The Southtown Dog Run was set for replacement – or at least improvement – in 2019. That’s when RIOC yielded to community pressure, squashing a plan jammed into Blackwell Park.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The Southtown Dog Run: Fit for Dogs… or Anything?
In October, 2019, community opposition mounted against RIOC’s plans for relocating the Southtown Dog Run in a corner of the already crowded Blackwell Park. And in December, according to a report in the Roosevelt Islander, then President/CEO Susan Rosenthal cancelled the plan. She said RIOC “…listened to some community opposition.”
Those were the days, weren’t they?
Rosenthal added that the “temporary” dog run in open space where Building 9 was planned needed an upgrade to go with a move. But then, after the unseemly unseating or Rosenthal in June, 2020, the plans stalled. Dog owners are left with the choice of an inadequate, unpleasant space or finding somewhere else for free play.
Plenty of dog walkers show us that dogs abound in Southtown, yet the ugly dog run is almost always empty. Is anyone at RIOC paying any attention.
Current President/CYA Shelton J. Haynes hasn’t bragged about coming up with a cure nor has he shown evidence of even awareness. That’s unfortunate because the Southtown Dog Run is ugly as sin, unfair to both dogs and their companions and again signals the degrading of quality of life issues on Roosevelt Island.
More from the Roosevelt Island Daily
- Tuesday’s PSD blotter: noise calls, a harassment reportRIOC’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 DisruptedThe 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 hiredA 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 disputesRIOC’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 DeathFlushing 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 Steam Tunnel Repair That Disappeared
Capital projects change. Costs rise, engineering evolves, funding moves and questions of ownership can complicate even urgent work. But the Roosevelt Island Steam Tunnel was not a speculative improvement that simply slipped down a priority list. RIOC’s own records describe an infrastructure problem known for decades.
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