The RIRA Column
by Lillian Picchione

When my husband and I decided to move to Roosevelt Island this September, we got our share of questions. "Is that the place with the Tram?" "I've heard there are no cars there." "Isn't that the place with the ruins?" And my favorite: "Really? You're the first people I know who actually live there."

As a transportation planner, I get more specific questions. My colleagues want to know, "Where were the Tram cars manufactured?" "What is the parking ratio?" "You have circulation busses? What model?"

Roosevelt Island is an especially hot topic among urban planners because it originally developed along a master plan. Urban planners tend to be fascinated by planned communities. The truth is, most urban planners work in cities and towns where real people vote, raise objections, and throw curveballs at plans that the planner spent a lot of time on and looked very nice on paper. Just because the planner knows that a four-lane highway would be the best fit for traffic patterns doesn't mean that the person who lives on that street agrees. A lot of planners secretly wish they were dictators.

Of course, we all know that dictatorships are a terrible idea. They can be efficient, mind you, but they leave no room for protest. This problem is particularly evident in transportation. A good example of the benefits of a messy democratic process is Manhattan's West Side Highway. When the elevated portion needed to be replaced, the transportation planners were ready with a complex, expensive rebuilding plan. The West Side community objected, and after years of protest managed to scale the project down to the road you see now - a smaller highway with some stoplights that allows limited access to the waterfront. Most planners would now agree that the smaller highway was a better solution.

I bring this up because I think that Roosevelt Islanders face a long-term question of self-representation. Back when the Island was first being developed, there were few residents, and a State-appointed board was the only way to make anything happen. But now that we are a community of 10,000 and growing, shouldn't there be some way to express our suggestions, our problems, and even our displeasure?

If our governing body, RIOC, makes a planning decision, what kind of input do we have? As Chair of the RIRA Planning Committee, I'm not sure how we can ensure that some of our basic quality-of-life issues are addressed under our current system. How can we contribute to discussion of the Island's economic development? How can we ensure provision of recreational facilities and open space? How can we help our Island retain affordable housing? We have no recourse if the RIOC Board disagrees or if it has priorities that differ from those of residents.

While there has been plenty of discussion about the sins of RIOC in this column, I am too new to the community to have any grievances. Each RIOC Board member may be a dedicated public servant trying to ensure that Islanders have a great quality of life. They could be the best-educated planners. But frankly, I know enough about my profession to know that no one should be planning without being directly accountable to the will of the people they serve.

There are so many things we might do to improve the Island. Your RIRA Council is already taking on a number of projects that Steve Marcus has discussed here. But there are so many changes that a governing body might make. Small things: better signage upon arrival at the Tram, subway, and Motorgate; new recreational facilities; reworked signage at the foot of Main Street; better ways to manage traffic at school drop-off time. And big things: business development support; environmentally efficient energy; affordable housing schemes, and support for the large number of long-term residents now facing uncertainty about their ability to remain on the Island.

These projects require energy and the engagement of a locally responsive governing body. No matter how well-intentioned board members may be, the RIOC Board isn't elected. What incentive do they have to respond to the will of the people who live here? I urge you to get involved early this campaign season: demand that candidates deliver a locally elected government. Political change is the first step towards a better Roosevelt Island.