/

4-24-21 Roosevelt Island: More Cherry Blossoms, More Broken Promises

Start

On 4-24-21, Roosevelt Island, awash in the last round of cherry blossoms, welcomed a fresh flood of visitors. Hundreds of visitors enjoyed our Island, but something was missing. And it wasn’t anything new.

By David Stone

Roosevelt Island Daily News

4-24-21 Roosevelt Island and the White Rabbit

My wife’s first reaction: “If he can get his rabbit out in a harness, why not my cats?”

This reminded me of something she told me earlier. Cats have one of the smallest prefrontal cortices, the thinking, planning part of the brain, of all animals.

“That’s why they need nine lives,” she quoted.

Anyway, remember this sweet little character. He’ll be relevant later on.

Let’s start with the Farmers Market

The Roosevelt Island Farmers Market is one of the best things we have, a weekly place where we gather in good spirits. This was true, even during most of the pandemic.

Diana Florence, candidate for Manhattan District Attorney/©Irina Hage. All rights reserved.

And election season brings a whole new layer of activity. Diana Florence, candidate for Manhattan DA, who has friends here, introduced herself.

Nearby, city council candidate Kim Moscaritolo handed out fliers.

The market was busy with dozens of shoppers, and the veggies were crisp and fresh.

But something was missing…

“Large crowds will be managed by PSD officers with the assistance of the 114th Precinct,” promised RIOC, but there wasn’t a single one in sight.

They also said, “Face coverings will be distributed to anyone in need of a mask by PSD,” but that wasn’t true either.

It’s hard handing out face masks when you’re nowhere in sight.

But there was some small evidence of PSD’s bloated, 50-member force…

4-24-21 Roosevelt Island, Noon-ish…

Just a little south of the unattended Farmers Market, two PSD officers sit in a double-parked, marked vehicle in front of a crosswalk. While busy as all get out looking at their cellphones, they force cars to work their way around them.

Maybe the drivers are in on the joke because none come to a full stop at the crosswalk, even as people try getting safely across Main Street.

Finally, a frustrated pedestrian yells at the officers about all the cars endangering lives right in front of them. Right in front of them, that is, if they weren’t busy texting and looking up instead.

The officers barely notice. One looks up briefly, and then, it’s back to the cellphones.

4-24-21 Roosevelt Island: An Afternoon for Strolling Through the Cherry Blossoms

“NYPD and PSD will enforce social distancing throughout the island as well as at highly frequented locations on the island,” RIOC promised.

But then, that advisory landed in the late afternoon on Friday, suggesting RIOC was again late to the game. And then, only after being alerted by a better informed resident.

So, maybe they didn’t really mean it.

Throughout the afternoon, maskless people walked among the cherry blossoms, some posing for photos, others just careless.

But no uniformed officers from anywhere interfered with countless opportunities for folks sharing their coronaviruses.

Our infection rates are already going up, and this helps explain why.

Its shoreline habitat destroyed by RIOC, a mother goose sits on a nest behind a booth in FDR Four Freedoms State Park. Safer, grassy areas, the last natural spaces on Roosevelt Island, wiped out forever by free-spending, resident-indifferent RIOC.

Besides PSD officers, something else missing, this year, is goslings. While RIOC brutally and contrary to the wishes of residents paying for it crushes our shorelines, reimagining our natural Southpoint as Brooklyn Bridge Park North, Canadian geese lose vital habitat.

Springs once abounded with goslings trailing their mothers around the parks. We haven’t seen one, so far, and mated parent pairs nest wherever they can find space.

But where were we again….

Oh, yeah. 4-24-21 Roosevelt Island, and we’re enjoying the cherry blossoms with even more maskless visitors along the West Promenade…

Families that don’t mask together spread COVID together…

4-24-21 Roosevelt Island, a beautiful, sunny, 70 degree day.

Stopping to sit once in a while, enjoying the pleasures of this special place, we walked all the way from the Tram Plaza, where we saw four PSD officer, actually standing, not tucked in cars. They were chatting while people lined up at the turnstiles.

But do you remember that white rabbit? Here’s a reminder…

Why is he relevant?

For comparison…

In all that time, we saw one more white rabbit south of the Tram, where all the crowds were, than PSD officers.

Fact: Roosevelt Islanders fund RIOC’s Public Safety Department to the tune of around $4 million a year, even during the pandemic.

Is this what we’re paying for? More false promises and smug neglect when we need them most?

Latest from the Roosevelt Island Daily…

Island House Floor Plans

No place like Roosevelt Island for making a home in New York City. Check out the unique home ownership options in Island House.

What’s the Latest on the Secret AVAC Failures?

“The west side of the AVAC line is obstructed impacting garbage collection via vacuum along the duct work servicing building complex at Westview and BLG 531 (Rivercross),” a RIOC Advisory said. It foreshadowed worse to come, the secret AVAC failures. by David Stone The Roosevelt Island Daily News While in the real world where most…

Keep reading

Dumpster Dive: What’s in NYC’s Trash Now — and What’s Not

New Yorkers are throwing away less, but recycling less too, according to new city data. Samantha Maldonado, The City This article was originally published on Sep 20 5:00am EDT by THE CITY The Department of Sanitation is disposing of less trash now compared to the past four years, but recycling citywide is down. That’s a…

Keep reading

5 Ways Manufacturing Companies Can Cut Expenses

Finding ways to maximize efficiency and minimize costs is a crucial part of helping a business thrive. Discover ways manufacturing companies can cut expenses.

Keep reading

How long has this been going on? The Gaping RIOC Leadership Gap

A leadership gap at RIOC, with roughly 150 employees, has been evident since mid-summer and has gone unaddressed publicly. That the situation was only marginally better before kept it from seeming the congealed muddle it is. by David Stone The Roosevelt Island Daily News Exposing the Leadership Gap Not until a RIOC board meeting earlier…

Keep reading

Final Poll Results: Transit Options Offered During F Train Shutdown

In a one-week flash poll, The Daily asked readers for their opinions on the transit options available during the F Train shutdown. With a major Track Fixation initiative underway, both the MTA and RIOC set up alternatives for commuting. We asked about that, singly and as a unit. by David Stone The Roosevelt Island Daily…

Keep reading

Are Narcissist Anxiety Attacks Common?

This question has caused a ruckus in the psychology community: Are narcissist anxiety attacks common, and if so, what causes them? Edited by David Stone When it comes to narcissism, there’s a paradox. On one hand, you have the classic narcissists, strutting their stuff with all the subtlety of a peacock in a penguin colony,…

Keep reading

Loading…

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

About Author

3 Comments

  1. I have taken to examine parked cars on Main St. Overwhelming majority with no Muni ticket. Why should they when parking violations are seldom issued. On Fri. there were four P.S. vehicles plus what I believe to be Kevin Brown’s personal vehicle parked outside Nisi. That is 5 spots Island House residents cannot have.

    • Add in the three reserved spots across from Blackwell House, Mary, and it’s even worse. The reserved spots can’t even be used when Shelton hasn’t put his giant gas guzzler there. Unavailable to anyone since Friday because he took a long weekend. Now, consider that these clowns with so little to do have a enormous fleet of expensive vehicles and huge lot all their own behind Motorgate.

      RIOC’s abusing Roosevelt Island, and I hope more residents will start making some noise about it.

Leave a Reply

Previous Story

Did RIOC’s board stumble, bumble and finally fumble a great opportunity?

Next Story

What’s worse than RIOC seizing space in historic Blackwell House? Answer: Demanding free parking to go with it.

Latest from Featured

0 $0.00
%d bloggers like this: