October 2021 was a month of contrasts for Roosevelt Island. Beautiful merged with painful and frustrating, suggesting a rudderless passage with little vision and less direction.
By David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
October 2021, the Contrasts
Brutal Mishandling of Historic Cherry Trees
The damages so historic and monumental they force themselves to the top of the page. In the last week of October 2021, RIOC sent a crew with a chainsaw out butchering Roosevelt Island’s historic row of Cherry Trees on the West Promenade.
“Pruning,” the crew called it, when challenged, but fruit tree pruning is not about hacking off branches wholesale from the bottom.
Pruning involves judicious shaping, allowing maximum sunlight for photosynthesis and esthetics.
And it should never be done in autumn because this leaves the tree vulnerable in winter and curtails energy storage for spring.
Exposed, RIOC made no effort to explain the blunder.
Beauty among the beasts…
But it wasn’t all ugly and painful. Sometimes, the state stayed out of the way long enough to allow Roosevelt Island’s special beauty in.
RIOC Board Controveries
A report showed that the RIOC board fell short of a legislated minimum of five resident members.
Two former residents moved, but when our report called for both resigning, only one complied. Jeffrey Escobar stepped down. David Kapell, though, never a full time resident to begin with, refused.
By month’s end, RIOC chief counsel Gretchen Robinson overruled community protests, cobbling together a misdirection excuse.
October 2021 on Roosevelt Island, more views
RIOC’s strangely secret bank open house gave the state agency a shot at doing the right thing, pushing a viable alternative for bringing direct banking back to Main Street. They failed miserably, leaving us wondering what elected officials Rebecca Seawright and Ben Kallos were doing there, participating in this scheme.
Memorial for A Dog Killed by an Illegal Car on the West Promenade
RIOC overreacts, creating new conflicts…
So, how does RIOC really feel about Roosevelt Island…?
Speaking of seating….
What RIOC promised for Southpoint Park, the east shoreline…
What we have as of October 2021… all rocks and hard surfaces, trees and grass banished.
As super secret RIOC refuses to explain…
Progress in Lighthouse Park, October 2021
Thank you, Hudson Related: Ending October 2021 on a High Note
More from the Roosevelt Island Daily
- Roosevelt Island Weekly Recap: Community Life, Local News, and Everyday ConnectionsOur Roosevelt Island weekly recap covers local news, community events, and the threads of daily life connecting neighbors on and off the island.
- Queens News Highlights and Roosevelt Island Community ConnectionsExplore the week’s Queens news highlights and Roosevelt Island community connections, from public safety to housing, historic places, and local events.
- How Queens News Shapes Life on Roosevelt Island This WeekExplore how Queens news shapes life on Roosevelt Island, from major fire responses to local court cases and housing initiatives, reflecting the rhythms and routines of our shared city life.
- Queens Community Updates: Transit Projects, Public Safety, and Neighborhood EffortsQueens community updates including transit projects, public safety developments, and neighborhood efforts, with special relevance for Roosevelt Island residents.
- How Roosevelt Island Responds to Change and Challenge Across the East RiverExplore how Roosevelt Island responds to change and challenge across the East River, reflecting on community adaptation, safety, transit, civic life, and neighborhood rhythms.
As the Dust Settles
The way the wind cuts across the river this time of year. The way older buildings hold heat but never quite hold air. I told myself that was why my chest felt tight again on certain mornings. Age, perhaps.
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