Happy Chanukah - Public Menorah Lighting Sat. Dec 4th

Menorah Lighting 2007

Happy Chanukah from Roosevelt Island ! The public Memorah lighting will be this Saturday, December 4th at 6:30pm in front of Blackwell House. It should be a lot fun but it is expected to be cold so be sure to bundle up.

The Roosevelt Island Tram is Back !!!

In honor of the return of the Roosevelt Island Tram it is appropriate, to me anyway, to run simple pictures of the new Tram complete with its cartoon lettering reminiscent of Roger Rabbit. The above and below photos are courtesy of Duc Le Photography.

Many of Duc Le's photos of the Tram can be found at this LINK. I especially like the one of the two Tram cabins side by side. The old cabins passed side by side by Tower Two between the FDR and York. Much more satisfying a picture over the East River.

No Southtown Parking On Main Street

It appears that RIOC is beginning to install the parking sensors under the new parking spots along Main Street in Roosevelt Island's Southtown starting this evening as signs were up along every spot advising motorists to not park there after 9pm. Not just tickets but your vehicle will be towed if its still there after 9pm.

Tram to ReOpen Tomorrow Nov. 30th

Believe it or not the Roosevelt Island Tram (at least one cabin anyway) is set to reopen tomorrow Tuesday, November 30, 2010. We will believe it when we are on it.

Fw: WIRE-BULLETIN: Tram Ceremony Tuesday

------Original Message------
From: Dick Lutz / The Main Street WIRE
To: wire-bulletin@nyc10044.com
ReplyTo: Dick Lutz / The Main Street WIRE
Sent: Nov 26, 2010 2:53 PM
Subject: WIRE-BULLETIN: Tram Ceremony Tuesday

Tram Launch Ceremony Tuesday at 11:00;
Service Likely to Resume Immediately After

The Roosevelt Island Operating Croporation has schedule a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the renovated Island Tramway. It is to take place on Tuesday (November 30) at 11:00. The public is invited.

It is Likely that regular service will resume immediately after the ceremony, though, at last report, RIOC was still awaiting a final "go" from the Department of Labor. The operating permit is expected before Tuesday's ceremony, according to RIOC Presidnet Leslie Torres.

The Main Street WIRE will present special coverage of the event on Website NYC10044, at http://nyc10044.com <http://nyc10044.com> , starting late Tuesday afternoon. (A bulletin will be originated when the coverage is available on line.)

________________________________

Associated with the re-opening of the Tram:
The Lumen Gallery will present an exhibition of photography by Carol Caver and Jonas Cuenin, titled Service Suspended - The men behind the New York tram renovation. It will run December 2 through December 7, with an opening reception Thursday, December 2, 6:00-9:00 p.m., at 221 East 60th Street.
________________________________


You have received this Main Street WIRE e-mail bulletin because past communications have indicated you have an interest in Roosevelt Island News. To add someone to this list, send an AddMe e-mail to MainStreetWIRE@usa.net <mailto:MainStreetWIRE@usa.net> . To be removed from

------Original Message Truncated------

Happy Thanksgiving Roosevelt Island

Happy Thanksgiving Roosevelt Island.

Tram Safety Drills This Morning

Ms Judy Berdy, Roosevelt Island Historical Society, has reported that the FDNY and NYPD are conducting safety drills on the new Roosevelt Island Tram this morning so don't get all worried due to the increases emergency presence by the Tram Station.

Fw: Elevator Out of Service at Lex / 63rd Subway Station until Nov 26th

------Original Message------
From: RIOC Advisories
To: RIOC Advisories
Sent: Nov 18, 2010 3:41 PM
Subject: "F" Train Station

Be advised that the elevator located at the 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue Station will be out of service until Friday, November 26th, 2010.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

Please visit us on the web at http://rioc.ny.gov

If you wish to no longer receive these messages from us
please email us at unsubscribe@rioc.com

The Loss of Open Vistas

While I agree with everyone that adding on street parking to Roosevelt Island is fantastic it is a shame that another beautiful view looking out onto the East River will be lost. In the above picture the leaves you see on the ground in the street will soon be replaced by cars obliterating the view for those walking along the Southtown side of West Road / Street or whatever it is currently named. Yes there will always be the promenade to walk along and I recognize we need these spots but you can't argue that once a view is gone it is gone. Yes we have far greater issues to address on this island but it's a shame when such things are lost.

You may recall that I took issue, along with many others, that that the planned allee of trees that will adorn the Four Freedoms Memorial Park will destroy the 360 degre open views of Manhattan and Queens. Yes the trees will undoubtedly be beautiful and we have been told the trees will never be so thick to block the view fully but again a loss is a loss.

Happy Veterans' Day

As a kid growing I fondly remember each and every year the Peanuts strip honoring veterans on Veterans Day without fail. Here is an authorized one panel strip drawn by Charles M. Schulz with a little help from Bill Maudlin honoring Veterans as only they each knew how.

