we wish to encourage residents continuing to ride their bicycles as it is a healthy activity, we wish to discourage residents from storing their bicycles overnight on the bicycle racks throughout the island.

Bicycles will be removed by the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. and stored at Public Safety for a period of 48 hours. If the owner retrieves their bicycle during the 48 hour period there will be no charge for storing their bicycle. If the owner does not retrieve their bicycle during the 48 hour period it will be donated to the Thrift Shop.

Storing the bicycles on the bike racks has been a quality of life issue for many residents, thus we wish to address this quality of life issue.
Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.


Sincerely,
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group



PSD Advisory: Roosevelt Island PSD to confiscate bikes left on racks overnight.

Original Post:

No word yet on where the bikes will be impounded to or whether a fine will be levied to get the bikes back or whether unclaimed bikes will be sold, auctioned etc. More later.

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

From: RIOC Advisories
Sent: Thu May 14 14:49:34 2009
Subject: Bicycle Storage

Please be advised effective Monday, May 18, 2009 there will be no bicycle storage on the bicycle racks island wide between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. (overnight).

Any bicycles found in violation will be removed by the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department.

Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

Sincerely,
Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

Please visit us on the web at http://www.rioc.com/

Dragonfly Bionic Vegetable Tower at 600 Meters

Nicolas, a resident of Roosevelt Island sent me to a story link regarding a “Bionic Tower” envisioned to be built at Southpoint Park. The Tower, designed, by Vincent Callebaut, is actually titled “Dragonfly” and is described as a “metabolic farm for urban agriculture”. According to the official website the top floor would stand at 575 meters with the roof at 600 meters and its antenna at 700meters.

Link to Vincent Callebaut official Dragonfly website.

Below text per World Architecture News via PSFK.com:

The unique 128 floor, 700m concept design is spread over two oblong towers and suggests building a prototype of an urban farm in which a mixed programme of housing, offices, laboratories and farming spaces are vertically laid out over several floors and cultivated by its inhabitants. The architecture of the design proposes reinventing the vertical building, so associated with the New York skyline of the 19th and 20th centuries, both structurally and functionally as well as ecologically.

The functional organisation of the design is arranged around two 600m towers, symmetrically arranged around a huge climactic greenhouse that links them, and constructed of glass and steel. This greenhouse, which defines the shape of the design, supports the load of the building and is directly inspired by the structural exoskeleton of dragonfly wings. Two inhabited rings buttress around the ‘wings,’ and along the exterior of these are solar panels, which will provide up to half the buildings electricity, with the rest being supplied by three wind machines along the vertical axes of the building.

Rendering - New Manhattan Tram Station

RIOC via Steve Shane has made public the first proposed rendering of the new Manhattan Roosevelt Island Tram station.


------Original Message------
From: Steve Shane
To: Roosevelt Island 360
Sent: May 12, 2009 3:51 PM
Subject: Re: Sketch Manhattan Tram Station

Does have a retractable roof look, but it does not retract. We must stay within the envelope of the present station or get into real difficulties with the Parks Dept. Functionally, interior will be much the same as the present station. There will be platform doors protecting the bays and we're trying to reorganize the exits to be more centrally positioned onto 2nd Avenue, but otherwise the same. Budget is very limiting.

Last Night’s RIOC Candidate Event – My Apologies

I have nothing to write this morning about last night’s “Meet the RIOC Board Nominee Candidate” event as I was home sick. My apologies.

If you attended last night and have comments about last night's event please post them here as your neighbors I am sure are interested in your views and reactions.

I am sure that my fellow blogger the Roosevelt Islander was there so please head on over to his blog to catch up on his take of each of the candidates or if you did not make it to the Good Shepherd Community Center you can wait for this week’s Main Street WIRE which we all know will have complete coverage.

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.

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.

Caution - May 31st: Its a Tweetup / Shootout !

The word today on Twitter is that on May 31st there will be an "AdoramaPix Tweetup/Shootout" here on Roosevelt Island.

So if you see a mass of individuals wandering about the island all constantly text messaging like mad be warned what you say or do as your actions may be instantly "tweeted" (aka reported) to the world via words and pictures.

