Town Meeting on Southpoint
Park Slated for Tuesday Night
Lappin Tells RIRA Council of Priorities for Island
by Dick Lutz

Southpoint Park "is one of my top priorities for my entire district," said City Councilmember Jessica Lappin Wednesday night. Speaking to the Common Council of the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA), Lappin said, "I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build what I think should be a 14-acre crown jewel of our park system – something that will be enjoyed not just by people on the Island but by people across the City."

Lappin pointed out that she put $3 million into the City budget for Phase One of the park project. "That’s a lot of money for a freshman Councilmember." Lappin said the $3 million in City funding that she secured was "leveraged to get $8 million from the State committed."

Tuesday night at 7:00, Lappin is mounting a town meeting in Good Shepherd Community Center at which the Trust for Public Lands (TPL) will update residents on the status of the project and the latest version of the plan. TPL has been involved since late 2003. The Town Meeting will include a Q&A for residents.

Lappin also told RIRA Common Council members that Roosevelt Island is now included in a Request for Proposals on East River ferry service developed by the City administration. "They were not going to include Roosevelt Island until I talked to them. They told me yesterday [Tuesday] that they now are," Lappin said. "When companies respond, they will look at how they would configure a Roosevelt Island stop with the stops on the other side of the East River. It’s in the beginning phases... I’ve asked them to look at how ferry service will be not only now, but as additional buildings get built and population numbers grow [on Roosevelt Island]."

Lappin said she has not yet received an answer to a letter she wrote to Governor Eliot Spitzer "outlining the importance to me of appointing dedicated, honest, qualified people to the Board of RIOC and to the administration of RIOC, to begin as soon as possible discussions on ground leases and on [Southpoint] Park. I’m disappointed – very disappointed – to say I haven’t received a response to my letter or to my four follow-up phone calls I have made. So that has been a little bit disheartening. There is a new DHCR commissioner and I have contacted her and she did get back to me today [Wednesday], so we will see..."

Lappin mentioned efforts to fund other Roosevelt Island items:

• The Tram-landing kiosk ($25,000)

• A greenhouse at PS/IS 217

• The Library ($1.4 million; see separate report, page 8)

In a Q&A session, Common Council members asked about subway service (see separate report, this page) and pedestrian access to the Queensboro Bridge. Lappin said she sent a letter to the City Department of Transportation (DOT) on December 8, and that the letter has been forwarded to DOT’s Bureau of Bridges, but no answer has been received.

Micah Kellner, who wants to be the Democratic candidate for Assembly for the 65th District, spoke to the RIRA Council Wednesday night.

The RIRA Common Council also heard from one of the three current candidates for the State Assembly seat being vacated by Pete Grannis, who has been nominated by Governor Eliot Spitzer to be his Commissioner of Environmental Conservation. Micah Kellner said, "This is a real transitional time for Roosevelt Island... I see this as a real chance to reevaluate the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) and what it does for the Island, and its purpose." Kellner referred to a letter he wrote to Governor Spitzer asking him to convene a policy summit to bring together the Island’s stakeholders to determine what can be changed to improve things here. He said, "A freshman Assemblymember isn’t going to have a lot of power, but he can make sure the Island is represented, make sure the Governor knows the people’s concerns..."

Kellner said that, in his capacity as a staffer with City Controller Bill Thompson, he has heard horror stories about Eastwood residents being misclassified as Section 8 tenants and left out of the Landlord Assistance Program (LAP) that came out of negotiations for the building’s departure from Mitchell-Lama. He provided his office telephone number, 212-669-2309, for residents looking for help in such cases.