The RIRA Column

I seldom have anything complimentary to offer about the way RIOC manages our community affairs, but I’m sure that most residents are relieved that its Board opted to defer a decision on evicting the RIVAA gallery to make room for a Dunkin’ Donuts. However, the reprieve may be shortlived. RIOC meets again this week, and may very well choose to approve this lease before this column goes to press.

This plan is unfortunate on so many levels.

RIOC has always been good to our local organizations, providing support to the Historical Society, Gallery RIVAA, the Cultural Center, the Senior Center, the religious organizations, etc. These organizations all deliver crucial social and spiritual services that really comprise the very heart of our community. RIVAA, the Roosevelt Island Visual Arts Association, is no less vital, not only to the very many who have worked so hard to make these premises so attractive and stimulating, but to the whole community that can enjoy the many exhibits and varied programs that they offer, and to passers-by who can appreciate the excellent storefront displays.

I find it hard to believe that the potential lessees insisted that this be the only site on Roosevelt Island that they would consider. I wonder if anyone explained that evicting the Gallery would already start them off on a bad foot. I wonder if they were offered any other sites.

Other comments I’m hearing from residents focus on the wisdom of putting fast-food chains on the Island. They’re concerned that we’ll lose our uniqueness, local character, and ability to ever become the "destination point" that will bring people to the Island. Still others wonder why, in this health-conscious day and age, with childhood obesity reaching epidemic proportions, we would want to encourage kids to eat doughnuts. And residents are also wondering how, from an economic perspective, these newcomers will survive. The bulk of the population leaves the Island during the day and we already have merchants on the Island who offer many of the same products. I guess that’s for Dunkin’ Donuts marketing department to analyze, but we’re not looking forward to seeing any more storefronts left vacant by failed businesses.

RIOC Board Chair Judith Calogero made a number of reasonable points in her announcement deferring this decision. It is true that RIVAA leaders "know that they were provided space rent-free along Main Street with the express proviso that they would vacate once a commercial tenant wanted to lease the space." Of course, RIOC has the power to evict any entity occupying their premises without a lease. That doesn’t mean they should exercise that power.

She also points out that, "Financial self-sufficiency is not just a nice idea, but essential for the fiscal stability that makes everything we do on Roosevelt Island possible. We must generate enough income to maintain the Island, create a fund for future maintenance and development, protect past State investment, and meet fiduciary obligations to bondholders." Residents have repeatedly asked for real numbers on how much RIOC needs to be "self-sufficient." We were promised self-sufficiency by Rob Ryan when he inked the Southtown deal, and Herb Berman has said many times, even in his column, that the Island is self-sufficient right now, and the last two annual financial statements bear that out. However, if capital accumulation is so crucial, why is RIOC planning to give the rights to build the last five Southtown buildings for a pittance? Nor was any mention of self-sufficiency made when they gave all the available school space to the Child School for $4 per square foot per annum (although, at least, this school is a worthy benefactor). The mantra of self-sufficiency seems to be invoked or ignored at random. It certainly shouldn’t be the only principle of community governance. If RIOC were to axe all the services that don’t turn a profit, they’d start with Public Safety (at over $2 million/year) and they’d close down the Tram. Again, I am calling on the Board to engage in a public dialogue on how much money they think we need, and what ways we intend to get it. Certainly, this is the best way to get public buy-in on any painful sacrifices that we’ll be asked to make.

A few additional notes: Child School buses now drive on the west promenade in the morning and the east promenade in the afternoon. Clearly, traffic on Main Street has become a problem. It’s not a problem the residents didn’t anticipate before the Child School came to the Island; nevertheless, it’s one we now have to deal with. I commend RIOC for recognizing the problem and trying to solve it. However, these new routes are the wrong solution. When the school was first proposed, one of the first questions asked was, "Where will the school buses go?" We were assured at that time that the promenades would not be used. I and other RIRA Council members have already heard numerous complaints about how dangerous this is. Particularly in the afternoon, kids are milling around the moving school buses at the area by Eastwood and the baseball field. This new route is the wrong answer. It needs to be changed before, heaven forbid, a child gets hurt in this pandemonium. If RIOC doesn’t care about the safety of the kids, then perhaps the risk of monumental lawsuit in the event of a tragedy of this nature will sway them to quickly remedy this matter. In the interim, please try to keep your kids away from this area, even though it will be increasingly more difficult as the weather gets warmer. Also, make your feelings known to Herb Berman at HBerman@rioc.com.

Finally: On April 19, Community Board 8 will have its Roosevelt Island public meeting at the Good Shepherd Community Center at 6:30 p.m., and the Department of Transportation will discuss plans to upgrade the Roosevelt Island bridge in the downstairs room of the Chapel later that night, at 8:00 p.m.

I’ll be away on vacation for then next few weeks, see you in mid-May!