Upgrading Good Shepherd Plaza wasn’t easy, and the task is not yet done. But noise, plenty of it, got attention, and RIOC brought in the muscle.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Upgrading Good Shepherd Plaza: Of Noise and Benches and Picnic Tables
Upgrading Good Shepherd Plaza played out over the last week, and the results stood out on Friday.
Community members and this newspaper used photos and a stream of comments aimed at RIOC’s reluctant CEO Shelton J. Haynes. And when she caught him outside his bunker on National Night Out, a determined resident escorted him through the mess.
Haynes reportedly said he was not aware of how bad it was, although his office is only two hundred feet away and RIOC headquarters is across the street.
A member of RIOC’s grounds crew shared with another resident that someone showed them pictures of the mess in the plaza. That prompted action, but should a costly operation like RIOC need scolding to get the basics done?
Optimism rose with stories about how Good Shepherd Plaza got the fix-up it needed. There’s a way to go, for sure, before this potential gem becomes the feature-rich destination it can be.
But for now, it’s one helluva good start.
Now, what about those badly deteriorated tree beds on Main Street? They have the magic of being ugly and hazardous at the same time.
Susan Rosenthal, a Sacrificial Lamb?*
After Susan Rosenthal was fired, David Kraut would talk about almost anything except Susan. This was unusual because David could discuss a subject long after everyone else had exhausted both the subject and the available oxygen. When her name entered the conversation, however, he became careful. At first I mistook that restraint for discretion; later, I began to recognize guilt.
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