According to one of the organizers the event is for photographers from Twitter and they decided after conducting some research that Roosevelt Island was an interesting place to have a photo tour. More later as I learn where the tour will begin.

As you have no doubt guessed by this point "A tweetup is a meeting of people who twitter. A shootout means we'll be taking pix! " Thanks to AdoramaPix and Preetalina for the info and definitions.

Roosevelt Island Softball: Prelim Sched - May, June, July

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

From: Frank Farance
Sent: May 8, 2009 6:40 AM
Subject: Roosevelt Island Softball: Preliminary Schedule for May, June, July

Folks-

I have the permits, based upon our discussions last Sunday.

Here's the summary:

- Co-ed league
- Slow pitch, 6-12 arc, 1-1 staring count
- Play at Capobianco Field (across from PS/IS 217)
- Sundays, 9AM-1PM
- May: 17, 31
- June: 7, 14, 21, 28
- July: 12 (championship)

Shortly, I'll have more information about team registration.

My contact info is:

E-mail: frank@farance.com (be sure to put "softball" in the Subject: line)

-FF

May 31st Fireworks from Southpoint for Queensboro Bridge Centennial

Roosevelt Island may miss out on this year’s July 4th fireworks as they move to the Hudson River but we will front row and center for the fireworks being planned for the Queensboro Bridge Centennial scheduled for May 31, 2009.

Per the NYC Bridge Centennial Commission website the Grucci fireworks will be from Roosevelt Island’s Southpoint Park. According to the NY Daily News the Grucci fireworks are being sponsored by John Catsimatides.

Update: Previously it was reported that tickets were required for this event, based on then existing pages at the Centennial Commission site LINK. Apparently the webpage was created in error as no tickets are needed for this event. This info is per Judy Berdy of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society.

Wanted: One Paper Model Roosevelt Island Tram

This is a repeat of a post that ran back in May 2008 which I am re-running with the hope of finding a paper Roosevelt Island Tram. You may have seen my posters at the Manhattan Tram station. I figured with the Tram going out this July perhaps its time for another contest or at least an exhibition to say goodbye to the current cabins.

Original Post:

I have written in the past about the paper Tram model contest that took place here on Roosevelt Island a few years back. I am again renewing my call / request to be able to examine one of these models where I would be allowed to open the model up so I can copy the original measurements of the model. My goal is to eventualy investigate mass producing templates that can be made available to kids and visitors alike.

Just a tad of back history. The templates for the trams pictured in the above and below images were provided by Colgate - Palmolive's tooth paste box manufacturer after measurements of the actual trams were taken.

The color photos were taken by and are of a model tram that may still be displayed at the Roosevelt Island Day Nursery and the black and white photos are courtesy of the Main Street WIRE.

Roosevelt Live Expands Concert Web Site

The folks over at Roosevelt L!ve have expanded their website to truly give interested concert goers full detail about the groups that will be attending this exciting Roosevelt Island located Summer concert series.

Do you think the character of the island or public perception of the island could change a bit if this concert series is successful?

WNBC's "Whats the Deal" Focuses on The Tram

The video of the Roosevelt Island Tram includes an interview with Council Member Jessica Lappin. Very cool and stylishly edited.

Is Increasing Main Street Parking Rates the Answer?

Is the answer to Main Street's parking woes raising the parking rates so parking on the street is more expensive than parking in Roosevelt Island’s Motorgate? This was one of several proposals put forth by the students that participated in the Columbia Transportation studio. See the April 18th Main Street WIRE, for detailed coverage of the proposals. In theory I can see how this can make sense with respect to individuals who are looking to park for several hours.

I am not disagreeing with Frank Farance, our RIRA President, in his argument within this week’s May 2nd dated Main Street WIRE, that increasing the rates would be unfair to short term parkers who are loading or unloading etc. But to be honest many of those individuals from what I have seen double park or park in no parking zones for the short period they need and while a number are told by PSD to move their vehicles many finish their loading / unloading without incident. I do think Frank missed the Columbia student’s point that it is the long term parkers that they were trying to target. But to fair to his point, the students may not have been familiar with the short term parkers.

