Hon. Pete Grannis
Member of Assembly
1672 First Avenue
New York, NY 10128

Dear Mr. Grannis:

We would like to acknowledge and express our gratitude for your ongoing support of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd.

We commend your letter dated Thursday, 15 March 2001, addressed to Mr. Robert H. Ryan, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation, which appeared in The Main Street WIRE.

The deteriorating conditions of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd have escalated since the 1995 engineering report. The current cost of repair of the Chapel has now increased well beyond the $1.5 million projected six years ago. Serving as it does the religious and community needs of the residents, while bearing the cumulative effect of time and usage upon its structure and infrastructure, the Chapel cannot be sustained interminably without public help and assistance.

Your dedicated support and voice, seeking to improve the lives of Roosevelt Island's residents, its landmark institutions and its seawall, have not gone unnoticed. We thank you for your efforts to protect this historic structure.

Mr. Robert H. Ryan, President
RIOC
591 Main Street
Roosevelt Island, NY 10044

I am writing to follow up on my March 15 letter to you regarding RIOC's plans for securing funding for the Island's growing list of capital needs. To date, the letter remains unanswered.

Highlighting the depth of the concerns I conveyed to you last month, and which I hope will spur a prompt response, is the enclosed copy of a letter I received this week from Reverend Curtis W. Hart, Interim Vicar, Church of the Good Shepherd, and Reverend Luke W. McCann, Administrator, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish, detailing the worsening structural conditions of the Chapel of the Good Shepherd and the escalating cost estimates for addressing those problems. While I have been able to secure $250,000 in the past few State budgets for this project, I have done so without any indication of need from RIOC, which by all accounts should have been leading the fight to provide for this and the rest of the Island's infrastructure needs in the Governor's annual budget proposals.

As I have communicated to you and your predecessor under the Pataki administration, I view the deteriorating condition of the Chapel, as well as other parts of the Island's infrastructure, as resulting directly from RIOC's failure to maintain the Island in accordance with the terms of the State's lease agreement with the City. I know, as I suspect you do as well, that this view is shared by Island residents who have repeatedly voiced their concerns about the unattended capital projects on the Island.

Many years ago, the City neglected to care for its vital municipal infrastructure, and we are still paying the staggering costs for these shortsighted decisions. As was the case with the City, the longer that you and RIOC put off aggressive efforts to address the Island's current capital needs, the greater are the chances that conditions will worsen, bringing with them greater risks for the health, safety and well-being of the Island's residents and visitors along with the need for more money to put things right. I urge you to heed the warning in the old saying about the value of "an ounce of prevention."

I renew my call to you to undertake immediately a full-scale review of the Island's capital needs and a realistic assessment of how you intend to pay for them. As I have offered in the past, should you so request, I stand ready to assist you in this endeavor. What I view with alarm, however, is the hint that is gaining currency that you are hoping to serve out your tenure at RIOC without having to engage the administration in living up to its responsibilities under the city lease to address these vexing issues. I sincerely hope that is not the case.

Robert Ryan, President
RIOC
591 Main Street
Roosevelt Island, NY 10044

I am writing regarding the crosswalk where the off-ramp from the Roosevelt Island Bridge intersects with Main Street. Or shall I say, lack of crosswalk? In spite of the fact that there is an extra large stop sign, many cars continue to run it, sometimes with a slight pause, but often no pause at all. It is an often-walked area, to and from the post office, Gristede's and Motorgate.

Recently, I was crossing to go to the market when a car cut me off, hitting my shopping cart and damaging the left front wheel and axle. The driver didn't even stop to see if I was okay. Luckily, it was my cart which was hit and not me. This is a very dangerous intersection. My request is a simple one to RIOC. Please, please repaint the worn-off white lines of the crosswalk! Perhaps that will get drivers to notice the extra large Stop sign posted there. Pedestrians are supposed to have the right-of-way.