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
- A Week Rooted in Community: Daily Life and Neighbor Connections on Roosevelt IslandThis week, daily life and neighbor connections on Roosevelt Island come into focus with stories of parks, transit, public safety, and community rhythms shaping the summer.
- NYC Health + Hospitals Data Breach Lawsuit: What Roosevelt Island Readers Should KnowA proposed class action says millions of NYC Health + Hospitals patients, staff and family members may have had deeply sensitive information exposed. Here is what Roosevelt Island readers should know.
- Queens Community News and Events: How Local Stories Echo on Roosevelt IslandQueens community news and events shape daily life on Roosevelt Island and beyond. From park reopening and fundraisers to public safety and local transit, catch up on the stories echoing across both neighborhoods.
- How Roosevelt Island Connects with Queens This Week: Community, Safety, and Neighborhood CelebrationsHow Roosevelt Island connects with Queens is clear in this week’s stories of community, public safety, celebrations, and neighborhood life in both boroughs.
- Connecting Roosevelt Island Community Life with Local Transit, Safety, and Business InitiativesConnecting Roosevelt Island community life with local transit, safety, and business initiatives, this week’s Beat explores how citywide stories shape our days and routines.
The Committee Man
Committees are supposed to be where outcomes are shaped. They are meant to be the place where questions slow decisions down, where competing interests surface, and where public responsibility is exercised before anything reaches a formal vote.
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