According to today’s Gothamist, the NYC Department of Transporation, started a pilot program in Park Slope, Brooklyn, of increasing parking rates during peak hours only. Perhaps that is a compromise that would work on Main Street? Your thoughts?

[Image from Gothamist.]

Henry Hudson Festivities Cancel July 4th RIOC Event

As discussed in Roosevelt Island Operation Corporation President Steve Shane's column in the Main Street WIRE there will be no July 4th Fireworks Viewing from Southpoint this year. I was curious if a smaller event would still be thrown at the site and I received the following email:

------Original Message------
From: Erica Wilder
To: Roosevelt Island 360
Cc: Donna Masly
Sent: May 4, 2009 12:31 PM
Subject: Re: July 4th

Eric,

As a result of the barges being moved to the Hudson as part of the Henry Hudson Quad-Centennial celebration, there will not be any other festivities occurring at Southpoint Park on July 4th. However, other ideas have been thrown our way for potential events at Southpoint Park after July 4th.

Erica

Erica Wilder
Community Relations Specialist
Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation
http://www.rioc.ny.gov/

------Original Message------
To: Erica Wilder
From: Roosevelt Island 360
Cc: Donna Masly
Sent: May 4, 2009 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: July 4th

Good afternoon,

In light of the City's movement of the Macys Fireworks to the Hudson River will there be any RIOC sponsored festivities at Southpoint Park this year for the holiday or is the entire event cancelled as a result?

Thanks,

Eric

Former & Current Coler-Goldwater Employees Honored

NY Daily News - May 4, 2009

"Gloria Calderon, a former employee of Roosevelt Island's Coler-Goldwater Hospital, was honored by the NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation for her work as a volunteer in the city's Department for the Aging Foster Grandparent Program. Calderon supervised a maintenance crew at Coler-Goldwater until she retired at 62."

"Other awardees include Robert Wilson, for his work in the Therapeutic Recreation and Friendly Visitor program at Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility; Lygia Kensenhuis, who is on the auxiliary community advisory board and patient care committees at Coler-Goldwater."

Monday Morning Linkage

Views of 5 Boro Bike Tour – Populuxe Books Blog - Reto Info !

Rentals are the New Condos (Octagon Review) – The New York Observer

Resident and Tennis Club Manager Quoted re USPS Priority Mail – NY Daily News

Clarification Post Regarding Columbia Studio Subway Analysis

In my prior post referring to the Columbia studio regarding Roosevelt Island transportation issues I stated that for the study to be relevant regarding crowding on the platforms and cars that more than one day was needed to test conditions. I had incorrectly stated that the students only tested for one day but also stated my recollection could be wrong.

Well I admit I was wrong and the below emails and photos prove out that the students did indeed witness three morning rush hours which they documented. The photo montages also, as discussed below, indicate times when riders were indeed left behind on the Manhattan bound platform. I can't argue with the images portrayed on these images unless I can prove nobody went to the work on those days.

I still believe overall that during the 815am to 845am period, that the trains and platform are overcrowded. I have no solution to this problem other than encouraging residents to arrive on the platform earlier as I TRY to do as I have encountered little issue at any time before 8:10am.

Again I thank the students for their work although I disagree with their conclusions in this segment of their studio. By next Friday, the students will be putting up a website with a link to their final report in full detail and recommendations. You can be sure it will be linked to from here.

From: David Krulewitch
Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 12:46:58 -0400
To: Roosevelt Island360; Dr. Floyd Lapp

Eric

Here are the photomontages of the 3 surveys we did on Roosevelt Island in the am peak. If you look closely, the times with an asterisk are the times not all people could get on the train. I hope that clarifies some things. Also, we attempted to get the data from the MTA regarding how many times these trains do not run on time, but they did not have that data (shocking!). Feel free to post these photomontages.

