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Manhattan's little, quieter island and beyond

Daily beats from a quieter Manhattan.

RI DAILY

Manhattan's little, quieter island and beyond

Reporting Roosevelt Island since sunrise.

    • September 2021 on Roosevelt Island in Pictures

    Seasons changing and more marked September 2021 on Roosevelt Island as a community worth documenting in pictures. The contrasts, as always, were immense. By David Stone The Roosevelt Island Daily News All photos © David Stone/Roosevelt Island Daily Views: September...

    Featured Roosevelt Island News

    Seasons changing and more marked September 2021 on Roosevelt Island as a community worth documenting in pictures. The contrasts, as always, were immense.

    By David Stone

    The Roosevelt Island Daily News

    All photos © David Stone/Roosevelt Island Daily

    Views: September 2021 on Roosevelt Island

    The Manhattan Skyline as summer moved aside for a crisp and colorful season.

    A legend brings Roosevelt Island along for a musical ride…

    Roosevelt Islanders: Actor/Director Michael Rogers assists Hall of Famer Roy Eaton at his annual gig in Bryant Park.

    When Roosevelt Islanders overcame RIOC’s mismanaged 9/11 Tribute

    September 2021 on Roosevelt Island-9/11 Tribute
    Roosevelt Island Residents Association president Rossana Ceruzzi planted flags at the 9/11 Memorial Tree, after RIOC weirdly tried shooing away residents at its mismanaged tribute ceremony.

    The RIOC We’re Stuck With: Painfully Inept, September 2021 on Roosevelt Island

    After being chastised for a sign directing wheelchair visitors at Blackhouse into bushes, the state agency that never makes a mistake quickly changed. They now directed wheelchairs to a set of stairs. Impossible to believe, if you don’t see it yourself.
    Not to be outdone, RIOC’s crack Public Safety team blocked Roosevelt Islanders from using the subway for hours after it reopened following a tropical storm. The countdown clock ten feet away presented too big a challenge.
    RIOC says they place safety first, but in another antic miscue, they sent pedestrians walking unprotected in the street again. And just for reference, this is directly in front of President/CEO Shelton J. Haynes’s office.

    September 2021 on Roosevelt Island: Sadly Historic

    Because state agencies don’t talk, the Roosevelt Island Tram achieved an historic first: the one and only station in the MetroCard system without OMNY.

    The Unexplained Mess in Southpoint Park

    Who designed this? After scraping a resident developed and RIOC approved user friendly park design, the combined RIOC/Langan brain trust wedged in something different. In this case, different is definitely not better. Among many uninspired settings, super ugly benches defy resident requests for seating usable by disabled visitors.

    The better side of history for September 2021 on Roosevelt Island

    September 2021 on Roosevelt Island History
    The Roosevelt Island Historical Society, led by Judith Berdy, scored a significant win. A plaque that once marked the building housing elevators between Roosevelt Island and the Queensboro Bridge came home.

    An echo from 20 years past…

    UN Week brought armed gunboats, a reminder of the months after the World Trade Center disaster.

    A view from the serenity of FDR Four Freedoms Park

    Autumn swept in over the Manhattan skyline across the East River.

    When flawed maintenance turns a modern urban masterpiece into a smelly albatross

    A wall of black bags tells the story. Failure to fix Roosevelt Island’s iconic AVAC system led to smelly interiors and unsightly trash heaps for another month.

    But before September 2021 on Roosevelt Island ended, a promising transition into the future

    Shaun Leonardo’s innovation in FDR Four Freedoms ParK leads the way in showing how art, especially monuments, can challenge the status quo and bring change to a bedeviled culture.

    More from the Roosevelt Island Daily

    The Line That Didn’t Land
    Featured

    The Line That Didn’t Land

    We’ll listen to you right after we’re done not listening to you.
    Eleanor Rivers May 1, 2026

    I stood in the back of Good Shepherd Chapel on the evening of April 15, 2026, at the Steam Plant Demolition Town Hall, watching people adjust scarves and jackets before the meeting began. Benjamin Jones, President and CEO of RIOC, thanked us for attending and, without a pause, said he was “pleased to host tonight’s town hall on the city’s demolition of its steam plant.” The demolition, in other words, was not up for discussion.

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