Southtown's developers have a green light.

Having reached the "final designation" stage, they now effectively "own" everything between the Tram station and Blackwell House for development purposes.  In measurable ways, the balance of power in determining Southtown's future has shifted to Hudson/Related, who now will have the upper hand in setting the pace of things, proposing specifics, and responding to expressions of the community's needs.

RIOC President Robert Ryan has vowed that residents will have substantial and continuing input as Southtown development goes forward þ a reassuring stance, but a determination that is bound to be tested repeatedly over the years of construction that are ahead.

That's because so much remains to be fleshed out.  Residents Association President Patrick Stewart, speaking at the May meeting of the RIRA Common Council, produced a list of questions he felt needed to be answered before he'd be comfortable endorsing the go-ahead Hudson/Related got this week.  Community "give-backs" were one category.  How construction traffic would be handled was another.  Public facilities and stores were two others.  It's a tribute to the comfort level Ryan brings to the process that Wednesday's vote was taken without Stewart raising those matters again.

Ryan's presence has effectively broken a log-jam that his predecessor created by avoiding serious community input.  The test Ryan, Stewart and all of us will face as Southtown is built is one of keeping Roosevelt Island liveable, both during construction and in the future.

DL

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