Happy Veterans Day to any all Roosevelt Island residents who served our country !


[This image is being used without permission of United Syndicate Features, I apologize for not asking for permission in time.]

Hungry for Red Velvet Cupcakes? Come to the Farmers Market This Saturday !

Get ready for Red Velvet cupcakes as a whole batch of them are coming to the Farmer's Market on Roosevelt Island this Saturday. Tiny Kitchen Girl is even frosting them red and white with RI written on top of each. Very cute. So get hungry.

Sadly we will not get to meet the baker, Tiny Kitchen Girl, but her blog, A Girl Bakes in New York ,says the cupcakes are coming. And yes Tiny Kitchen Girl we don't have cupcakes on Roosevelt Island so bring more than the 100 your blog has promised.

No Rocky Road for FDR Granite

The granite blocks for the Four Freedoms FDR Memorial slated for Southpoint park are so fragile, as much as a 29 ton rock can be fragile, that special arrangements had to be made to ship each of the expected 70 blocks to Roosevelt Island. The blocks start their in North Carolina and required special rigging for their truck drive up to Jersey City before being shipped via barge to Southpoint Park.

The full story of the requirements taken to ensure each blocks integrity can be found here.

New Parking Spaces Chalked Out

The first new on street parking spaces on Roosevelt Island are starting to be chalked out between the subway station and the Blackwell House Triangle along the West Road facing Manhattan.

Sorry no photos yet as the camera on my phone was not working this morning.

Did Tyra Banks & ANTM Film on the Tram Before Residents Got to Ride It?

According to a TV Blog's post of earlier today the models of Tyra Bank's TV reality show America's Next Top Model, in this week's episode, each took a spin on the Roosevelt Island Tram with a male model to test how well each model broke the ice with a new colleague.

When was this filmed? I sure hope it was not recently as RIOC and POMA test out the Tram. If it's a new episode would they be only playing an episode now that was filmed prior to March 2010? That seems strange. So maybe they did film this recently? Seems improbable at best.

Cat Adoption Day !

It's cat adoption day on Roosevelt Island. Come view the cats and kittens down by the Farmers Market and adopt one out of the cold and into your warm heart (and apartment).

Residents Land Bound During Marathon - No Tram Views This Year

Unfortunately as compared to years past, Roosevelt Island residents will not be able to view the 2010 ING NYC Marathon from the lofty views afforded by the Roosevelt Island Tram. So I figured to present a couple of shots from years past of how great those views were and will be again for next year and years after that once the Tram is back online.

Thirteen.Org “City Concealed” Documentary to Reveal Four Freedoms Park and Island Lighthouse

According to the Thirteen.Org news release:

“After two successful seasons of spotlighting un-tread landmarks of New York, The City Concealed returns with nine new episodes, taking viewers into historic sites within all five New York boroughs. The series presents unknown or inaccessible, though culturally-priceless, areas to the Web and into online conversations.

A mainstay of THIRTEEN.ORG’s locally-focused online video content, as well as a 2010 Webby Award Nominee for best documentary series, The City Concealed goes inside even more elusive locations for its new season: from the last Greek Synagogue in all of New York, to the abandoned Ft. Tilden at the tip of The Rockaways, to the remote hiking trails of Staten Island.”

Starting Novemeber 9th and each week after the series will explore a new site. The episode dedicated to the Four Freedoms Park and, according to Thirteen, Manhattan’s only remaining lighthouse will debut sometime in December.

Daytime Bridge Closures Nov. 9th and 10th

From: RIOC
Date: Friday Nov. 5, 2010

Please be advised the DOT will be performing test openings on the Roosevelt Island Bridge on Tuesday, November 9th and Wednesday, November 10th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

Can Giants Settle on Roosevelt Island?

Recently I came upon this Otterness Giant at a playground on West 42nd between 11th and 12th and thought it would be so cool to install a similiar Giant on Roosevelt Island facing Manhattan.

If it were possible where on the Island would you place this guy? On Rivercross Lawn, Blackwell Park, at Manhattan Park, Lighthouse Park, or by Firefighter's Field?

A Stairway to Heaven Returned

Quite quietly escalator ES416 returned to service this week at the Roosevelt Island subway station connecting the lower mezzanine to the upper mezzanine. It was slated to reopen September 19th a date that came and was gone with no fan fare or explanation as to why service had not been restored. The escalator had been taken out of service I believe in early to mid July from what I recall.

No big fuss was made by this blog as generally ES415 right next to it was up and running most days allowing riders to make their way up towards street level (or at least half way there).

All I can say is we generally take the escalators for granted until that time or two when they are out and you are carrying more bags than you would want to climbing the steps out after a long day.

Does this post have any real point other than to thank the MTA for finally finishing this project? Not really.