The Roosevelt Island Daily News

With plenty of NYPD officers on hand and a plan that avoided subway overcrowding, celebrating two birthdays was fun and pain free on Roosevelt Island. Even RIOC, after infuriating much the community, chipped in with a laughable goof.

First, unexpectedly, we celebrate a birthday of local significance. Yesterday, the Roosevelt Islander blog turned 14, a remarkable achievement of perseverance and community commitment. In perspective, the tireless blogger reminded us of his first ever post, on July 4th, 2007.

Appreciate that best by recalling that George W. Bush was president, Barrack Obama was a promising young star, Trump was just an over the top egotist and nobody’d ever heard of COVID-19.

In that article, the Roosevelt Islander promised good things to come, taking a swipe at RIOC for charging $18 a pop to view Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks from pre-Four Freedoms Southpoint.

4th of July Fireworks from Roosevelt Island

Although RIOC shenanigans made the 4th of July less pleasant for many Roosevelt Islanders, thousands scrambled for the best viewing locations they could find.

Above is RIVAA president Tad Sudol’s shot from Westview, but many more popped up on Facebook, Instagram and other online perches.

And then, RIOC chucked in one last bit of buffoonery…

“Hey, all you 4th of July revelers! While we’d love to host everyone, we’re quickly reaching capacity for the Roosevelt Island 4th of July Family Fireworks Celebration,” they wrote at a little past 8:00 p.m.

“Please be advised that, if you’re planning on making your way to the island, capacity may be reached before you get here and you may not be admitted into the event and/or able to gain access to Roosevelt Island via the Tramway.”

It looked like an attempt at due diligence, except they sent it to their limited RIOC Advisories mailing list. Who did they think they were going to reach at that late hour?

So, who were they telling not to come to the Island where they live? And what was that about the Tram? Were they looking at a shutdown. What?

“This is a joke, right?” one RIOC-weary Islander wrote. “Hey, All You… ?”

There was no follow up, although visitors continued pouring onto the Island for the next hour.

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The Women Who Held the Ground

Three women tested the limits of what a meeting designed only to discuss “how” would allow itself to hear.

Eleanor Rivers Jun 26, 2026

The recording arrived before RIOC posted it. On this island, that usually means they’ll release it when they’re confident nobody still cares. ArchRI simply made a copy available, the way people here tend to do once they’ve stopped waiting for institutions to keep their word. It was the first meeting of what is now meant to be a monthly community advisory group (CAG).

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