RIOC calls it, “…renovating the open space and garden adjacent to the R.I. branch of the NYPL,” but really, it’s paving over history. Unless paving over open space qualifies as “improvement.”

By David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

Observing the destruction, Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS) president Judith Berdy mused… “The play area in Blackwell Park was demolished today.  By current standards a playground built with wooden boulders, bricks, metal slides and metal climbing device is so unsafe it had to be removed. 

“A bulldozer made waste of the area this morning.

“The site will be paved over and left to the open since RIOC canceled the reading and sitting area that would adjoin the new library. 

“It is a pity RIOC cared not for an improved area and just chose the easy solution, a bulldozer.”

Paving Over History

Yes, after liberally spilling cash on projects of little benefit to residents, RIOC says they don’t have enough left for a real renovation. No matter what their Orwellian alert says.

We will not have a reading and sitting area, but RIOC will have… refurbished offices, free parking and bloated, ineffective staffing.

More from the Roosevelt Island Daily News

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  Queens Public Library Ransomware Attack: Digital Services Still DisruptedNovember 11, 2026
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  A new RIOC appeals officer denied records on how its general counsel was hiredNovember 10, 2026
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• 
  Monday’s PSD blotter: two hospital transports, two disputesNovember 10, 2026
  RIOC’s Nov. 9 PSD blotter lists 14 incidents, including four aided calls with two hospital transports and a verbal dispute at 750 Main Street that drew FDNY.
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  Flushing Spa Murder: Man Charged After Woman Found Stabbed to DeathNovember 10, 2026
  Flushing spa murder investigation leads to a murder charge against a 54-year-old man after a woman was found fatally stabbed in a Queens storefront.
• 
  Sunday’s blotter: four medical calls, three non-criminal investigationsNovember 9, 2026
  RIOC’s Nov. 8 PSD blotter lists 19 incidents, including four aided calls (two hospital transports) and three Investigation Non-Criminal entries at 465, 580 and 546 Main Street.

The Budget Knew Before the “Emergency”

RIOC anticipated a $7 million Steam Plant demolition for 2015. Nine years later, New York City used emergency authority to carry it out.

Theo Gobblevelt Sep 25, 2026

The demolition began on paper long before the City invoked emergency authority to carry it out. In RIOC’s fiscal 2013-14 budget, the Corporation set aside $7 million for fiscal 2015 for the complete demolition and cleanup of the Roosevelt Island Steam Plant. RIOC called that figure its worst-case scenario, meaning the State corporation might be left responsible for the entire cost.

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