While my wife edged back toward the sidewalk, pretending she didn’t know who I was, I angled past an unlatched gate and got a look inside. My photo wasn’t much, but it clearly identified a Trader Joe’s in the works.

By David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

More than a few years passed since my furtive times of sneaking peeks into the closed off adult world. The fun of getting a look, though, at what the adults were up to hadn’t left me.

Keeping myself out of the picture, I placed my camera directly on the glass and angled away. Sure, I looked ridiculous, the foodie version of a peeping Tom, but before anyone came out to stop me, I clicked.

Not until I got home and blew up the photo did I realize what I got… Along the left, a row of TJ’s signature wooden checkouts. With a projected October opening already reported, all they need now are registers, card readers and electrical hookups.

If anyone asks, don’t say where you got this. I may have been trespassing — so, what else is new? — but who needs the hassle?

More 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.

The Contractor RIOC Wasn’t Allowed to Remember

LiRo-Hill returned to RIOC’s panel despite earlier questions about its oversight. When directors challenged its inclusion, the explanation raised a new question about RIOC’s procurement rules.

Theo Gobblevelt Nov 6, 2026

Professor Lydia W. Tang recognized the name LiRo-Hill. During the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation’s September 10, 2026 board meeting, Chief Operating Officer Mary C. Cunneen presented eleven construction management firms recommended for contracts lasting up to six years.

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