The New York City budget for 2022-23 was both earlier and more contentious than usual, but Roosevelt Island came out ahead. According to City Council Member Julie Menin, a couple of capital projects will directly benefit the community.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Roosevelt Island in the City Budget
“I am ecstatic that this year’s budget brings back over $21 million in funding for our district to support parks, schools, libraries, hospitals, community centers, public housing, and safer and cleaner streets,” Menin said in a press release.
Among the benefits is money for public schools.
“Each public school in the district received at least $50,000 towards critical technology, auditorium or infrastructure upgrades,” she said.
But education funding, reduced in this year’s budget, remains a cause of concern for many, especially progressives.
For Coler Specialty Hospital
For the city hospital that weathered the worst of the COVID crisis, Menin found money for a critical need: $300,000 to replace Roosevelt Island’s Coler Hospital fire alarm system which is beyond its usable life cycle.
The facility, which gets too little notice in the community, plays a vital role in healthcare, spawning activist groups like the Reality Poets who’ve offered inspiring performances locally in recent years.
Help for Our Library
In addition, the budget made real money Menin set aside for technology upgrades at the NYPL Roosevelt Island branch.
“The New York Public Library is grateful to the community for selecting our branches – Roosevelt Island, Webster and 67th Street libraries – to be the recipients of $250,000 for technology improvements,” added Sumie Ota, The New York Public Library’s Associate Director for the East Manhattan Library Network.
Summing up, Menin said, “I am proud to bring back the necessary and requested resources to the East Side of Manhattan that will improve the quality of life in our community.”
More from the Roosevelt island daily news
- 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.
- Sunday’s blotter: four medical calls, three non-criminal investigationsRIOC’s Nov. 8 PSD blotter lists 19 incidents, including four aided calls (two hospital transports) and three Investigation Non-Criminal entries at 465, 580 and 546 Main Street.
- NYC Code Blue Homeless Outreach Gets $25 Million for WinterNYC Code Blue homeless outreach receives $25 million for winter assistance. Here’s what the city has announced and what remains unclear about the funding.
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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