On Roosevelt Island, you get used to Public Safety weirdness. The overstaffed, expensive RIOC department, unable to control even bicycles and crosswalks, serves more than anything else as a 21st Century Meter Maid Service. But this is weird, even for them.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
RIOC Public Safety Weirdness
Let’s start with a picture.
We first noticed this in June, last year. Like most of you, we thought it must keep cars and trucks away from some hidden danger. A sinkhole? Some object under the striped drum in the middle?
Turns out, all of us were wrong, and in fact, it marks a news high in lows for Public Safety weirdness. Over six months later PSD Chief Kevin Brown told the Residents Association Common Council that the barricade blocked cars and trucks from parking in front of the hydrant.
That’s like, “You can’t violate safety standards because we got there first.”
A head-scratcher…
That’s right. The already clueless RIOC department, where EADD abounds, can’t get out of its own way. But they see the logic in blocking off space in front of a fire hydrant, so drivers can’t do it. Doesn’t it just make you want to shout, “Hey, Kevin, that’s what the red paint on the curb is for!”
But even thickheadedness has limits. After public exposure in the Roosevelt Islander blog, the barricade vanished.
But suspending Public Safety weirdness is a tenuous thing.
“The Barriers are back up by Bread & Butter Deli!!!” a perplexed and confounded reader wrote. “Well, I guess RIOC & PSD couldn’t help themselves,” she added.
It’s weird. That’s all, but don’t expect it getting better. RIOC is rudderless, and EADD rules.
More from the Roosevelt Island Daily
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- Thursday’s PSD blotter: two hospital runs, a trespass summons at 888 MainRIOC’s Nov. 12 PSD blotter lists 15 incidents: six medical calls, two alarms at 546 Main Street, and a late-night trespass at 888 Main Street that ended with a summons.
- Queens Home Prices and Rents Rise in October 2026 as Long Island City Condos Draw BuyersQueens home prices and rents rose in October 2026. See StreetEasy’s housing figures and Long Island City condo contract activity at Radiant and Vesta.
- Medicare Open Enrollment Ends Dec. 7: Get Answers on 2027 ChangesMedicare open enrollment ends Dec. 7. Sen. Krueger’s Nov. 16 virtual town hall covers 2027 premium, deductible and Part D changes, with a HIICAP expert’s Q&A.
- Wednesday’s PSD blotter: two medical calls, a water leak, a custody reportRIOC’s Nov. 11 PSD blotter lists 10 incidents, all on Main Street, including two medical calls at 555 Main Street, a water leak at 560 Main and a custody or visitation report.
Still Searching: Transparency Delayed at RIOC
New York’s Freedom of Information Law rests on a basic principle: government records belong to the public unless an agency can identify a lawful reason to withhold them. For Roosevelt Island residents, that right matters because RIOC controls public land, infrastructure, transportation, contracts and development without functioning as a locally elected government.
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