David


From: David Krulewitch
Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 12:46:58 -0400
To: Roosevelt Island 360;; Dr. Floyd Lapp

Hi Eric,

I actually was the point person on the subway, we will be submitting a final report to RIOC next week which will flesh out the subway data in more detail. Just to make clear what my conclusions were: If the subway runs on schedule there is little to no overcrowding at the Roosevelt Island Subway stop. The train is scheduled to run 15 times an hour (every 4 minutes). There are only serious problems if trains get backed up in queens. We did three surveys and two of the surveys there were no delays because 15 trains ran in an hour, and on the 3rd survey only 9 trains ran in an hour and there were significant delays. I will have more analysis for you soon, but the report is still in a draft stage, and we have to get a bunch of stuff done by next Thursday.

David

Projected F Train Subway Service Changes: May through July 2nd

The below service changes to the F Train affecting Roosevelt Island and each of the stations serviced by the 63rd Street Tunnel are provided by Ms. Parker of the MTA but are subject to change and not all have been posted yet on the MTA website. A calendar graph of these dates is slated to appear in this week's Main Street WIRE.

Subsequent to the email received below, Ms. Parker, clarified that "weeknights" for purposes of these changes refers to Tuesdays through Fridays. Southbound refers to Trains Bound for Manhattan and Brooklyn and Northbound refers to trains coming from Manhattan bound for Queens.

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

From: Deirdre Parker
To: Roosevelt Island 360
Sent: Apr 29, 2009 2:34 PM
Subject: RE: Projected Subway Service Changes

- Weeknights, from May 5th - June 16 (except May 26th), 12:01 AM - 5 AM, there will no southbound service at Roosevelt Island.

- Weekends, from May 23rd, 12:01 AM, to May 25th, 5 AM, and May 30th, 12:01 AM, to June 1st, 5 AM, there will be no southbound service at Roosevelt Island.

- Tuesdays to Fridays, June 23 to July 2nd, 12:01 AM to 5:00 AM, there will be no northbound service at Roosevelt Island.

These changes are needed to support tunnel and track work.

Deirdre K. Parker
Deputy Director, Public Affairs
MTA NYC Transit

Use Trip Planner @http://www.tripplanner.mta.info/ for customized subway and bus directions

Sign Up Now for May 16th Health & Fitness Day Tournaments

Hey are you interested in a joining a Basketball tournament or is Ping Pong more your style? Roosevelt Island's 3rd Annual Health & Fitness Day to be held on May 16th will haveboth but the deadline to sign up for eiother tournament is Friday, May 8th. So go sign up now !

Subway Platform & Train Snapshots - Differences of Opinion?

The above and below pictures are snapshots of the Roosevelt Island subway platform (Manhattan and Brooklyn bound) as we got off the steps this morning at 8:07 am. Like most of my experiences at this time the platform has not been overly crowded and the same has gone for the trains.

There is currently a vast difference of opinion between residents and the students from Columbia who are now concluding a study of transportation issues affecting Roosevelt Island. The students spent time on the Manhattan platform and documented their findings via photo snapshots and data collected through at least one sample morning before, during, and following that day's heaviest rush hour period. [Update: If the data was collected from multiple dates I missed that in their verbal and slide show presentation].

The Columbia findings, to my understanding, concluded pretty much that there is excess capacity and that the trains coming in from Queens can handle the number of residents without issue. They also examined alternative train routes and configurations and determined that a greater number of Queens residents would be displaced with the goal of helping a few Roosevelt Island residents and concluded that changing the train routes would be not accepted by the MTA.

The residents who attended the public presentation two weeks ago strongly disagreed. My own experience is that the problems occur during the 815am to 900am period as the trains are either full coming into Roosevelt Island or riders don't move from the doors making it difficult to enter trains.

Frank Farance, President of RIRA, continues to argue that the study had flaws to which the Columbia students reply look at our proof look at our photos. I can"t argue with the photos in question but I must conclude that the day in question must have been an anomaly as my experience, mirrors my neighbors, that during the peak times there is problem. And during the period just prior to the peak, as I have photographed, the situation is closer to what the Columbia students claim.

