Lighthouse Park redesign took a step forward Wednesday evening in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. Residents teamed up to plot directions as the park grows.
By David Stone
Special to the Roosevelt Island Daily News
The future of Lighthouse Park took shape inside the historic chapel anchoring Main Street. Past and future merged under aged wooden beams. Stanec, an acclaimed designer engaged by RIOC, organized the session.
About 50 Roosevelt Islanders of all ages braved a chilly winter evening, adding ideas and passion. Before turning the program over to Stanec’s Amy Seek, RIOC assistant VP Jonna Carmona-Graf offered an overview of the State’s interest.
After FIGMENT NYC drew crowds to Lighthouse Park, last June, interest in making better use of Coler’s abandoned and littered parking lot along the East Promenade spiked.
Better use was both desirable and possible, giving Roosevelt Island a more attractive face.
Quickly, RIOC pulled together a rough plan. $11 million in financing was also needed to fuel action. They found that, too, although Carmona-Graf did not go into details.
Making it real: Lighthouse Park Redesign.
Seven acres of green space where mostly rubble now collects debris. That’s the vision. The question: how to fill that space?
Stanec came prepared with some ideas.
Suggestions for the park’s redesign were for inspiration only. Picking the best fit for the Lighthouse Park redesign is, so far, left to resident input.
Seek explained how Stanec plans working with projects already underway. Amanda Matthews’s Nellie Bly Monument as well as restoration of the Lighthouse itself are examples.
Each working group developed its own ideas. In the coming days, RIOC will pull all of it together and release a public overview.
Last chance to add your thoughts to the project…
Meanwhile, Carmona-Graf urges anyone who has not yet put in their two cents to do it now. Email Lighthousepark@rioc.ny.gov. RIOC wants your ideas. Don’t miss out.
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The Well-Funded Vision and the Silent Landlord
RIOC’s Real Estate Development Advisory Committee met last night. The Renwick Ruin was not on the agenda. A nonprofit that has spent eight years developing detailed plans for the site, raised more than a million dollars, and assembled a board with serious finance and legal credentials continues its work.
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