Everything has a shelf life. Even ugly must go away some time. In this prolonged case, it needs some help, and we’re asking RIOC for it right now.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
Years have passed since we first cited the ugly, graffiti-smeared original Tram cabins and dumpsters abandoned under the bridge helix. The Tram cabins, a community icon, (see above) were photographed in 2021.
After repairs on the Roosevelt Island Bridge helix were completed, roughly five years ago, the rusting containers stayed. Last year, we reported on them:
And as spring approached this year, we went back again:
The only change was some newer graffiti.
Beauty Is Only Skin Deep, But Ugly Goes Straight to the Bone
We noted in earlier articles that shipping containers have been converted into small businesses and concession stands, but no one on Roosevelt Island has taken the hint. These ugly things smear the local environment like an accident nobody bothered to clean up.
Although we can’t be sure, the abandoned shipping containers apparently belong to RIOC. Either that or some other concern has left them living rent-free for longer than most residents have been here.
With a new administration in place – at least temporarily – something should be done to remove or at least clean up these years-old eyesores. Better care of our historic Tram cabins nearby is a classic no-brainer.
Funny thing is, the shipping containers are so unappealing that even graffiti artists aren’t interested in them, and that’s a whole new level of ugly. The smears are so old, they’re fading. Sadly, even some new unofficial artwork would be an improvement.
Finally…
Even strontium-90, the residue from nuclear reactors, has a shelf life of 29 years. Ugly, rusting shipping containers must be less than that.
Turn them into concession stands. Drag ’em away. Sell ’em for scrap. Roosevelt Islanders don’t care. We just want to see them gone.
C’mon now RIOC. It’s time. Could you show us you mean it when you tell us your vision of how beautiful this Island is? Spring is for fresh beginnings, after all, right?
A Different Kind of Bet
For years, Roosevelt Island did not behave like a system constrained by limits. Internally, the budget was often treated less as a boundary and more as a reservoir to be used.
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