When it comes to holiday decorating, nobody does it like RIOC. That’s because no one else would have the cheek. $75K, half as much as the state squeezes out for all the nonprofits depending on them, for this? Really?

By David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

Holiday Decorating on the Cheap

For the fourth consecutive year, RIOC’s pouring $75,000 into contracting with The Neave Group. But for the first time, bidding was competitive, and because, apparently, nobody was looking, Neave made severe cuts for the win. At exactly the same price as every other year.

Although the holiday decorating looked slim every year, this year sets a record in cheesy. Joining the Reindeer and Sled in Good Shepherd Plaza, this year, is not a plastic snowman. For 2021, we’re treated to a third, smaller reindeer weirdly encaged.

• See also: Get Happy! It’s Dyngus Day!

There’s long been a sense that Roosevelt Island gets decorations nobody else wants or retreads. But this year, it’s worse. Take a closer look at the unhappy reindeer’s antlers.

Cutbacks

Keeping in mind that, officially anyway, RIOC’s paying the same $75K it’s paid since 2017, big cutbacks ring strange. The biggest loss is in Riverwalk Commons, a community gathering space in Southtown where mass transit and residents from across the Island intersect.

This year’s holiday decorating in the commons comes to… wait… calculating… uhm… Nothing.

And they reduced the number of grazing reindeer in the Tram Plaza if anyone ever gets to see them with construction work going on through the holidays. Plus, most of the lighting and wreaths through the WIRE Canyon have been brought down to what you’d expect from your local pharmacy.

When she came up with the idea of investing in festive holiday decorating, former RIOC President/CEO Susan Rosenthal had grander hopes. There was talk of photo ops and a tourist destination, but she’s gone now, and so is the spirit.

Take heart though, the ornaments are back in the Firefighter’s Field traffic circle where most residents will never see them. And the tree and faux gift packages chased Fall for Arts out of the Rivercross Lawn.

• Good news now: The reindeer herd at the Tram Plaza has not been culled…
• Take A Look Back: Roosevelt Island 2019 Holiday Decorating
• When Gucci Goes Ugly, Up Against The Wall In New York City
• Black Cat In A Christmas Box Holiday Greeting Cards
• There’s no place like home for the holidays – and that’s what makes the pandemic’s winter surge particularly devastating

What child doesn’t dream all year of a Christmas tree with the falling leaves of autumn for a backdrop?

All Is Not Lost

In spite of RIOC’s expensive, but lukewarm holiday decorating, locals can look forward to well-designed displays in many building lobbies. And for community spirit, the best public space every year is a gift from Brian Weissberg and the team at Manhattan Park. The entire space is ringed with lights and, at the center, a big and thoughtfully decorated tree.

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You Can’t Be All Three

Transit for the city, an attraction for visitors, and a liability on the Island’s books. The tram is already part of the MTA system. The only question is whether RIOC is ready to admit it.

Theo Gobblevelt Jul 10, 2026

April 9, 2026, during the full board meeting of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, Fay Christian said something that should have landed harder than it did. She wished RIOC were not responsible for the tram. Then she asked what it would look like if it were given to the MTA. That was not a passing comment.

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