The key is I believe that any study may need an increased number of test mornings and also must take into account the residents own experience by perhaps selecting 200 residents who will record their experiences over say a one month period. The record should include the time they enter the station each morning with additional notes regarding wait time, platform positioning etc.

I will not attempt to review the full Columbia study here as I am focusing on the morning subway rush but I do feel that once the students saw their own test results they perhaps did not test on multiple dates ( I may be wring on this one) nor did they get a broad swath of the community involved who live this issue every day.

I do want to thank each of the students for their time and effort as the overall presentation did show that a lot of work went into their studio for each of the segments of our transportatioin issues they adressed.

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

RIOC Photos re Tram Evacuation Drills

The following photos are courtesy of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation and were taken during this past Sunday's Tram Rescue and Evacuation Drills. This will likely be the last drills with the current tram cabins and system. I thank RIOC for sharing them. According to Steve Shane and Denise Lynch there were no civilian participants in Sunday's drills.

May 3 - Expect Five Boro Bike Tour Related Delays at Roosevelt Island Bridge

As it does every year the Five Boro Bike Tour course includes Vernon Blvd so as the bikes ride across 36th Avenue we should expect delays for drivers and buses looking to cross onto and off the Roosevelt Island Bridge. As in the past I am sure the NYPD will have cruisers nearby to ensure residents and visitors get to occasionally cross Vernon Blvd but remember they are there primarily to protect the cyclists and ensure the Tour continues without incident.

Is Roosevelt Island, Improv Everywhere's Next Target?

The great thing about local niche bloggers is we like to learn what is going on and scheduled for our neighborhoods and to then let our neighbors know all about it. The bad thing is a concern regarding ruining a great surprise or a good thing. Improv Everywhere has indicated on their site that they plan an Mp3 event on May 23rd at 4pm on Roosevelt Island. Hence my dilemna.

What's an Improv Anywhere Mp3 experiment you ask? Let's just say it's a lot of people (a lot) wearing headphones and doing what the voice them to do. And watch out if you are in the area they are told to be in. Link here.

Knowing that the Roosevelt Islander and I both love writing about such events I am hoping we don't ruin the fun. Even Frank Farance of RIRA even knows about the event and has posted a comment on the Improv Everywhere blog itself about his interest. Although Frank wants to make sure they get the right permits so PSD doesn't try to disrupt the impromptu gathering that I believe is the whole point of the exercise.

So read this blog post, then forget about about it, but watch for the fun that day. Can you do that?

A Changing of the Banner Size Rental Apartment Ads....

I will admit I did not notice that two weeks ago the Manhattan Park ads that adorned the Manhattan Tram Station were removed. But I certainly noticed the Riverwalk ads go up. The ads facing Second Ave and incoming bridge traffic moved from the balcony level down to street level and you can't help but see the ads as you walk by.

Upon inquiring whether we should expect to see additional ads (thinking now both Manhattan Park and the Riverwalk ads) were permament features of the structure I asked Steve Shane, President of RIOC, about future plans for the station and concerns re overcommercializing the space. He stated:

The instant ad banner is temporary and will be taken down when the Tram closes July 6. You may remember that there were Manhattan Park banners on the station for the last several years which were only removed 2 weeks ago. It is to everyone's benefit to promote the success of Riverwalk. Overcommercializing the space will not occur. See billboards and other display ads on the surrounding buildings.

We are working on the design of the new Tram station which will not have the same dreary presentation as the present terminal. Be patient.

Stephen H. Shane
President & CEO
Roosevelt Island Operating
Corp.

So while we will miss the Tram station this Summer I am betting I am not alone in not missing these new signs.

Follow-Up: RIOC's Recycling Compliance

As I reported last Friday, State Comptroller DiNapoli’s office issued a report regarding its audit of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation and its compliance with the State's recycling requirements.

Empire State News, summarized the reports findings: "[RIOC] was generally in compliance with these requirements. However, because the corporation had yet to begin compiling data on certain recycling activities, auditors found it was unlikely the corporation would be able to comply with certain new reporting requirements." That summarization may have been inaccurate.

