The RIOC Column

A sunny, hot Memorial Day weekend signals the start of summer, and Roosevelt Islanders will have a full array of improvements to the quality of life on our special spot of land in the middle of the East River.

Herbert E. Berman President Roosevelt Island Operating Corp. e-mail: HBerman@rioc.com

Lighthouse Park is slated for major improvements including the replacement of retaining walls, borders along the walkways and the seating areas adjacent to the picnic areas. We will be upgrading the picnic tables, improving the lighting, and resetting the Belgian blocks in the tree pits.

There are other upgrades planned at recreational facilities. The Blackwell basketball courts will get a new retaining wall and the bench lumber will be replaced at Blackwell Park. Both the fountain and the stone/tile castle at Blackwell Park will be upgraded or replaced.

There will be new picnic tables at the Octagon soccer field and new concrete benches at Northtown Park. The Good Shepherd Chapel Plaza brick paving stones will be spruced up, replacing some and resetting others.

Island-wide, the drop curbs for wheelchair accessibility will be repaired, many of the benches will be replaced, and the concrete seawall walkway repairs will continue. The sunken z-bricks you see across the Island will be inspected and repaired, the Meditation steps restained, and there will be a stepped-up program of maintenance for other facilities and amenities, as well.

The roadway between the Tram and the subway will also get an upgrade.

Residents may have noticed that barbecue grills have been installed, as well. They are there to be used, but be advised that Public Safety will be enforcing rules barring other grills being set up in picnic areas or putting up tents or volleyball nets.

Similarly, residents are reminded that Roosevelt Island’s dog policy requires that dogs be vaccinated, registered and leashed, and that owners clean up after them.

RIOC is also working with residents to sponsor a Trap-Neuter Program to control the population of feral cats that seem to like our Island as much as the rest of us. Please do not feed these cats. We need your assistance.

It is essential for residents to work with us to ensure that our Island environment remains the jewel that it is.

Watch this column and the RIOC website for upcoming information about the Roosevelt Island Summer Sounds series beginning June 28. Plans are also underway for an autumn arts festival and a spring sports day next year.

The summer is also an ideal time to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the remarkable history of our Island, including the 212-year-old Blackwell House, the 134-year-old Lighthouse on our northernmost point and the newly restored, 162-year-old Octagon Tower. We are proud that our historical resources remain even as development continues into the fifth century since European settlers first purchased what was then called Minnahannock Island from the native Algonquins.