Around NYC

Here's a regularly updated group of stories of interest from the New York Metro area, frequently with links to other news sources.

Susan Rosenthal, Rebecca Seawright and José Serrano Jr. at the Visitor Center.

Rebecca Seawright Introduces NYC Ferry Service For Roosevelt Island

08/24/2017 - 19:05

Opening of the NYC Ferry's Astoria Route on August 29th is big news for Roosevelt Island. On Wednesday, August 23rd, State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright delivered an official presentation to a packed audience in the Good Shepherd Community Center.

Taking NYC Ferry from Roosevelt Island to 34th Street? Free Shuttle to Midtown

08/24/2017 - 15:09 Updated 34 weeks ago

Reader Sylvan Klein shared a map of NYC Ferry shuttle bus services to and from the 34th Street Terminal. All good news. It's free, and its reach is extensive.

The Roosevelt Island Subway Station will be the same, but the trains won't be. This weekend, we get on and off E Trains.

August 19th and 20th, Weekend Subway Service Changes Explained

08/17/2017 - 09:12 Updated 35 weeks ago

Forget trying to figure out why - maybe an MTA scheduler got bored and switched things up for a laugh - but you won't be able to get to or from Roosevelt Island, this weekend, by hopping on an F Train. Don't fret, though. You can take an E, instead. It's a little complicated, but we sort it out for you.

Undeveloped, the southern tip of Roosevelt Island waited nearly four decades for the Park.

Roosevelt Island's Best Neighbors #1: Four Freedoms Park Conservancy

08/16/2017 - 09:25

March 17th, 1974, Louis Kahn, aged 73, died when hit with a heart attack in Penn Station. Although he carried his recently completed plans for FDR Four Freedoms Park with him at the time, it took nearly forty years and the relentless energies of William J. vanden Heuvel, a former United States ambassador, to get the job done. It was worth the effort, and Four Freedoms Park Conservancy uplifts the architectural excellence with meticulous maintenance and creativity in bringing visitors to Roosevelt Island.

The Bridge getting its final polish in July will include Citi as part of its creative environment.

Roosevelt Island's Newest Neighbor: Citi Comes to Cornell Tech

08/14/2017 - 08:44

In July, the startup evolution of The Bridge at Cornell Tech got a major boost when Citigroup, better known as "Citi," announced a "collaboration with Cornell Tech, the revolutionary graduate institution, to engage with Cornell University students, faculty, researchers, startups and other companies, and create closer ties between academia and industry."

A phalanx of operators tackles the challenge of a threatening pile of leaves.

The Day Ben Kallos Got Me Thinking About NOISE!

08/02/2017 - 14:29

About the racket in the UES part of his domain, City Council Member Ben Kallos told the New York Times, “We need to take this problem seriously — take it head on without excuses — and give every New Yorker the peace and quiet they need.”

Well, we're lucky to escape that trouble here in our own little burg, I thought. Then, a helicopter clattered down the East River, rattling windows from the Octagon to Cornell Tech.

Yes, you can now walk from Main Street straight onto the Cornell Tech campus.

Cornell Tech, July 31st, 2017: Work In Progress

08/01/2017 - 09:21

Yes, Cornell Tech's world class campus on Roosevelt Island opened to the public on the last day of July. But even though you could enjoy the Cafe (hours limited) and walk through the Public Open Space, you had to weave through enough ongoing construction that it still felt like a work in progress. This image gallery tells that story.

Frank Farance Disputes Affordable Housing Claims for Roosevelt Island

07/31/2017 - 19:54

In the RI Daily's July 28, 2017 article Lynne Strong-Shinozaki Wants You... To Vote!, while I agree with Ms. Strong-Shinozaki that we should encourage people to register to vote, and then to vote, part of her rationale includes "housing protections." I feel this is a misleading statement.

August 29th: Firm Date for The Roosevelt Island Ferry

07/27/2017 - 08:45 Updated 34 weeks ago

“Roosevelt Island has waited generations for ferry service which will finally arrive this summer,” declared Council Member Ben Kallos who joined Mayor Bill de Blasio in the announcement, adding, “After so many years of advocating for ferry service for Roosevelt Island, it is hard to believe it is starting this summer."

It is. A schedule has been released and you can buy tickets today.

Has commuting got you in knots? "Subway Stripes" by Deborah Julian

Cuomo Ducks, de Blasio Smacks Lhota, but Who Fixes the Subway Mess?

07/24/2017 - 15:11 Updated 39 weeks ago

“They own it, they lease it, it’s their responsibility to fund it,” MTA head Joe Lhota said of New York City and its subway system, just hours after his boss, Governor Andrew Cuomo, pulled a rabbit out of his, uh... hat, declaring that the State was not responsible for the subways after all, a change in position so extreme it sails far beyond the conventional political "flip flop."

"You've heard a lot of fiction the last few days," Mayor Bill de Blasio countered, "so I'm going to give you some facts."

So, how 'bout you boys stop bickering and fix the damned system, okay?"