I received the following statement today from Sylvia Giralde, RIOC’s Compliance Officer stating that:

“we [RIOC] are still awaiting reporting requirements from the Interagency Committee on Sustainability and Green Procurement, which was established to set forth such requirements.”

My earlier post characterized RIOC’s compliance as lacking per the blog post title. Ms. Giralde’s statement makes it clear that RIOC is still awaiting additional reporting requirements and that before such requirements are communicated to RIOC it would be unfair to characterize its compliance or ability to be in compliance.

My apologies to Ms. Giralde for not requesting, prior to my earlier post, for her feedback to the State report and to the Empire State News summary of the report

New Tram Design Images - Stylish !

Each of the below renderings of proposed Roosevelt Island Tram cabins is quite stylish. Call me nostalgic but I hope the final design simply states "Roosevelt Island" on the cabin sides for a greater connection to the current cabins. According to Steve Shane the design is not yet complete and may come to that design. Let him know if you agree.

The New Destination for Detroit's TV Car Commercials?

Will this video be enough to convince ailing General Motors to film future car commercials on Roosevelt Island? It is unlikely but the owner of this Charger RT had some fun on a bright Saturday morning showing off his wheels.

Direct YouTube link by CiscoNY718

Morning Roosevelt Island Links

C’Mon and Take a Free Ride (Tram Surfing) – Taking Shots

Shift Change – NYC Taxi Photo

Marriage of Real Estate and Money – Daily Photo Stream

Queensboro Bridge – Family Adventures

Your Advice for DC's Roosevelt Island ?

In an article posted yesterday on DC Metrocentric, writer Chris Loos posted the question whether their Roosevelt Island, currently federal park land, should be developed for residential housing? I am curious what readers of this blog have to offer as advice?

My personal opinion is that they should not give up the park space as it now stands. The pictures I have seen on Flickr show it to be a rare treasure in a City where most open land has XYZ national monuments etc. Except for the Teddy Roosevelt monument my understanding the space is baically untouched and accessible to the public.

Trip / Distance Websites Don't Always Apply Here

Update: After playing a bit with the site described below it is not so far off to be unreasonable but still generally these things don't work from Roosevelt Island.

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It's unfair to be from Roosevelt Island and to hope that new transportation calculation websites like "TripTrop NYC" will actually apply and work for us. Unfair to us and to the web site being reviewed.

According to the site's creator (via Gothamist) "you put in an address in New York and it overlays a map of how long it takes to get anywhere else in the city via subway and walking,"

If only it was true with regards to our little island. The time zones shown for Zip Code 10044 seem wonderful but in reality it just can't be. I seem to recall the same issues when reviewing a walking distance website some time back.

360 Degree View from Southtown Dock

The below image is by Orangeadnan from Flickr. To see the full size 360 image video, shot from Roosevelt Island, the below image is based on link HERE. By the way I love how in the image it almost has a sun dial feel to it where you see Adnan's images appear like hands on a clock.

FYI, it is this dock (NYT image directly above) which should be upgraded to handle ferry traffic from Roosevelt Island as it has the size and proximity to the central subway / tram transportation hub that exists for the island.

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.

New Artistic Banners Highlight Island Landmarks

You may recall the images on the new banners posted around Roosevelt Island from a showcase earlier this year of the original artwork in the Rivercross Window Case (see earlier Nov. 6th post). They include images of the Tram, the Lighthouse, Good Shepherd Community Center, among others.

What you may not know is the artist's name Tony Vita. He was profiled in the Main Street WIRE some years back and you probably have walked by him on Main Street or sat by him at Trellis.

New Local Guide - Hot & Cool - 4/21 Launch Party at Trellis

The Hot & Cool Guide is coming to Roosevelt Island, and it is starting off with a launch party this coming Tuesdaday at Trellis from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The folks at Hot & Cool will be giving away free copies of the guide to those that attend.

For more info contact Kristi@hotandcoolguide.com. A sample page from the guide includes the below map. All information in the guides is to be divided into four categories: Dinig & Drinks, Living Well, Art and points of Interest and Local Resources.

