You may recall that, in my last column, I mentioned that the Manhattan-side Tram elevator had been repaired and then was out of commission again.  As of this writing, the elevator is not working.  Over the last 18 months, and with two major outages of service, the downtime now exceeds the time in operation.
If you read Herb Berman’s last column, you know that RIOC is frustrated by this state of affairs as well as by the disgraceful condition of Motorgate and the intractable problem of street lighting.  These infrastructure issues didn’t start with Herb or with his predecessor or his predecessor’s predecessor.  There is a long history of systemic abandonment of general maintenance and repair that traces back to our loss of State subsidy in 1996.  I know that President Berman would like to improve Roosevelt Island structurally, economically, and aesthetically.  However, until RIOC can maintain the status quo and return the Island to what used to be a minimal level of operation, they will be unable to consider enhancing life here.  Who will want to produce events in a place where long swatches of promenade are in darkness because no one can figure out who is responsible for that group of lights?  Who will want to open a business in a place where the Motorgate garage is a mess of spalling and rusting, where the elevators and escalators don’t work, where pools of water follow every rain, and where the lack of security allows vandalism to run rampant and Midnight Motors to operate without restraint?  I think that RIOC’s ability to enhance the Roosevelt Island experience for all of us who live and spend time here will be a function of their capacity to control the chaos that has overwhelmed their maintenance and repair function.
Also in The RIOC Column was notice of an April 21 public meeting on emergency planning, sponsored by the City and State offices of emergency management.  The RIRA leadership has been calling for the establishment of a contingency plan, specific to Roosevelt Island’s needs, since last summer’s Blackout.  We are told that planning has taken place, but RIRA has not been invited to participate.  This public meeting may be our only opportunity to provide input based on our decades of experience living here, and I urge you to keep a lookout for the RIOC postings promised in the column.  We owe it to ourselves to help OEM to do it and get it right the first time.  There may not be a second chance.
Your RIRA Common Council has taken on an extraordinary task.  We are attempting to create a constitution and bylaws where only a constitution existed before.  This exercise is designed to update a document that hasn’t been amended since 1991 and to give the Common Council the authority to modify many of its rules without having to convene a Town Meeting and gather 100 RIRA members for every change we require.  Currently, the constitution may be amended only through a two-thirds majority vote in Common Council and then a majority vote at a Town Meeting.  When the debate over substance and language has subsided and the Council has approved the work, we are then required to convene a quorum of the Island’s residents to approve the constitutional changes.  When that happens, please answer the call.  This is your chance to learn how RIRA operates and to ensure that we are representing your interests adequately and appropriately.  If we cannot assemble a quorum, the vote returns to the Common Council and the RIRA membership (that’s you!) will have lost an opportunity for oversight.  We are only as good, as effective, as you allow us to be.
Stay tuned.
In my last column I mentioned the postponement of the Roosevelt Island Bridge renovation project to 2012.  Since then I’ve written to the acting borough commissioner for the Department of Transportation urging that construction begin in 2008.  In addition, I will be offering a resolution to the Community Board 8 Transportation Committee to endorse this request for an earlier start date.  Committee co-chair Dan Quart has encouraged my efforts and provided invaluable guidance.  Thanks, Dan!
There are two terrific Island events happening today.  The first is the RIRA Insurance Fair.  From noon to 2:00 p.m., we have provided a group of experts from the NYPD, FDNY, the Insurance Information Institute, and Housing Management to talk about apartment safety and to answer your questions about insuring your home.  In addition, we have invited representatives from State Farm, Allstate, and Travelers as well as our own Seymour Williams, who will allow you to comparison-shop under one roof at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd.  For those of you unable to make a Saturday event, we have scheduled a second session for Wednesday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m.  If you don’t have apartment insurance, come learn why you should.  And if you do have insurance, come see how your premiums compare with other providers.
Following the Insurance Fair on Saturday and continuing on Sunday afternoon, the Historical Society is presenting the Roosevelt Island Film Festival.  You must have seen the posters, newspaper ads, nudges at the Farmers Market (hi, Judy!), handbills, palm cards, billboards, loudspeaker trucks, and sky writing (well, perhaps I exaggerate) that for weeks now have subtly announced this event.  I know I get a thrill every time I see the Tram on a large or small screen even if it involves Rutger Hauer tossing one of my movie-land neighbors out the door over the East River.  Find a time and a program that tickles your fancy.  I’ll see you at the movies!