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 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.

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