Dr. Katherine Teets Grimm began her pediatric practice on Roosevelt Island in 1987 as a part-timer. She soon took it full time, guiding the health of nearly two generations of local youngsters. But all things come to an end, and Dr. Grimm is closing up shop on June 30th. Most patients have already been notified.

by David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

Dr. Grimm is Leaving

The first time I met Dr. Grimm — Kathie — she shared the pressure she was getting from her family. They wanted to see more of her, but her Roosevelt Island pediatric practice tied her down. Her family matters greatly to her, and she was actively searching for a partner able to assume her responsibilities. She looked forward to the family time.

But that was over five years ago, and the last time I saw her, she was strolling down Main Street with her grandkids. She wasn’t ready to retire yet, but she was close.

Then, today, she told me in an email, “It’s sad that I was unsuccessful getting a replacement, but at this time there was no choice.”

She will be missed as Main Street Theatre & Dance Alliance (MSTDA) showed in an awards ceremony, last summer.

“The Roosevelt Island practice was founded in the late 1970s and I have been in practice almost 35 years,” she told her patients.

“For years I have tried to find a continuation plan but sadly without success. I love this practice and thank God for the privilege to be in it all these years. However, as I have gotten older its time to semi-retire.”

Read the full details in her letter:

Roosevelt Island is losing a jewel, but no one could be more deserving of a happy retirement than our own Dr. Grimm.

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HPD told the CAG there was no projected start date and that five business days’ notice would be given. Work on the eastern smokestack began six days later.

Theo Gobblevelt Jul 3, 2026

On June 17 and 18, HPD told the first meeting of the Roosevelt Island Steam Plant Demolition Community Advisory Group that smokestack demolition had no projected start date. Residents and the CAG would receive at least five business days’ advance notice once a date was set. Scaffolding around the stacks could not proceed until soil removal and backfill were complete and the area stabilized.

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