A Bar We All Know...But Do We ?

Most Roosevelt Island residents are familiar with the sight / site of The Blue Room Bar & Grill at the North East corner of Second Avenue and East 60th Street but how many of us have ever gone in there?

We see it every morning and every evening if you face uptown as the Tram makes it way to and from the island. Its semi-distinctive neon lights and Atomic Wings sign are landmarks to our eyes but again how many of us have crossed their doorway?

A blog post on Eater does just that. Feel free to link through and then perhaps visit for the first time.

RIOC Audited for Recycling Compliance: Passes but Reporting Lacking

According to a report issued by State Comptroller DiNapoli , the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation was audited for compliance with the State's recycling requirements. According to Empire State News, RIOC "was generally in compliance with these requirements. However, because the corporation had yet to begin compiling data on certain recycling activities, auditors found it was unlikely the corporation would be able to comply with certain new reporting requirements."

Will President Obama Visit Roosevelt Island for a FDR Park Dedication?

According to a New York Social Diary posting, President Obama will be invited to a dedication of the FDR Four Freedoms Park which organizers hope to be schedule for the week of the 2009 United Nations General Assembly. The Social Diary post focused, in part, on a reception last month in Philadelphia honoring the planned memorial and Kahn titled “Louis I. Kahn: The Making of a Room”.

If this does happen, security will be amazingly tight on our little island and you can bet we’ll be in partial lockdown mode. I disagree with parts of the park’s design but it would be an honor for the President to visit the island. My bet is that residents would be squeezed out attending the event. Despite this blog being a pseudo member of our local press I have no illusions of receiving an invite but they sure as hell better invite Dick Lutz of the Main Street WIRE and Judy Berdy from the Historical Society.

NYC HS Basketball Stars Visit Goldwater; Play to Benefit Wheelchair Charities

Great story over at Five Boro Sports about NYC high school students who visited Goldwater Hospital, here on Roosevelt Island, in conjunction with their playing at the annual charity game benefiting Wheel Chair Charities and Goldwater's patients.

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.

Bridge Update: First Night Closed Without Incident

From Steve Shane (RIOC President): "The bridge was closed to traffic as scheduled at 12:30AM April 16 and reopened to traffic at 4:40 AM. Note that Pedestrians were allowed to cross the bridge at 3:45 AM. Emergency services (NYPD, NYFD and EMS) units were all on station and the Tram and Red Bus ran throughout the night during the closure. There were no reported incidents.

The next bridge closure is scheduled for April 17 from 12:30 AM to 5:30 AM, weather permitting. "

Less Rush Hour F Trains? Here's Why....

Updated at 10:30 am for paragraphs 3,4, and 5:

If any residents of Roosevelt Island have noticed less frequent F Trains during the morning rush hours, resulting in more crowded trains as they do arrive, you are not imagining things. The MTA has announced just that "less frequent trains during....rush hours".

For a stations like Roosevelt Island that is the last stop before entering Manhattan proper that is like a kiss of death or at least a guarantee of greater heartache and delays. And did I mention this is to run through DECEMBER 31, 2009.

According to a story posted yesterday by amNew York:

The MTA is replacing an 800-feet stretch of track between Queens’ Roosevelt Avenue and Forest Hills-71st Avenue stations as part of ongoing subway maintenance, said NYC Transit spokeswoman Deirdre Parker.

The work is being done on the weekends, but trains must constantly travel at slower speeds because they are running over temporary track, she explained.

Ben Kabak over at Second Avenue Sagas further explained in his post yesterday that because the trains are running over the temporary track they still must, during rush hours, run at slower speeds.

We can certainly appreciate the need for track improvements. We have had less weekend service disruptions this year and while we have been promised that during the Tram outage the MTA would be considerate of our unique transportation needs this is still going to hurt a lot.

For the record this service change is NOT listed anywhere on the MTA webpage that lists such service changes for today's date.

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Note, the above photo is my own and I have not altered the MTA's poster in any way. I believe my posting this image is not violating any rule or copyright as it is being posted here to expand the rider base that is aware of these service changes.