Roosevelt Islanders pay 4 million dollars for Public Safety on demand, but the results are spotty at best, disturbing at worst. It’s a not well-known fact that the State of New York contributes not a dime for local operations. The vast majority comes out of residents’ pockets by way of the hidden RIOC tax.

By David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

Is this the best we can expect?

Another interesting fact: although money never comes this way out of Albany, Roosevelt Island’s subservient managers are controlled by the governor. Micromanaged, in fact.

After one appeal after another for controlling bike safety, we still find motorized bikes running the Island without interference.

As we see from these video, taken by Roosevelt Islanders, conditions approach life-threatening.

First, you see a man with his cart forced out of the crosswalk by a thoughtlessly parked motorbike in front of Foodtown. Passing motorists ignore rules regarding people in crosswalks.

“8/20/2021 12:45-1pm,” our reader noted. “No PSD walked or drove by. Should I have called them? So frustrating.”

Then, it got worse.

A women using a crutch is forced to hobble around the cyclist while he stands there fiddling with it.

Then, even worse…

Now, a wheelchair must maneuver around this goof.

4 million dollars for public safety…

And not a single officer in sight in the middle of the day.

But for two reasons, don’t assume the presence of a PSD officer would certainly make a difference.

This is the standard RIOC’s Public Safety Department set soon after Chief Jack McManus retired, as we’ve reported many times.

Proof?

Here’s a video from the middle of town with public safety officers present, including one following a motor scooter running a stop sign and doing absolutely nothing about it.

Watch to the end for the full picture of what’s acceptable on Roosevelt Island, these days.

Where does it end?

More News from the Roosevelt Island Daily

• 
  Tuesday’s PSD blotter: noise calls, a harassment reportNovember 11, 2026
  RIOC’s Nov. 10 PSD blotter lists 15 incidents, all on Main Street, including four noise complaints, a harassment report and one hospital transport.
• 
  Queens Public Library Ransomware Attack: Digital Services Still DisruptedNovember 11, 2026
  The Queens Public Library ransomware attack continues to disrupt public computers, digital books and online services, with no confirmed restoration date.
• 
  A new RIOC appeals officer denied records on how its general counsel was hiredNovember 10, 2026
  A different RIOC appeals officer denied records on how RIOC hired general counsel Lance Polivy. RIOC’s internal deliberations on the hire stay withheld.
• 
  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.
• 
  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.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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).

Continue reading →