Housing
Eastwood Tenants Reorganize;
Building Has Modernization Plan

Eastwood, leading Roosevelt Island’s original "WIRE" housing into a new era of privatization, has a modernization schedule, a new tenant organization, and newly elected officers.

Tenants are now organized as the Eastwood Residents Association (ERA), with new bylaws adopted October 24. The tenant Board of Directors, which will continue to use the name, Eastwood Building Committee (EBC), includes Co-chairs Fay Vass and Amelia Fontes, Treasurer Harry Devine, Secretary John Rochford, and Assistant Secretary Laila Amatullah Jalliyl. Ed O’Flynn will represent seniors on the Board, and representatives for the physically challenged will be Linda Meyers and Geraldine Eismann.

Budgeted modernizations totaling $8.7 million include elevators at $1.2 million in a schedule that awaits approval by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) but is slated to start this month and run through June of 2007, $5 million for window replacement from September ’07 through April ’08, $2 million to renovate kitchens and bathrooms in 40% of the building’s apartments from July ’08 to June ’09, and $500,000 for work on lobbies that will begin after other construction is complete, probably in February ’09 and running to June ’09.

Eastwood is the Island’s largest building complex, with 1,003 apartments. "WIRE" housing refers to the Island’s original residential buildings – Westview, Island House, Rivercross, and Eastwood. Both Island House and Westview have Letters of Intent with owners that will lead to resident ownership if a deal can be struck with RIOC and taxing authorities. Rivercross has a committee working on terms for privatization but the committee reports difficulty getting meaningful responses from RIOC’s real-estate consultant, Paul Mas of Jones Lang LaSalle.